Facial Muscle Toning - How to Strengthen Facial Muscles

Facial muscle toning (as part of a face exercise program) is the best way to strengthen facial muscles. This is a natural, non-surgical defense for an aging face.

So if we know the biggest factor in looking older is loss of volume and muscle tone of the face, why wouldn't facial muscle toning be the first option to consider as a facial rejuvenation technique?

Don't believe face exercises really work? I do and I'm living proof. After almost 20 years, I have no doubt that you can tighten facial muscles for a more youthful face.

According to Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia¹ loss of muscle tone gives the face a flabby droopy look and causes the face and skin to lose that plump, smooth surface.

An issue of the JAMA Dermatology on Association of Facial Exercise With the Appearance of Aging concluded that a regimen of at-home facial exercises improvwd mid-face and lower face fullness.

the youthful appearance may be due to exercise-actuated hypertrophy of cheek and other muscles. At the end of the study, participants in the control group were highly satisfied, noting significant improvement in 18 of 20 facial features.

It's like a non-surgical facelift!

I've been doing facial muscle toning as part of my facial exercises program for years. If you've visited Anti-Aging Beauty Zone website before - you've probably already know this.

So do facial exercises really work? You decide for yourself, but I'm very happy with the results. In the picture below I'm eight years older in the after picture.

Before and After. Eight year difference between these two pictures.

What kind of facial muscle toning exercises

I use the 15 minute CFF exercise program. Why this program? Because it addresses several anti-aging points all in one 15-minute workout:

tones underlying face muscles
facial massage and facial skin brushing firms the skin and reduce fine lines
helps slow facial bone loss
encourages blood circulation lfeeding the skin and building collagen
helps distribute facial oils for a more balanced hydrated skin

Face toning exercises

This is not facial yoga, this is a complete facial muscle toning exercise.

It sounds complicated, but it's not. It only takes 15 minutes about 2-3 times a week. Later you can cut back to just once a week maintenance.

It comes with a pacing CD that counts through each exercise for you so you can sort of zone out while doing - making this facial exercise quite relaxing.

Below is a list of facial movements for this 15 minute workout. It looks like a lot, but it goes quickly, because like I said earlier - you don't have to think, Carolyn tells you what to do and counts the reps for you.

Click here to see the full interactive muscle chart.

Want to see a live video of a sample exercise from the CFF program? Click on the video below:

Carolyn is over 74 yrs old here. Look how beautiful her neck looks!

Now this is just a sample video and is the only workout you do sitting up. All of the other exercises are done while lying down in order to take advantage of gravity for better results.

How I got started with facial toning exercises

I started researching and testing facial toning exercise programs back in my late 30s. I bought several different programs and tried them out for a few months.

But, I never took the exercises seriously. Until I turned “50 something"!

That’s when all sorts of changes started to affect my face. The most noticeable was sagging in the neck, crow's feet, frown lines, and a flattening of fat pads on my upper cheeks!

I realized those on and off facial workout schedules were not working. I knew I had to get serious!

So, out of desperation, I contacted Carolyn, the creator of CFF, whose program I purchased a few years back. I liked her program the best of all the ones I tried because they were quick and the easiest to do.

I asked Carolyn for help to get back on track again. After consulting with her, I found my hit-or-miss schedule does not work. You need to do facial muscle toning exercises on a consistent (but NOT too often) basis.

She explained that the facial muscles need to time to recover and grow. This muscle growth is (in part) what helps with an aging face as it provides that much need volume that we lose in our face - especially around the cheeks.

Image, me, actually exercising too much?!

Is it possible to over exercise facial muscles?

Doing facial exercises too often is as bad as not being consistent. When I did exercise - I'd do a marathon of few weeks on, then a few weeks off. Sort of a hit or miss kind of thing...

But, the solution Carolyn gave me was so simple!

Just do her facial toning program 3 times a week, every week, with an even amount of rest days in-between. That's it.

She explained that exercising the face too often can actually break down the important muscles needed to defined cheekbones and create an overall natural face lift and firm to the face and neck.

And, of course, too many days off, you can never really build facial muscles enough to create a nice noticeable lift.

She also gave me a few extra tips and told me if I followed her recommendations - I should start to see some results in about 5 weeks.

Did I see result?

Oh, Boy Did I!

Cheeks: The first thing I noticed were my cheekbones. They seemed just a little more defined, firmer, and higher. I think they're even fuller than they were 8 years ago!

By week 4, a few friends started commenting on my cheekbones – asking if I was using a different type of makeup or new highlighter. That’s when I knew it wasn't my imagination or just wishful thinking. Changes were taking place!

Lower jowls and chin. This picture was taken only a few months after starting facial exercises.

There is only a few month difference between the before and after, but you can see something good is happening!

