As we age, wrinkles increase on our face and the skin becomes looser over time. Facial yoga promises amazing results and slowing down the aging process, but is it really that effective?
Facial yoga has been on a tear lately. This topic is very popular on TikTok, and the hashtag #faceyoga has already garnered over 2 billion views. What is the miracle technique? „Facial yoga is an exercise done to tone and stretch the facial muscles,“ Dr. Amy B. Lewis, dermatologist and facial yoga expert, explained to Vogue magazine.
Facial yoga promises results similar to a face lift. Precise movements help to turn off, smooth and brighten the skin on the face. They also work as a prevention against the formation or deepening of wrinkles. Experts who promote this technique generally recommend that as little as 10 minutes a day is enough.
In 2018, a team from Northwestern University conducted research to examine the real-world results of facial yoga. The study involved 27 participants between the ages of 40 and 65 who were to exercise 30 minutes a day for eight weeks. After this period, the participants were to continue every other day for the next twelve weeks. At the end of the study, its authors reported that the participants looked almost three years younger after 20 weeks of exercise. According to them, facial exercises had a great effect especially on the middle and lower part of the face.
On the other hand, we cannot consider these results as some kind of general rule. Only a small group of people were included in the testing, and it consisted only of middle-aged women. However, we can expect that the interest in face yoga will also encourage other research institutes to conduct new studies.