The pursuit of younger, clearer and healthier looking skin feels like it’s never ending. While many people dive into LED face masks, 18-step skincare routines or the occasional Botox treatments, a new trend has popped up called face yoga.
Face yoga, as you can imagine, is quite different from the yoga you see in gym classes and online tutorials. With face yoga, you don’t need to unroll your best yoga mat and contort yourself into different stretches or poses. Instead, you can do face yoga from anywhere. Not only will it take you about five minutes but regular practice can reduce signs of ageing and make your skin feel and look rejuvenated.
To find out more, I spoke to Eva Norlyk Smith, yoga therapist and co-founder of YogaUOnline who explained the benefits of face yoga and her favourite face yoga exercises everybody needs to try.
What is face yoga?
Face yoga is a natural non-invasive technique that involves a variety of massages and exercises to stimulate the muscles, skin and lymphatic system. Using tools or just your hands, face yoga targets the face, neck and shoulders. It’s designed to improve appearance by strengthening the muscles, while also softening and relaxing them to alleviate tension and stress.
According to Smith, “by stretching and toning key facial muscles, engaging acupressure points, and holding strengthening expressions, face yoga ‘works out’ your facial muscles to contour and lift areas that may have weakened over time.” She says that regularly practicing face yoga has been found to sharpen jawlines, plump the under eyes, smooth ageing lines and increase blood flow and lymph drainage.
@glowgetthatface ♬ Enjoying the day - Arkei
3 face yoga exercises you need to try
Just like any type of exercise, face yoga can have amazing results as long as you keep up a regular and consistent routine or practice. That’s why Smith recommends “setting aside five minutes a day to sculpt and tone your facial muscles to naturally reduce stress and signs of ageing.”
1. Jawline Squeeze
To do the Jawline Squeeze, place your index fingers on your jaw hinge and gently squeeze inward and upward while keeping your lips together. Hold this for five seconds, relax the jaw and repeat a few times along your jawline. This exercise works to slim, define and sculpt the chin and jawline.
2. Cheek Puff
For the Cheek Puff, purse your lips and puff out your cheeks, like a blowfish. Hold this for five seconds before releasing. Repeat this and increase the holding time each time. The Cheek Puff works to tone the cheek area, tighten the muscles and reduce lines.
3. Liquid Eyelids
Liquid Eyelids sounds a little gross but it’s very effective for nourishing, brightening and tightening the skin under the eyes. With your eyes closed, gently pull your eyelids up and outwards as if you’re ‘stretching’ them. Hold this for five seconds before releasing. Repeat this a few times but make sure to keep it slow and steady.
