Do you do Facial Exercises?
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free skin care · Thu Nov 09, 2006 3:19 pm

I was using Facial Magic for years. But, now since I'm older (56), I wanted something where I didn't touch my face and accidently pull the skin.

Here's a link to some that I absolutely love. Seriously, the one where you tilt your head back and "kiss" the ceiling is wonderful for the jawline and neck. For the cheekbones, there's always the lion's pose.

Edited: ooops! I forgot to add the link:www.dermaxime.com/facial-exercises.htm

free skin care · Sun Feb 25, 2007 7:30 pm

lunarmm, I got a book called program for better vision, alot of it is kind of silly and i doubt the real effectiveness as my vision has not improved much, if at all, but the benefit I did see was my actual eye area, I can describe some of them to you, the book is expensive, send me a message if you are interested and I would be happy to.

free skin care · Wed Feb 28, 2007 12:52 pm

truce, people.

i'm waving the white flag, before this thread goes completely off topic and turns everybody off.

fmvalentina had her say about the negative effects of a product.

sharky had her say of that opinion.

fmvalentina defended herself.

let it rest. let it be.

can we please get back to the topic at hand?

otherwise, i'll just stop watching this and may miss some great tips, sites, and opinions. and that *would* be a pity.

free skin care · Sun Jul 29, 2007 8:43 am

charis, FlexEffect has five or six neck exercises. One neck exercise on DVD and 5-6 in a book. Some neck exercises in a book are quite advanced with weights Exclamation

. And on Flexeffect board people report good results.

I did not get to the full set of FlexEffect exercises... and have not gotten to all neck exercises yet.... There are 45 exercises total.. I started with 14 exercises offered on DVD, and gradually expend adding other ones. I focus on areas of my primary concern (eyes & cheeks) first... and with doing only one neck exercise so far I am not well positioned to answer the question Sad

Again people on FlexEffect board did report positive results. well...

There is one neck exercise, "kiss the ceiling" that I was doing prior to starting FlexEffect, and I like this exercise. Is is a free exercise posted on ageless web site: "Sit upright, tilt your head back looking at the ceiling, while keeping your lips closed and relaxed. Start puckering your lips together in a kiss and stretch the kiss, as if you were trying to kiss the ceiling. Keep your lips puckered for 10 counts, then relax, bring your head back to its normal position and repeat 5 times."

free skin care · Wed Aug 15, 2007 8:45 pm

Great exercise for upperlids is this

With your index fingers push eyebrows upwards. Keep fingers in position and very slowly close eyes, squeezing tight when eyes are fully closed. You'll feel your eyelids shaking.

Ive been doing it the last week and see a difference in my lids already Shock

Eyelids are firmer,more lifted. Its such a tiny muscle too,you dont even need to do many. I do 5 a night.

I got this out of carole maggio?? book i borrowed from the library once.

Ive also been doing those ones for jaw,chin area someone posted earlier and i swear i see a difference.

free skin care · Wed Sep 19, 2007 3:55 am

Catski, there is an exercise to lift the forehead in Carole Maggio's Facercise. I'll quote the method, hope you can follow it without the illustrations. METHOD Do this in a sitting position, or lying down. Place the index fingers of both hands high on the forehead so that they're parallel to the top of each brow. Now pull the fingers down so that they're approx. half inch above the brows. While fingers are pressing down, concentrate on pushing the eyebrows up. Push eyebrows up and release 10 times. Now hold eyebrows in the up position continuing to keep fingers pressed down- and do so until you feel a tight band of pressure above the brows. Hold them up and count to 20. Release. Do this twice a day. It helps to clear the head and make you more alert. To correct a heavy or scowling brow, do it 3 times a day.

free skin care · Sun Sep 30, 2007 1:00 am

I just wanted to post this link I found. It has some of the Flexeffect exercises on the site

http://searchwarp.com/swa64477.htm

I found it when doing a search for some lower cheek exercises Smile

free skin care · Mon Oct 22, 2007 10:37 pm

had a look at the new flex away site and the guy on the homepage - wow his results are incredible!

