Facial Exercises to Help Keep You Looking Young – Natural Exercises for Tone and Vitality
Maintaining a beauty regimen doesn’t have to be difficult. Your facial muscles are attached directly to the skin of your face, unlike the muscles in the rest of your body, which are attached by fibrous connecting tissue. Over time your facial muscles lose tone and elasticity and, thanks to gravity, aging and effects from the sun, your skin begins to sag and wrinkle. Some people look to surgical procedures to restore youthful skin and maintain their beauty, but you don’t have to go under the knife. Using some simple facial exercises, you can restore and maintain a youthful look. As with other exercises, it will take time to see results, but after several months you’ll be pleased by what you see in the mirror!
Before performing any of these exercises as part of your beauty regimen, you should moisturize and lubricate your face with your favorite moisturizer or water.
Exercise Your Eyes
The skin around the eyes is the thinnest skin on the body. It is some of the first to show the signs of aging with crow’s feet and sagging under-eyes. For the same reason, it is also one of the more responsive areas of the face. You may see results around your eyes sooner than you notice them in other areas, however, don’t expect to erase your fine lines and wrinkles one-hundred percent.
The basic exercise for your eyes is easy. Wink one eye, hold it closed for a second or two, then repeat the movement. Close your eye firmly, but you don’t have to squint and wrinkle your skin. Start with 50 repetitions. When you’re finished with the first eye, move on to the next.
A slightly more advanced version includes pressing very gently on the bone just beneath your eye and performing the exercise. This provides a little resistance to strengthen your muscles further.
Shape Your Cheeks
This simple isometric exercise can reduce puffiness in the cheeks, giving an overall firmer look and refining your cheekbones. Just fill one of your cheeks with air, puffing it up like a blowfish. Your mouth will be puckered. Open the side of your mouth near the full cheek, and slowly press the air out with your cheek muscle. You can use a decent amount of pressure in this one, because you’re only pressing against air. Repeat this ten times on each side.
Tone up Your Mouth
Open your mouth and place your two index fingers inside at the corners of your lips. Make sure your hands are clean! Pull gently at the corners of your mouth, pressing against your fingers with your mouth muscles. Hold the contraction for a few seconds, then contract the muscles of your mouth more tightly, pushing your index fingers closer together. Try for 25 to 50 repetitions to start, but don’t over-do it! Because the muscles of the mouth are generally strong, this is one of the more firm facial exercises. Keep in mind that this won’t reshape your lips, but will firm up the muscles around them.
Tighten Your Neck
The supple skin of the neck is another area that begins to show aging early on. Rings and wrinkles form, and the skin begins to sag. Maybe you’ve even got the dreaded “turkey flap.” This exercise will help strengthen your neck muscles. If you perform it every day, you should see significant improvement over the course of several months.
Open your palm, with your fingers together and your thumb extended. Place your open hand at the base of your neck over your collarbone. Press down to hold the skin and muscles in place while you raise your chin and lower jaw toward the ceiling. Now tighten your lower lip and reach with it toward the ceiling, stretching through your neck, chin and lip. Repeat five times, then switch hands.
There are many more facial exercises out there to target other trouble spots, but these four will help out some of the most noticeable areas, as part of your beauty regimen. Treat your skin well, exfoliating and moisturizing daily. When you wrap on a sarong for a fun day in the sun, you'll look stunning and fit! Just make sure that you go with adequate SPF and a good beach hat to keep your skin safe and youthful!
Looking to update your wardrobe? Check out the vast selection and unique designs at fairwindssarongs.com.
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Before performing any of these exercises as part of your beauty regimen, you should moisturize and lubricate your face with your favorite moisturizer or water.
Exercise Your Eyes
The skin around the eyes is the thinnest skin on the body. It is some of the first to show the signs of aging with crow’s feet and sagging under-eyes. For the same reason, it is also one of the more responsive areas of the face. You may see results around your eyes sooner than you notice them in other areas, however, don’t expect to erase your fine lines and wrinkles one-hundred percent.
The basic exercise for your eyes is easy. Wink one eye, hold it closed for a second or two, then repeat the movement. Close your eye firmly, but you don’t have to squint and wrinkle your skin. Start with 50 repetitions. When you’re finished with the first eye, move on to the next.
A slightly more advanced version includes pressing very gently on the bone just beneath your eye and performing the exercise. This provides a little resistance to strengthen your muscles further.
Shape Your Cheeks
This simple isometric exercise can reduce puffiness in the cheeks, giving an overall firmer look and refining your cheekbones. Just fill one of your cheeks with air, puffing it up like a blowfish. Your mouth will be puckered. Open the side of your mouth near the full cheek, and slowly press the air out with your cheek muscle. You can use a decent amount of pressure in this one, because you’re only pressing against air. Repeat this ten times on each side.
Tone up Your Mouth
Open your mouth and place your two index fingers inside at the corners of your lips. Make sure your hands are clean! Pull gently at the corners of your mouth, pressing against your fingers with your mouth muscles. Hold the contraction for a few seconds, then contract the muscles of your mouth more tightly, pushing your index fingers closer together. Try for 25 to 50 repetitions to start, but don’t over-do it! Because the muscles of the mouth are generally strong, this is one of the more firm facial exercises. Keep in mind that this won’t reshape your lips, but will firm up the muscles around them.
Tighten Your Neck
The supple skin of the neck is another area that begins to show aging early on. Rings and wrinkles form, and the skin begins to sag. Maybe you’ve even got the dreaded “turkey flap.” This exercise will help strengthen your neck muscles. If you perform it every day, you should see significant improvement over the course of several months.
Open your palm, with your fingers together and your thumb extended. Place your open hand at the base of your neck over your collarbone. Press down to hold the skin and muscles in place while you raise your chin and lower jaw toward the ceiling. Now tighten your lower lip and reach with it toward the ceiling, stretching through your neck, chin and lip. Repeat five times, then switch hands.
There are many more facial exercises out there to target other trouble spots, but these four will help out some of the most noticeable areas, as part of your beauty regimen. Treat your skin well, exfoliating and moisturizing daily. When you wrap on a sarong for a fun day in the sun, you'll look stunning and fit! Just make sure that you go with adequate SPF and a good beach hat to keep your skin safe and youthful!
Looking to update your wardrobe? Check out the vast selection and unique designs at fairwindssarongs.com.
*****
FairWinds Sarongs is a tradename of MarketRiver, LLC, a Virginia limited liability company. Copyright 2013 MarketRiver, LLC. All rights reserved. |
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