Raechele Cochran Gathers, MD Healthy living and regular exercise are crucial to a long lasting vibrant and youthful appearance. But, what about exercising your face? Could it actually make you look younger?
Some research indicates that it may be possible to attain more youthful looking skin by simply exercising your face muscles! No Botox, no fillers, no needles, potions or pain. In a letter published in JAMA Dermatology, investigators from Northwestern University reported that after a 20 week regimen of at home facial exercises, study subjects looked younger! Specifically, the women in the study noted improvement in 18 of their 20 facial features.
Facial Exercises
In the facial exercise study, Dr. Alam Murad and colleagues recruited 27 women between ages 40 to 65. Sixteen women completed the entire 20 week study. The women were trained in how to do 32 different facial exercises by a ‘certified facial instructor.’ The study participants had to do 30 minutes of facial exercises daily for 8 week, and then do the exercises for 30 minutes every other day for the remainder of the 20 weeks. At the completion of the 20 week study, the results showed that the facial exercises were associated with greater cheek fullness (plumpness). The women in the after exercise photos also appeared to be younger to the physicians that assessed the photos!
Importantly, the women in the study were also highly satisfied with the outcome of the facial exercises and noted improvement in 18 of 20 facial features.
Facial Exercises Before and After
Conclusions
While the results seem impressive, keep in mind that this was a very small study. It had several limitations. First, only 16 women completed the study. That number needs to be a lot bigger to draw reliable conclusions. Also, there was no control group. That means only women who did the exercises were evaluated. There were no women that didn’t do the exercises to compare them to. Finally, these were not randomly selected women, so this group may have been particularly motivated.
The authors of the study suggested that the exercises caused some of the facial muscles to enlarge, thus giving the participants a more full/youthful appearance. While larger, randomized controlled studies certainly need to be done, this is certainly very exciting information, and some people might give it a try before opting for the needle, laser or scalpel!