well, a short review of my results, i have been using the flex away for about a month, and am really liking it so far! i have used it consistently twice a day (only missed two sessions so far because I was away) for about 60 reps per session. i found the band a bit loose after a while and e-mailed beverly and she said to just tie knots in it. it would be good if they can have bands with graduating tightness levels like facial flex but i guess it's more economical this way!

i hate having my photos taken so i didn't take any before photos, sadly, so i can't do a really scientific comparison (haha) but from what i observe in the mirror this is what i've found.

my sagging double chin has definitely firmed up, there is still a small pouch under there, but it's much smaller and firmer. i feel like my eyebrows have lifted a bit and my sagging chubby cheeks have slightly firmed up. I normally hate tying my hair up in a bun because i feel my face doesn't have definition (hope i'm making sense) in terms of sharp cheekbones etc but i did it today and i actually look well, not so bad!! Very Happy

i'm looking forward to the 3 month mark now!

to those starting out, it will get easier after a while. in the beginning i was doing the reps too slowly and taking my time, i hardly felt a thing but i think, from experience, you need to do the reps quite rapidly , then you will feel some fatigue at about 50-60 reps.

hth!!

free skin care · Fri Jan 18, 2008 8:13 pm

facial exercise will exercise facial muscle. Unlike the skeletal muscles of the body, the facial muscles are directly attached to the skin that covers them. (They are also attached to other facial muscles and to bone.) When these facial muscles start to lose their tone and elasticity because of age and gravity, the skin that is attached to them starts to sag.

If you need a tight skin , you better do facial exercise.

free skin care · Tue Nov 11, 2008 12:55 pm

Fox wrote:

sister sweets wrote:

bethany wrote:

I currently own the Facial Flex (works the lower face) which I love, and FlexEffect (probably the most comprehensive, but too time-consuming for me since I took the Job From Hell). I just ordered the Flex Effect and LouLou's book called "Ageless if You dare" which requires FAR less time than FlexEffect.

I'll weigh in on all of them after they are all in my possession. Very Happy

OOOOHHH! Can't wait to hear about Lou Lou's book.
Thanks.

Yeah, me too! Laughing

Louise, is that really you in the picture? You look thirty or forty years younger Shock

Hey, thanks, Fox Very Happy

Do you mean the pic on the FE site or the one on the cover of the book? Either way, yes it's me. I do look young in the FE picture, perhaps it's my expression, but it was just a snap taken with a digi camera, not professionally lit or anything. Not professional in any way, in fact, as you've probably noticed Laughing

The pic on the front of my book was taken outside by my friend's brother, Sean Martin. I thought it was a fair comparison with the 'before' pic as I'm in a similar position and not posing for it

In real life I don't look so young as on the FE pic, although it's true to life in that I really don't have wrinkles unless I smile and don't think anything is sagging either.

A lot of what makes me look so old on the before pic is the listless way I'm holding my face. My jaw's down and forward and my cheeks are slack... I just accepted my face had changed, but once I started training it I remembered how it felt when I was young like you Very Happy

. One thing you keep getting told when you're getting older is that you look tired, and that's because the face drops in the same way as when you feel you want to flop.

LL Cool

free skin care · Sat Nov 15, 2008 2:43 am

lisacollins00 wrote:

Hi Loulou:

I have a copy of the Flexeffect Program and I noticed that some of the exercises, such as for the cheeks, require that the muscle be grabbed from the inside of the mouth and the skin be pulled for resistance. I have always been scared of pulling the skin and over stretching it and causing damage.

I was wondering if your exercises work on the similar principle of pulling the muscle and skin for resistance or if they do not require tugging or pulling?

