Tired of Looking Tired? Facial Exercises Can Help!

By Cynthia Rowland

A tired face can age you beyond your years. It starts with furrowed brows and eyelids that begin to droop. The reason? Facial muscles lengthen and atrophy if not exercised, making skin appear soft and saggy. The solution? Isometric exercises with resistance (not funny contortions or crazy twists) that can tone, tighten and lift facial muscles.

I have created exercises to correct facial sagging. Underlying muscles are rejuvenated with specific and targeted exercises so your face looks fresh and lifted with tight, youthful contours, and better looking skin. These exercises increase oxygenated blood to the facial tissue resulting in healthier more vibrant skin. The results are better than a surgical facelift because they leave you looking like yourself, only younger. Here are some of the exercises:

Upper Eyes 

The Upper Eye exercise lifts the brows and begins to tighten lax forehead muscles. This exercise also provides sinus relief as it “de-puffs” sinus swelling. Here’s how it’s done:  place the three middle fingers of each hand underneath your eyebrows. Drop the palms of your hands to your face. Keep your forehead and face relaxed. Push your eyebrows straight up and anchor (hold). Keep your eyes open, look straight ahead. Now use your forehead muscle to push down into your fingertips. Count to five. Release the contraction, remove your hands, take a deep breath and begin the exercise again. This time we’re counting to 10.  At the seventh second, close your eyes while you keep pushing up with your fingertips and down into your fingertips with your forehead.

Eye Circle Exercise

Use your ring fingers, apply eye cream to your under eye areas using a dabbing motion. Start by placing the tips of your ring fingers under your inner eyebrows and continue outward and then inward towards your nose until a full circle has been completed. Circle both eyes simultaneously, gently, with your ring fingers for one hundred times. This easy exercise is performed very quickly. It is performed using a very gentle motion. No tugging, pulling, or stretching of the skin is allowed. It is an excellent way to increase the circulation to your eye areas, which helps to alleviate the appearance of dark circles under your eyes.

Jowls

When the zygomaticus muscles elongate, they push into our orbicularis oris muscle (the muscle that supports the area
around the mouth). The loss of tone continues
into the jaw area, creating the look of jowls and pouches. The next exercise will teach you how to firm this area.

Complete the exercises on one side of the face before starting the other side.

1. While standing or sitting in front of your mirror, tilt your head back until you feel tension under your chin.
2. While keeping your head tilted, turn your head to the right and look over your shoulder, gently stretching your neck muscles.
3. Open your mouth slightly and jut out your bottom teeth and jaw. (This motion works the left side of your face)
4. Hold the contraction for five (5) seconds.
5. Relax your face; bring your head gently back to your original, level starting position. (Refrain from swinging your head around suddenly as you could strain your neck muscles.)
6. Breathe in deeply through your nose, and exhale through your nose.
7. Repeat the three remaining sets holding the contractions for ten (10) 
second each.
8. Breathe in deeply through your nose, and exhale through your nose. 
To exercise the right side of your face:
9. Tilt your head back until you feel the tension under your chin.
10. While keeping your head tilted, turn your head to the left and look over your 
shoulder.
11. Open your mouth slightly and jut out your bottom teeth and jaw.
12. Hold the first contraction for five (5) seconds then repeat the motion three 
times, holding the contractions for ten (10) seconds each.
13. Breathe in deeply though your nose and exhale through your nose.

You will feel the muscles in your neck elongate and the jaw muscles contract. This exercise allows a freer mobility when turning your head.

Cynthia Rowland is the creator of the Facial Magic Facial Exercise System, co-host of The Ageless Sisters on blogtalkradio.com, and author of the book The Magic of Facial Exercise. Rowland’s pioneering work has helped thousands of women and men worldwide look 10 to 15 years younger simply by doing isometric with resistance exercises that tone, tighten and lift sagging facial muscles. No cosmetic surgery, injections or electro-stimulation are needed! The Facial Magic system rejuvenates the underlying muscles with specific and targeted exercises so your face looks fresh and lifted with tight, youthful contours and better looking skin. These exercises can provide better results than a surgical facelift because they leaves people looking like themselves, only younger.