Face Yoga Before and After: A Comprehensive Guide

You may have seen people on Instagram or TikTok talking about how pinching and pulling at your facial muscles is a surefire way to mold them the way you watch. It’s called face yoga, the subtle art of attaining more desirable looks by enhancing your facial appearance. From Meghan Markle to Gwyneth Paltrow - it’s a trend among celebrities; even the Kardashian sisters worked with a face yoga expert who charges $350 for an hour-long private session.

Many people switched to face yoga after the Tiktok reels about “Cortisol Face” alarmed them. Instead of spending thousands of dollars altering their faces via cosmetic procedures, people find face yoga a rather calmer and more natural method to enhance their skin tone, define facial contours, and look fresh!

The amazing effects of this self-care routine aren’t just anecdotal; they have a strong research-based backing. Many scientific publications have attested to the benefits of face yoga, i.e., the way it gives your face a more youthful glow.

However, you should keep in mind that face yoga isn’t a get-sexy-quick scheme. It’s a regimen that takes time and patience; it requires consistency. Treat your face like a clay that has to be rubbed, grubbed, massaged, caressed, and molded into shape gently.

As we explore Face Yoga Before and After examples, you’ll see how sheer commitment can lead to a revitalized, radiant complexion over time.

What is Face Yoga?

Let’s cut to the chase and explain what face yoga is real quick. In simple words, it’s a skincare routine where you massage your face for facial muscle relaxation so more blood flows through it, releasing tension and giving your face a look “glowing” look. Get more RBCs pumping to your facial muscles! First, let’s look at the historical evolution of the modern practice of face yoga.

Face Yoga: A Brief History

Face yoga - like all yoga asanas - isn’t something TikTokers discovered just now. The Chinese came up with gua sha thousands of years ago in which they rubbed a smooth stone against their faces to tone down their wrinkles & chicken feet. Even Hatha Yoga involves different poses that engage the facial muscles.

Centuries later, we got Anne Ninon de L’Enclos who made facial muscle relaxation exercises part of her skincare routine in the 17th century via muscular contraction and relaxation. Elinor Gyn’s 1927 publication The Wrinkle Book advocated for facial exercises at a time when modern cosmetic procedures (like Botox) weren’t mainstream. Jack Lalanne was a fitness pioneer who introduced different facial exercises on his television show.

However, the contemporary face yoga movement may trace its origins to Fumiko Takatsu, the creator behind the famous Face Yoga Method, who came up with this practice after a harrowing car accident left her with an asymmetrical face.

Benefits of Face Yoga

Now, we’ve established face yoga involves a series of subtle exercises to tone, stretch, and strengthen your facial muscles. It targets 57 muscles in your face to promote lifting and toning. The benefits of face yoga include:

• Strengthening facial muscles and giving them a firmer appearance
• Combatting sagging skin and enhancing facial contours
• Giving you a more radiant and healthier complexion
• Managing pain relief and improving jaw
  function

Just as traditional yoga practices work to tone your body, face yoga applies similar principles to the muscles in your face. Alleviating tension in your facial muscles, this exercise routine will give you a more relaxed expression. Also, it’ll fight stress-related signs of aging, such as wrinkles & fine lines. In the next section, we’ll explain how face yoga is done.

How Does Face Yoga Work?

So, are you ready to exercise your facial muscles to change the way your face looks? Face yoga goes beyond simply massaging and caressing your face; it’s a holistic approach toward enhancing the vitality of your facial muscles. Here’s how it works:

Relaxing Tense Muscles

Even your facial muscles can have built-up tension. So, face yoga will:

• Relax the muscles in your jaw, cheeks, forehead, and the area around the mouth
• Help you overcome the stress caused by go-to and habitual facial expressions
• Enhancing the tone and symmetry of the muscles in your cheeks/jawline

That’s why healthcare practitioners recommend facial massage for some patients, especially the ones who just got out of surgery or had a big operation recently.

Better Lympathtic Drainage

Worried about scar tissues and enhancing your body’s lymphatic flow? Then, face yoga can be your solution! The lymphatic system is made up of many different organs, vessels, tissues, and much more that keep your bodily fluids balanced. Stagnation of these fluids in different parts of your face, such as under your eyes, those parts look puffy. You can push these fluids away from your face and ideally toward the lymph nodes around your ears can give your face a fresh look. So, this is how face yoga helps you in this regard:

• It boosts the circulation of blood to your face
• It reduces puffiness and helps you get rid of wrinkles
• It facilitates lymphatic drainage (removing toxins from your body)

Thanks to this detoxification, you look many years younger without swollen skin. Face yoga is a great remedy for making your skin shinier and more flexible. That’s exactly what researchers found out in 201h. As per a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, exercising and massaging your facial muscles for half an hour daily over a 20-week period may enhance your looks and give your face a fresher appearance.