Thanks

Lisa

Hi Lisa, yes my exercises do involve pulling and tugging, although not with the fingers in the mouth. The pulling on the skin is actually really important for its health and flexibility... like the other organs of the body it needs to be challenged to stay healthy as you get older. The skin isn't dead, it's constantly turning over cells to rebuild itself. It needs a bit of a workout every bit as much as the muscles, lungs, heart or brain do, although the beauty industry makes us afraid to do it and encourages us to have much more drastic/expensive things done instead. Shock

All best, LL Smile

free skin care · Mon Nov 17, 2008 11:29 am

I started a thread Ageless if you Dare - Loulou's Facial Exercises, so that Loulou's book discussion can be on its own thread.
http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?tid=31539

free skin care · Sun Nov 30, 2008 9:01 pm

For me - the 11's were made by an unattractive expression I did regularly (and with zero benefit unlike Facial exercises).... all they did was cause a wrinkle. With botox I no longer make those frown lines ; therefore not creating those wrinkles. Botox has helped to prevent them from being permanent - just like your PS told us. Adn mine told me. Plus not using the muscle allows atrophy somewhat.

Facial Exercises are not the same as wrinkling up your face (as I did with my 11's). They are like exercising your body and massaging your body - helping skin turnover and helping muscles lie flat (like working your stomach - for lack of a better analogy). If Facial exercises caused worse wrinkling Deb from FE would not look the way she does at 60 without plastic surgery, fillers, botox or other intervention.
I think we have been told to not handle our face for so long that we have a fear. Deb herself has said FE is not a magic bullet but given a year of steadfast facial work results will happen.
I'm into five months of constant (almost daily) exercising and I can even feel a different in the way I hold my face - the way it feels is more uplifted. More contours are slowly improving. I was starting to have some small "divits' in lower face and they are no longer evident.
I massage - pull and pinch and can feel the skin toughening and firming as a result.

lucyluc wrote:

Well, my plastic surgeon said botox prevent future wrinkles, in that you dont make the expressions that cause the skin to fold and make a wrinkle. So where do exercises fit in?You are constantly making expressions which could make permanent folds in your skin.Like when you wear a new pair of shoes for a year and they then begin to get folds and wrinkles from constant use.....or could exercises actually build a strong foundation UNDER your skin which would give support or smooth out the wrinkles?? Rolling Eyes

who knows!

free skin care · Tue Dec 02, 2008 12:34 pm

Keliu wrote:

I don't want to sound negative and argumentative here - I'm doing facial exercises and just about everything else I can to stave off the dreaded sagging. However, I am fast approaching 59 and I just don't believe that I'm going to be able to get back the facial fullness and elasticity that my face had in its youth. Maybe if I had of started doing the exercises when I was in my 20s it wouldn't be such an uphill battle. But with all due respect, I really don't see how you can stop the aging process, especially after menopause has set in. Which, of course, brings in the problem of the lack of estrogen and the detrimental affect that has on the body.

As we age, our bodies lose definition and tone. My husband has been on a fitness campaign lately and has been working out at the gym. His fitness trainer has told him that he will never regain bulging muscles and the strength that he once had in his arms - he is simply too old. I just feel that this is also the case for my face. Please feel free to encourage me - I admit to being a bit cynical about facial exercise, but I am trying!

Also, re the Argireline, I've used creams containing this ingredient and have never noticed any atrophy of muscle movement. I don't believe that any topical can freeze muscle action and can't imagine that it would inhibit the benefit of facial exercise. But that's the cynic in me talking again.

Keliu, I feel your pain.. I'll be 59 on Jan 1st. You are right, we will never get back the firmness and elasticity we had in our youth, for that matter nobody will... The aging process moves on, until our toes turn up .. Crying or Very sad

I have two goals as follows;

1. To be the best damn 59 year old I can be.

2. Never go to a Plastic Surgeon, or get any fillers.. (I'm so not saying it's a bad thing, it's just not what I want.) I'm also not afraid to grow old gracefully, and don't have a burning desire to look 30 when I'm 60 .. Shock

You are sooo right about menopause. For me the worst effects (looks wise) started a few years into it.. (I'm just happy I never looked my age prior, because it sure has caught up in the last 4 or 5 years.) I don't take hormone replacement, so don't know if that helps.

