Facial Exercises Instead Of A Face Lift

With age, gravity and years of facial expressions, skin loses its elasticity and begins to wrinkle and sag. Short of cosmetic surgery, facial exercises can help smooth skin and restore facial contour. Face-lifting exercises are controlled movements that move facial skin and muscles in unison. While results do not happen overnight, face-lifting exercises can aid in strengthening the underlying facial muscles so that they better support the skin, keeping it supple and youthful without the expense of surgery.

Temple Smoother

The temporal muscle, located at your temples, is a key muscle in anchoring a smooth, firm and supple face. As your skin loses elasticity, the temporal muscle weakens and surrenders its ability to keep other facial muscles in place, causing your skin to droop and sag. To perform the temporal muscle exercise, place your palms firmly on your temples. Clench your teeth together in a tight bite. Flex your jaw and temporal muscles so that they become tight and hard. Without allowing your hands to slip, use the pressure of your palms to rotate your temporal muscles in a circular motion. You need to complete three full rotations three times per day for at least six weeks for noticeable results, according to M.J. Saffon, author of "The 15-Minute-a-Day Natural Face Lift."

Satchmo

Named after trumpet player Louis Armstrong, the Satchmo exercise strengthens and firms cheek muscles. The yoga facial exercise helps prevent sagging jowls by working the buccinators, the thin muscles that compress and lift the cheeks. With your lips closed, puff up your cheeks with air. Transfer the air from cheek to cheek, alternating from side to side until you are out of breath. Repeat four more times.

Surprised Eyes

The surprised eyes exercise employs the frontalis muscle -- a large facial muscle attached to the scalp. The exercise not only helps smooth wrinkles between your eyebrows but also works the ring muscles around your eyes, lifting and firming the eye area. Without wrinkling your brow, mimic a surprised expression by widening your eyes but keeping your mouth closed. Focus your eyes on a point on a wall for a count of 10. Perform five repetitions.

Releaser

To help diminish pucker lines around your lips and relieve tension in your face, execute the releaser facial exercise. It may also assist in reducing worry lines above and between your eyebrows. To begin the releaser, interlock your fingers and tuck your thumbs under your jaw. Position your interlocked fingers below your lips. Allow your lower jaw to loosen and drop down. Now move your lower jaw up and down with your interlocked fingers, saying "aaaah" in the process. In another version of the releaser, simply widen your eyes, lift your eyebrows and open your mouth as far as possible. Hold the stretch for 20 seconds.