Face Yoga Before and After: 6 Case Studies

Angelina’s Transformation

Target Area: Between brows, under the eyes

Routine: Acupuncture massage, brow pinch smoother, lymph drainage Duration: 4 weeks Result: Reduced puffiness and under-eye bags, fresher appearance.

“In 3 weeks, my friends noticed the results. If I can do it, you can do it, too.”

Jennifer’s Transformation

Target Area: Jaw, face shape, cheeks

Routine: Worry line eraser, eye comers acupressure, jaw unlocker Duration: 6 weeks Result: Sharper jawline, improved skin condition, better-shaped cheeks.

“I do it first thing in the morning, and look amazing all day long!”

Maggie’s Transformation

Target Area: Forehead, crow’s feet, lines around the mouth

Routine: Mid-brow rubber, eye circle taps, lip stretcher Duration: 12 weeks Result: Reduced wrinkles and crow’s feet, smoother skin.

“It’s my new best habit, and it’s so easy to do.”

Abigail’s Transformation

Target Area: Nasolabial lines, around the eyes

Routine: Buccal massage, cheek lifter, neck smoother Duration: 6 weeks Result: Fuller-looking face, more even features, reduced mimic lines.

“It’s easy and fun - I’ll stick to it for now.”

Rehana’s Transformation

Target Area: Forehead wrinkles, droopy face, dull skin

Routine: Eyebrow lifter, gua sha massage Duration: 4 weeks Result: Brighter skin, reduced nasolabial folds, more youthful appearance.

“My sister and I both love it!”

Amanda’s Transformation

Target Area: Jawline, forehead, nasolabial lines

Routine: Big O, raspberries, acupuncture self-massage Duration: 4 weeks Result: Reduced forehead lines, toned cheek muscles, fresher skin.

“It’s my 100% me time; this relaxed feeling afterward is so rewarding.”

For more use cases, you can click here.

Impact of Age and Lifestyle on Face Yoga Results

If you want to enhance your looks naturally without resorting to cosmetic surgery, then face yoga is the perfect exercise-based skincare routine for you. However, many factors like your age and lifestyle can impact the health outcomes of this yoga asana.

Your Age and Face Yoga

People of different age groups can benefit from face yoga.

• Younger Yogis: For a young person, face yoga can prevent premature aging. They can maintain muscle tone before aging formally begins. Their complexion remains healthy and they can be more in tune with their facial muscular health. Making face yoga part of your early morning skincare routine, therefore, is a great way to embrace healthy habits that’ll delay the onset of the telltale signs of aging.
• Older Yogis: Even middle-aged individuals can reverse the signs of aging by adopting a dedicated approach toward face yoga (as enshrined in the Face Yoga Before and After use cases). They can get rid of sagging skin, fine lines, crow’s feet, wrinkles, etc. After all, this yoga asana is all about negating the harmful effects of gravity and collagen loss. So, you can regain your youthful looks by embracing face yoga wholeheartedly.

However, you should keep in mind that face yoga isn’t enough! Your lifestyle matters as well. If you want to truly benefit from face yoga, it’s essential to make some necessary life changes. For instance, you gotta eat nutrition-rich meals, get enough sleep, practice stress management exercises like mindfulness, and engage in other skincare routines, too. In the next section, we’ll discuss some tips to help you maximize the benefits of face yoga.

Fun Ideas for Minimalists and Fitness Enthusiasts

Since face yoga is trending right now, with famous TikTokers and Hollywood celebrities going gaga over it, you should watch out for myths about how to do this asana properly. So, this part will respond to some popular myths while suggesting a few great ideas for fitness enthusiasts and minimalist beauticians to make do with face yoga as cost-effectively as possible.

• Minimalism: Keep in mind that face yoga doesn’t require a specialty equipment set. You can do it anytime, anywhere, whenever you wish. So, it’s easy to incorporate face yoga into your early morning routine.
• Cost: Face yoga is free and accessible. It doesn’t require as much money as cosmetic surgery does! This low-maintenance practice helps you regain your youthful facade without breaking the bank.
• Fitness Integration: Lastly, face yoga complements physical exercise by promoting your overall well-being. Just like body yoga gives your muscles a much-needed energy boost, face yoga makes your face appear many years younger!