As far as the facial exercises go, I think if women in our age group and situation, go into it with realistic goals, we can definitely make improvements, rather than just let nature take it's course..

My goals in respect to facial exercise are these;

1. Strengthen the muscles as much as possible, and use massage daily to increase circulation + and increase blood flow..(Massage and 3 hours of aerobic exercise per week will build the collateral circulation (new blood vessels!) to nourish our skin and muscles.)

2. I would like to see a firmer/stronger jawline, neck and cheeks. (But I never had great cheeks to begin with, so the chipmunk look is not what I'm going for.)

3. The main goal for me really is too keep what I have for as long as possible, and if a little 'build' comes as well, I'll consider myself a success!

free skin care · Sat Jan 10, 2009 10:20 am

Hi Toby,
I have been using the Tua Viso since around the beginning of December. I use it at least 5 times weekly, and do all the exercises. I have definitely noticed my cheeks have lifted and jaw line has improved a lot and my eybrows are nicely lifted too. The improvements are subtle but in the last couple of weeks, one friend asked me if I was having loads of early nights as I looked, in her words, fresher. Another friend asked me if I was in love, because I was looking really good, so that's good enough for me! I only received my Stop on Thursday, so have only used it twice. Not noticed anthing yet but I can't get the light on to orange even on the higher setting, but after reading other posts, maybe it doesn't matter. I have found with the Tua Viso that you need to get the precise position to get a lift. In the book it explains what movement you should see and if it's a fraction out of place, it won't work. It sometimes takes me a while even now to locate some positions. I will post on the Stop thread when I have used it more and see any results.

free skin care · Sat Jan 10, 2009 12:35 pm

lucyluc wrote:

I am so confused on this botox issue! Embarassed

I have been told that by freezing one muscle,your other muscles will compensate and will create new wrinkles and yet doctors will tell you to botox to prevent wrinkles from even forming.Its like a pair of new leather shoes, after 6 months there are a lot of creases in the shoe....botox prevents these creases from forming in our face, yet then why exercise and provoke those creases?Unless you are strengthening the underlying muscle to give the outer layer a smoother look.I need clarity on that..... Confused

Lucy, the facial skin isn't like a leather shoe, it's attached to the muscle, and the wrinkles are there because the muscle underneath doesn't lie smooth and flat as you get older. So Botox isn't preventing the skin from wrinkling because it can't move, it's because it relaxes and flattens the muscle completely. If you do facial exercise you'll condition the muscles and they'll lie flat against your bones as they did when you were young. The skin is stuck to the muscle, so that lies flat also.

There's a longer explanation of this in my book, you can read an extract here http://louiseannette.co.uk/page009.html scroll down to section iii Cause and Treatment of Facial Wrinkling Cool

free skin care · Sun Jan 11, 2009 5:54 am

Hi Bethany,
I absolutely see the Tua Viso as a replacement for the facial exercises. When I said I had been doing them for 20 years on and off, it was probably more off than on. I would do them regularly for a few weeks, then they would become really tedious and I would have a few nights break, then that would turn into months! I always went back for more when I thought I was looking rough, and would be enthusiastic again for a while then get bored again. When I was about 44/45 I was lucky enough to be taken on as a model at a Beauty Training Academy. Trained beauty therapists would go there on short courses to learn new treatments. I became a model for CACI, (non-surgical facelift). I would get at least 2 or 3 treatments every month. This went on till I was 49, and then CACI, decided to move their training base to Manchester, and that was the end of that. Up until then, people would assume I was mid 30's, my face was unlined and firm, but in the year that passed, I really felt like I was ageing overnight. I had and still have a lot of stress in my life, but I believe that the CACI treatments were keeping my face firm, so when they stopped it took it's toll. I carried on doing facial exercise but the results were nowhere near the treatments. I did pay to have a course of 10 caci's but found that unless you were having them really regularly, the results went quite quickly. With the Tua Viso , I am seeing similar results, and I would much rather let a gadget do the hard work for me! I am probably getting such good results because my muscles still retain the memory of the exercises, but it's far less boring for me than sitting pulling faces for ages. As I said I still try and do the daily Eva workout, but only once a week, as it really is good for any puffiness, and also clears the sinus's etc.

