By Hermoine Macura-Noble
As the world ventures into another year of the pandemic, many women are choosing to turn away from professional beauty treatments and opt for skin-saving alternatives that are less evasive and can even be done at home.
And while anti-ageing procedures, like fillers and lasers, are the staples of reducing visible signs of ageing, working out your face muscles using simple lymphatic drainage techniques has also proven to yield the same results without the steep costs.
Also known as Face Yoga – the non-toxic, non-invasive massage technique is safe for anyone, takes years off your face and is inexpensive, say the experts. “Women love the results…. It’s a great way to lift your skin. The result is a more sculpted jawline and a depuffed face that can help with improved firmness, lack of sallowness, and plumpness over time,” explains Zainab Gibrine, Managing Director at Facette Facial Bar.
The other results many people start to see is a brighter complexion due to more blood circulating to the face, and as you begin to strengthen the other major muscles of the face, such as the obicularis oculi (the big muscle around the eye) and the zygomaticus major (the muscle you use to smile) the skin starts to firm up.
A study featured by Northwestern University featured 27 females between 40 and 65 who did 30 minutes of face yoga every day for two months. Dermatologists found the participants looked three years younger, as well as an increase in cheek fullness. Many women also commented on fewer fine lines, wrinkles and crow’s feet, and less puffiness under the eyes over several weeks. “The gentle massage technique targets the lymph nodes and works on your muscles to drains away toxins, encouraging your lymphatic system to deliver fresh nutrients to your cells,” adds Gibrine.
Like all circulation in the body, the lymphatic vessels drain towards gravity, which leads to swelling in the face. Massage upward will help to improve the skin’s radiance over time and, with consistency, create a more toned look to the face. Face Yoga practitioners also report it may help make your face more symmetrical, reduce dark circles’ appearance, generate positive emotions, and make your face less rounded.
Experts say that Face Yoga is not ideal for women in their twenties and thirties as the exercises are designed to increase the size of the facial muscles, which creates a more bulky effect in a younger face that doesn’t require the added volume. However, for the rest of us looking to age gracefully and exude a sense of Zen – Face Yoga may just be the natural and affordable option that can help us look and feel better.
By Hermoine Macura-Noble
The first Australian English speaking News Anchor in the Middle East. She is also the Author of Faces of the Middle East and Founder of US-based 501c3 charity – The House of Rest which helps to ease the suffering of victims of war. For more from our Contributing Editor, you can follow her on Instagram, here.
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