So, if you want to become a face yogi, dedicate around 30 minutes of your day to facial muscle stretching and keep doing it for several weeks. Face yoga’s anti-aging results will be visible to you very easily!

5 Tips for Best Results

Now, let’s discuss some tips to maximize the health & wellness benefits of face yoga. First, it must be clear that if you’re dealing with hormonal breakouts, rosacea, cystic acne, or other problems like these, face yoga may not be the thing for you. After getting this essential health advice out of the way, let’s dig into the five most important tips to do face yoga right:

1. Consistency

You should practice yoga every day over several weeks, as the users mentioned in the Face Yoga Before and After section did. Consistency is key in making face yoga effective. You may even dedicate just 5 minutes of your time to relaxing and stretching your facial muscles and it’ll work. Ideally, you should practice this asana every morning and evening; when waking up early in the morning and before going back to bed.

2. Nutrition + Hydration

Drinking plenty of water is good for your health, that’s a no-brainer, right? It’s good for your facial muscles, too. Hydration is key to good skin health. Also, you should consume meals rich in stuff like vitamins, antioxidants, healthy fats, etc. to nourish your skin. That’s how you can efficiently complement the health benefits of doing face yoga.

3. Focus on Selfcare

Make face yoga part of your daily self-care routine and integrate these facial muscular relaxation techniques into your daily regimen. This way, you can enjoy a natural facelift without resorting to invasive cosmetic hacks. Pair your face yoga regimen with your daily skincare routine, using different serums or applying oils on your face to make face yoga much more effective.

4. Mindfulness

Make face yoga an excuse to unwind, relax, and unburden yourself. Focus on attaining mindful awakening when you’re doing face yoga; your brain becomes an empty shell, devoid of negative thoughts. Blend some breathing exercises with your face yoga routine as well. That’s how you can bolster the calming effects of this facial, boosting your mental well-being. After all, reducing your tension is a surefire way to overcome wrinkles and other signs of aging.

5. Always Start Small

Are you new to face yoga? Do you wish to become an experienced face yogi one day? Then, it is important to always start small and simple. Begin with basic exercises that target the major areas of concern of your face. Gradually, you can incorporate more complex routines and target challenging facial muscles.

Conclusion

We live in a society where beauty trends often lead to invasive cosmetic solutions that end up costing you a fortune. However, beauty enthusiasts can easily attain the same results with a bunch of non-invasive, cost-effective techniques like face yoga. It’s simple, relaxing, doesn’t require extra equipment, and combats the telltale signs of aging. These exercises enhance your muscle tone and skin health while promoting mindfulness and selfcare. That’s why face yoga is a rewarding addition to your daily skincare routine.

We encourage you to try face yoga for yourself and experience its transformative effects. Don’t forget that this journey takes time and demands patience from users. As you must have seen in the Face Yoga Before and After section, you have to dedicate at least a few minutes daily to these exercises. That’s how you can gain a more radiant complexion, including facial symmetry and reducing tension in your muscles. Face yoga is the way to go for a revitalized glow!

Embrace this natural approach to beauty with FaceYogi, and let face yoga be your ally in achieving a youthful and vibrant appearance. Your skin—and your mind—will thank you!

References

• Alam, M., Walter, A. J., Geisler, A., Roongpisuthipong, W., Sikorski, G., Tung, R., & Poon, E. (2018). Association of facial exercise with the appearance of aging. JAMA Dermatology, 154(3), 365. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamadermatol.2017.5142
• Herz, J. (2023, September 20). Face yoga has celebs like Meghan Markle and Gwyneth Paltrow raving — and it doesn’t cost anything. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2023/09/19/how-to-do-face-yoga-like-meghan-markle-and-gwyneth-paltrow/
• Jackson, D. (2024, October 30). Is “Cortisol Face” real? Doctors sound off on the TikTok trend. Women’s Health. https://www.womenshealthmag.com/beauty/a62684392/what-is-cortisol-face/
• Ozmen, E. E., & Unuvar, B. S. (2024). The effects of dry needling and face yoga on pain, depression, function, and sleep quality in patients with temporomandibular dysfunction. EXPLORE, 20(5), 102980. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2024.01.006
• Sweeney, E. (2024, October 3). Does face yoga really work? TIME. https://time.com/7027200/does-face-yoga-work/