free skin care · Thu Jan 15, 2009 8:49 am

I tried a variation of kiss the ceiling which is a bit more strenuous then kiss the ceiling alone. Do kiss the ceiling as usual, and during neck stretch push tongue inside the mouth against top. It will add more resistance to the exercise.

free skin care · Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:27 pm

jasminerosey wrote:

Kassy..your neck exercise really is powerful for me (although I can't quite get the turning the head part down yet)

So it's sit erect, put your head way back, (you'll be looking up at the ceiling), now turn your head to the right in order to look over your shoulder. Now jut your jaw out as far as possible. (To make it more intensive I just add the closed mouth smile, and anchoring the muscle at the base of the neck.)

And thanks to all for the good wishes, how sweet you all are ...

Sat Feb 14, 2009 10:37 am

Hi Everyone,

I have been reading this thread and the Ageless thread for a few days now. I started the Carole Maggio program 5 weeks ago as that is the first one I found. I decided no matter what to give it a decent amount of time doing the full program 11 min. twice a day. I have to say, reading her book and following her dvd I did notice changes in the very first week. My husband took before and after pics and I take them every 2 weeks to compare and I'm such a scrutinizer with them as I want to discover the truth about facial exercises.

The first week my eyes lifted and rounded more open and the sides of my face became angular and my face looked less wide! It was such a shock to see such a change so fast. However my NL lines looked more pronounced during week 3 & 4. I didn't let that scare me as I read info where LouLou says the skin will pull up from the neck and face gradually and read somewhere else that it takes time for the skin to catch up with the building muscle. Now week 5 the NL lines are getting better but I now have the pouchy areas appearing beside the corners of my lips lol. I just read another post in ageless of this happening to 2 other people as well using ageless. Again I expect this will even out if I keep at it. It's fascinating to watch the changes starting with the eyes, then NL lines, now mouth and I have to say my neck looks so much better. Loulou says you will maybe have tired or scary looking days, I saw those but kept up and it's all coming together nicely. I like the carole maggio program and after I get to where I'm all even in the face I intend to add "Ageless if you dare" to it as well. I like the visualizations Carole gives as it brings your mind to focus on the area to intensify the burn, such as pressing a pencil between the lips. I understand energy and there is nothing nutty about what she is doing in these exercises. All I know is they work so far for me beautifully, and I love LouLous energy and kindness and will add her as well. As I said I do all of Carole's program including the nose pumps and nothing bad has happened to my nose lol. I think it has given me a little uplifted look there and maybe a wee bit more space between it and the upper lip. I have people freak and compliment and stare that haven't seen me for awhile right after the first week.

The best test of this will be when my sister sees me. She works for a plastic surgeon and told me a long time ago that I will wrinkle my face up if I do facial exercises. This is funny as I have not told her I'm doing them yet and will wait until she sees me and freaks out, as she is always discussing skin care products with me on the phone. She knows faces very well being the doctors right hand in surgery, so this will be a hoot when I prove to her they do work!

free skin care · Mon Feb 16, 2009 11:44 pm

RuthMarion wrote:

Has anyone checked in with regards to Eva Fraser? Her method seems more gentle for this scaredy cat!

Ruth, I have Eva Fraser's book....it is beautifully written and illustrated, and covers a variety of topics. It is indeed more "gentle"...she does not believe in massage, etc.

http://www.amazon.com/Frasers-Facial-Workout-Penguin-fitness/dp/0140147136/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234853048&sr=8-1

I think it all comes down to what kind of results you want to see, and how quickly you want to see them. But you also have to do what feels right to YOU.

