You might want to exercise your facial muscles for a variety of reasons. You may be recovering from an operation or facial injury. You could be trying to lessen the symptoms of conditions such as Bell's Palsy. Facial muscle exercises can simply help you relax and reduce stress. You can work face muscles with simple, free exercises. Some movements even work muscles rarely used through normal facial expressions.
Pucker and Smile
Puckering and smiling stretches the muscles around your mouth. Both movements use slightly different muscles. Puckering pulls your lips in tight. Smiling uses cheek and face muscles to widen your lips. To pucker, push your lips together as though you were going to kiss someone. Move your puckered lips to the left side of your face and hold for 10 seconds, suggests Ohio State University Medical Center. Repeat the movement on the right side. For the smiling exercise, smile a wide and open grin, letting your teeth show. Hold in place for several seconds.
Cheek Puffs
Puffing out your cheeks extends muscles in your lips and around your chin. Take a deep breath and blow air into your cheeks and let them puff out. Keep your cheeks puffed for about five seconds. Puff one cheek at a time and hold each for five seconds.
Verbalising
Making sounds with your mouth stretches and works many different facial muscles. Practice making "p - p - p" and "b - b - b" sounds when your lips are puckered. Exaggerate the noises and the shapes your mouth makes. The University of California, Davis Medical Center suggests using the same technique with vowel sounds. Say A-E-I-O-U with your lips open wide. Hold each letter shape for up to five seconds, then rest and move on to the next shape.
Eyebrow and Eye Exercises
Work the muscles around your eyes and on your forehead by moving your eyebrows and eyelids. The OSU Medical Center suggests a few simple exercises for strengthening these muscles. Lift your eyebrows up as though you're surprised. Hold for a few seconds. Change expression to a frown, with your eyebrows pointing down. Follow by tightly shutting both eyes. Hold for up to 5-seconds, then open your eyes as wide as you can. You should feel the muscles around your nose, at the corners of your eyes and on your brow tighten and stretch throughout the exercises.
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