Can facial exercises help you look younger?
Introduction
Although the human face is a thing of beauty, maintaining smooth, supple skin often becomes a source of stress as we age. If you've ever looked for a natural solution to sagging skin, you'll be familiar with facial exercises. Fitness celebrities have long endorsed facial exercises designed to slim the face and reverse the aging process.
From Jack LaLane in the 1960s to 2014 soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo. But do these exercises work? Countless books, websites, and product reviews promise miraculous results, but there's no evidence that facial exercises work to slim cheeks or reduce wrinkles. There is little clinical research on the efficacy of facial exercises. Experts like Dr. Jeffrey Spiegel, MD, chief of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at Boston University School of Medicine, believe that these exercises, which destroy facial muscles, are a total rip-off. Experts like Dr. Jeffrey Spiegel, chief of surgery, believe that these exercises, which destroy the muscles of the face, are a total failure.
However, a small study by Dr. Murad Alam, professor of dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine dermatologist, shows some promise for the potential for improvement with facial exercises. Assuming a larger study supports the same findings, it may not be time to give up on facial exercises just yet. In general, muscle burns calories, which can mean a deficit. However, we don't decide where those calories come from in the body.
So, while facial exercises can strengthen your muscles, if what you're after are slim cheeks, smiling alone won't get you there. Spiegel notes that "spot reduction," or working to lose weight on a specific body part, doesn't work. Other experts agree. The only healthy non-surgical way to reduce facial fat is overall weight loss through diet and exercise. Working your facial muscles can have the unwanted effect of making you look older. Facets form a complex web and can be attached to bones, skin, and more. Bad, like making you look old. Facets form a complex web and can be attached to bones, skin, and more. Bad, as the skin is flexible and offers little resistance to the opposite.
As a result, the facial muscles pull the skin and stretch it, not tighten it. "The truth is that many of our facial wrinkles come from muscle overactivity, says Spiegel. Laughter lines, crow's feet, and forehead wrinkles all come from using facial muscles. Spiegel notes that the idea that toning facial muscles prevents wrinkles is backward. "It's like saying, 'If you're thirsty, stop drinking water,' he says." The opposite works. "Botox, for example, prevents wrinkles by freezing muscles, which eventually atrophy.
Try an acupressure massage to relax facial muscles and relieve tension. If erasing wrinkles is after you, Spiegel recommends seeing a facial plastic surgeon. "If it's important to you, don't spend your day reading blogs," he says. "Go to an expert and let them give you their opinion. Ask about the science and find out what works. It doesn't hurt to talk.
0 Comments