Let me read it again, and I'll post a detailed review for you.

free skin care · Tue Feb 17, 2009 8:17 am

Baldabek,

when i look carefully at Kay in the before photo..it seems like she does have that second line(in front of the line that is apparent)..only it is (almost) totally 'hidden' by the way the sun is shining so strongly on that side of her face (although it looks like it may not be as deep as it..at least looks... in the after photo)..

so I don't think it just appeared from doing the exercises..but may have deepened a bit..at least in the stage of regeneration that she was in at the time..from the exercises. Of course, it may also have deepened..if it did..from other things, too. (i'm wondering if she also lost weight ..if not, the difference in her face is even more totally astounding to me..but if she did..that might account for the deepening of that line..of just the tightening of the tissue around the line might account for the 'appearance' of the line itself looking deeper )

nonetheless..she looks so much more striking..to my eye..in the after photo..deeper line and all..as her face is ..to my eye..so much more toned..and her eyes are amazingly stunning..especially stunning.

i guess.. partially... because to me...deepening of (some) wrinkles isn't necessarily unattractive..(even if it is an unavoidable side effect of facial exercises in more mature skin)...if one's face in general looks more honed ..and interesting.. or striking..which imo Kay's face looks so much more of (and with her eyes in the after photo..even beguiling, mysterious)

not to deny what other's see..but just to add another perspective..as i feel..in an imperfect world..'perfection'..in the way we usually conceive of it.. isn't ever really going to occur..but something more 'alive' and unique may.

free skin care · Thu Feb 19, 2009 4:22 pm

Please forgive me my fellow EDS mates; I must have this say....

Jomin -
I (like everyone) have read your negative, and rather unkind remarks about Deb Crowley and her appearance. I'm sure you realize your 'opinon' tends to be at the opposite end of the spectrum than most but Yes, it is your opinion and you're entitled. (And haven't we heard). You must remember her pictures are not taken with makeup, special lighting and top-shelf photography methods. There's no hiding, no artiface. I hope yours will be the same.

I further expect you realize it is time to refrain from further insults although you seem particularly compelled toward them. (Sorry, but it seems you do). I'm sure you don't want to be percieved as being nasty.

I knew Flex Effect would honor your 30 days and I'm sure they wouldn't want you using their program if it was going to cause you such distress. Not every company has a staff waiting to handle every situation at a moment's notice. LouLou's would be similar. Many would be. It doesn't make them disreputable.

Good for you looking so wonderful at almost 40. Many of us have also and that's why we're here..... Still trying..... and Deb Crowley and her program has been part of the inspiration.

We await the pictures. And a sincere apology would be respectful.

Jomin wrote:

Claudia,

I appreciate your respond regarding the return. I expected to be able to communicate to SOMEONE, ANYONE there for a return approval and confirmation of the address, specially it's an PO number - any one can own a PO box.

So now I can have peace of mind sending off the package, knowing that I will get the refund. Thank you!

Onto your next comment:

It's cool that you found my opinion amusing.

I was not going to continue to beat on this dead dog about how old Deb looked, however, since you mentioned, I had to make a comment here.

My husband and his brother had a chance to see Deb's images on the DVD. Without knowing who she was, how old she was, responded to my inquiry of how old they thought she looked, they both guessed she was at least 10 years older than them. My husband is 40, his brother is 43.

That is purely objective. Wink

free skin care · Sat Feb 21, 2009 12:17 pm

free skin care · Fri Mar 06, 2009 5:43 pm

DiPhx wrote:

Hi bethany - yes, please give us all the thread on moisturizers making your skin drier - this could really get discussions moving on this forum and save us all much money as well.
If I had to guess, 95% of all women use moisturizers so this study would be great to read! thx muchly - diphx

Here is the thread:
Study suggests: - Skin cream can make skin drier
http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=31227&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=0

Please note that this is only one single study. The results should be duplicated in several studies before we will know for certain that moisturizers can make skin drier, but the results from this study are interesting. Smile

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