Neck: One of the other areas I noticed a difference was my neck. A good comprehensive facial muscle toning workout should include exercising the neck muscles. Especially those little muscles under the chin - like the geniohyoid, digastric, mylohyoid, stylohyoid.

When these start to get weak and sag, you get that dread turkey neck look. Check out these before and after pictures:

Note: I was also using Carolyn's vitamin C serum on my neck. To my surprise, the big brown skin spot (on my right side- your left side) is gone. You can read more about making vitamin C serum and see more pictures here.

Facial muscle toning neck before and after. Seven year difference between the two pictures.

Eyes: The before picture was not taken with the same camera, at the same location. But you can still see the improvement in the depth and length of the crow's feet lines. And the eyebrow looks lifted in the after photo.

These pictures were taken a few years apart with different cameras.

More muscle toning to look forward too

But, this is not the end, it’s just the beginning.

As Carolyn explains, when you tone and firm facial muscle slowly, the correct way, on a consistent basis, you’ll notice what she calls “youth jumps.”

This means that every few weeks or months, you’ll see these surprising and very exciting changes from your forehead to your neck and sometimes even upper chest area too.

Click here to learn more about her facial muscle toning and resistance program.

I’m currently working on firming the lower face, jowls and neck. This is a tough area, but I’m confident that Carolyn’s bonus exercises called the Lower Face Lift, will work as she promised.

I'm also testing out her new eye exercises (still in Beta) to help alleviate lines under the eyes. But in the meantime, I'm still using my favorite Eye Lift serum (same one I've been using since 2012) to help tame/hide those tiny crinkles under the eyes. It also helps smooth out puffy eyes.

Oh, and, by the way, I never have to pay for a consultation or the extra bonus exercises. That’s part of the whole package when you purchase her workout program. Excellent Customer Service!

It’s like have an anti-aging face coach for life. I’m truly grateful for Carolyn’s efforts and hard work as she helps all of us look a better as we get older.

Check out her pictures here. She’s in her mid-70s now and looks younger than she did in her 50s.

Facial Muscle Toning Fact

Just one important message about facial muscle workouts. You should never spot train or mix and match workouts from different programs. I can’t tell you how many people (including myself) have done that only to cause more problems.

The muscles of the face are all interconnected. So when you are toning the muscles around the eye area, you are also toning the upper cheek muscles too.

Exercising just one area of the face while ignoring all the other parts can lead to an odd or overbuild face causing a strange look.

It’s important to follow a program that works all the muscles evenly for a smooth, balanced look.

Yes, I know, I post a few free facial muscle toning exercises on this website, but it’s just to give you an example of how gentle and easy they are to do. I am by no means advocating that you only spot treat the area that bother you. I know it's tempting!

Do the whole facial muscle toning program, you’ll be glad you did.

P.S. Here is a sample of the facial cheek exercises that I do as part of the whole face exercise workout.

Facial Muscle Toning - FAQs

Q: Do facial exercises actually tone your face and make you look younger?
A: Yes! Facial aging is causes by (amoung many things) loss of muscle mass. facial fat, collagen, and facial bone changes. So weakening of the muscles around the eyes can make eyes look droopy and hollow. Loss of bone mass in the jaw reduces the size of the lower face, causing skin to droop and loss of facial fat pads in the mid-face causes excess skin to hang which creates the look of of jowls.

Q: Do facial exercises cause wrinkles?

A: You would think all those facial expressions and repetitive muscle motions made during a workout that you'd see the appearance of wrinkles or more signs of aging. But, the opposite is true. It's lack of muscle tone and facial bone loss that contributes to saggy skin and the look of facial aging. The important thing to remember is you're always building muscles under taut skin so as not to cause wrinkles due to reptitive movement.

Q: How long does it take to tone my face muscles?

A: Most people start noticing results after about 6-8 weeks, but it can take up to a year to see signitifcant improvmeents. And the results keep getting better over time. But, you have to do them every week on a consistent basis.

Q: How do I tone my jawline? That's the only thing that bothers me.

A: I can gurantee you will have more issues that will bother you as you get older. It's inevitable. For that reason, you don't want to spot train just the jawline and jowls. You should do a full workout and then do "bonus" exercises for areas of concern. Here is a free exercise you can add called the Jaw Bone Restorer.

Q: How is this facial exercise regimen different from facial yoga like Happy Face Yoga?

A: I haven't evaluated Happy Face Yoga, but what is important for any workout is to make sure that facial muscle tone exercises are done over taut skin. Using your hands and index finger to anchor the muscle in place, you do muscle resistant training to build size and strength.

Q: How do I tone my facial muscles?

A: By doing the CFF 15 minute workout 2-3 times a week.

References:

1. Aging changes in the face: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia

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