5 Easy and Effective Facial Exercises to Boost Healthy Looking Glowing Skin

It's a well known fact that physical exercise is crucial to maintain a healthy, toned and fit body. That's why people invest so much time, effort and money in visiting well-equipped gyms, joining yoga classes and recruiting personal trainers.

Now that regular physical exercise has become a norm, naturally facial exercises are getting attention too. People are wondering if facial muscles also work like body muscles and whether exercising those muscles brings any positive changes. And the answer according to many dermatologists, fitness Gurus and famous models comes in affirmative. They think regular facial exercise or yoga really impacts our appearance positively.

What is Facial Exercise or Facial Yoga:

Facial exercise is in no way different from the exercises of the body. Our face is also made up of various thin muscles and through exercise or yoga, it is possible to make them firmer. Also just like the exercises for the body, facial exercises also reduce face fat. You don't need to go under a surgical knife and waste a big chunk of money over expensive cosmetic surgeries to get the desired facial appearance.

What Are the Benefits of Facial Exercise:

Take this with a grain of salt because the topic of benefits of facial exercises is still pretty much a controversial topic. How much they actually benefit is still not scientifically proven though many doctors and practitioners speak highly of facial exercises. There have been multiple small-scale studies and researches done on the said subject in past years. 

In 2018, there was a study involving few middle aged women to check the effectiveness of 32 facial exercises on the signs of aging. In the first few weeks, all participants did all the facial exercises given to them regularly. Then in the last few weeks, they did the exercises on alternative days. And at the end, most participants were pretty satisfied with the results of such exercises. Most of their facial features were more developed than before making their appearance more attractive.

There are many more such studies which sometimes yielded desirable results and sometimes not. So to claim something for sure, more conclusive experiments are needed.

Now let's take a look at all the benefits achievable by daily facial exercise or yoga approved by various dermatologists and models.

• Facial exercise lifts the face muscles making them look firmer and more chiseled. 

• Exercise relaxes overused muscles and relieves stress.

• Toned facial muscles make the cheeks look more plump and full.

• Facial Yoga stimulates blood circulation which is important for bright and glowing skin.

• Regular exercise helps burn face fat making the face look more symmetrical in shape and perfectly contoured as well.

• Facial exercise is also known to reduce puffiness, dark circles under eyes, fine lines and wrinkles.

• Facial exercise boosts the production of collagen in the body which is a protein full of anti-aging properties.

• It helps prevent sagging skin and maintains an youthful appearance.

• It releases sinuses, reduces headache and boosts the overall mood.

• Regular facial exercise gives you a sharp jawline and neckline.

Few Facial Exercises To Do At Home:

1. Balloon Mouth: 

• In this exercise, first you need to put your thumbs over your nostrils, inhale and then hold your breath.

• Now fill your mouth with breath.

• Move your chin slowly towards the chest and hold the position for as long as you can. Beginners can start with 20 seconds and then gradually increase up to 1 minute.

• Exhale and repeat the exercise.

• ManTan's fitness expert Jyotika Anand claims this facial exercise helps to increase the blood circulation of the face thus resulting in glowing skin.

2. Palm Your Face:

• This is a simple yet very effective face stretch you should do everyday. First, rub your hands together thoroughly for a few seconds.

• Now put your warm hands over your face and rub the skin very gently and calm your mind. 

• Repeat the previous 2 steps once again.

• Now hold your palms over your cheeks firmly and raise your head towards the ceiling.

• Open your mouth as wide as you can and hold the position for a few seconds. 

• Release your mouth, relax for a few seconds and repeat the stretch for 2 more times. 'Doing this stretch regularly before going to sleep at night will help you get a beautiful glow in your face easily', says Mansi Gulati, the fitness yoga expert of Fit Tak. 

3. Fish Lips:

• In this popular facial exercise, you need to first suck in your cheeks as much as possible. Purse your lips as well. Your lips will look like fish and thus the name of the exercise.

• Hold this position for 10 seconds.

• Relax

• Do 3 more reps every day.

4. Kiss The Sky: 

• Raise your head towards the ceiling. Purse your lips together and jutt them forward just like kissing.

• Hold the position for a few seconds.

• Relax.

• Do a few more reps every day. This facial exercise will help you to deal with the nasty double chin and re-contour your face.

5. Tap The Face: 

• This easy face workout consists of tapping your fingers gently under the eyes towards the direction of the forehead and then in reverse.

• Continue the tapping for 1-2 minutes daily. Doing this simple move daily will help you get rid of dark circles and sagging skin under eyes.

Few Other Techniques to Improve Facial Appearance:

Now that we are on the topic of facial appearance, we want to mention some massage techniques and tools closely related to facial Yoga.

• Facial Gua Sha: This muscular scraping technique derives from traditional Chinese medicine. In this practice, the acupuncturist uses a smooth-edged tool to gently scrape the body to relieve stagnant qi. Benefits of facial Gua Sha include improved blood circulation, relaxed muscle, rejuvenating skin etc.

• Facial Cupping: It's another alternative method in which suction cups are used to stimulate the cells and muscles of the face. This therapy improves the flow of qi, increases blood circulation, repairs cells, relaxes muscles etc.

Facial Roller: This is the ultimate popular skincare item nowadays. Facial roller benefits include reducing the puffiness of the face and promoting healthy blood circulation. This Jade Facial Roller from Beauty Kitchen perfectly gets rid of uneven complexion, under-eye dark circles, fine lines and wrinkles making the skin appear a lot more refreshing and youthful.