Do Facial Exercises Actually Work?
As we all know, exercising regularly is vital to staying healthy and maintaining a stable weight. But recently, facial exercises—making repetitive expressions to build facial muscles—are also being promoted in certain outlets as a way of reversing signs of aging and making the face look slimmer. It’s believed that by toning up the muscles, you could prevent the skin and fat pads from being displaced due to aging. Many people wonder whether these exercises will actually do anything to enhance their appearance. In short, the answer is not really: Face workouts won’t actually help you to significantly avoid wrinkles or somehow tighten loose skin. In other words, exercising your face won’t give you a facelift. In fact, it often has the opposite effect. Habitual muscle contractions will actually accelerate the formation of wrinkles, causing you to look older. Some believe that you can use facial exercises right after having BOTOX® injections. Our Philadelphia-area team is familiar with the idea some people try: Repeatedly contracting and relaxing facial muscles after getting BOTOX® just before an important social or work event as a way of “making it work faster.”
However, while this may work for some people—and at first the muscles will temporarily grow bigger, making the skin look smoother, repetitive facial expressions are actually the primary cause of dynamic wrinkles. This means that if you continue scowling and using your forehead muscles, it could make your existing wrinkles look worse or cause additional lines to develop, which is the last thing you want. Here’s what you can do instead to ward off wrinkles:
Improve Your ‘Facial Posture’
The reason why many people get wrinkles as they get older is because they have poor “facial posture.” We often frown, squint, clench our teeth, and purse our lips—even when we’re making what we would think of as a normal, resting facial expression. Try to practice a more relaxed facial expression every day and train yourself to avoid exaggerated motions.
Protect Your Skin
Your skin is constantly exposed to the sun, even on cloudy or snowy days, and also when you’re in your car or indoors near a window. Wear sunscreen and hats or sunglasses to prevent wrinkles from sun damage.
In the event that dynamic lines do form on your face—which is pretty much a given, sooner or later—wrinkle relaxers can make you look more relaxed and youthful. Get more advice on the benefits of BOTOX® injections from the Cross Medical Group team. If you’d like to learn more, call us today at (215) 561-9100 or submit a contact form to request a consultation.
