Holding your face up
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Fri Jan 15, 2010 1:10 pm

Hello,

I wanted to start a thread on holding your face up, like consciously pulling your brow back and lifting your cheeks ever so slightly when you are just out and about, in the car, etc. As a supplement to facial exercises, massage, and any other regimen discussed on this board.
I have been doing various face exercises but feel like together with losing 10 pounds this year, my face is so gaunt! so i recently got a little juvederm in my n/l folds, which I LOVE, and instead of exercises, which might dissolve the filler faster, I have been holding my face up when i remember. I was wondering what you guys think of this tactic. I am also concerned of sag caused by running (I run 4-5 miles, 5-6 days per week), so I feel like when I engage my muscles while I run, it's a real workout for my face as well!

Just thought I would Share!

Best,
esme

free skin care · Fri Jan 15, 2010 2:17 pm

Hi Esme. It's funny that you should mention sag caused by running. According to Dr. Imber who wrote the Youth Corridor, running is harmful to the elastic fibers. Running (or intense exercise) can actually speed up the aging process. He's not that keen on facial exercise either. I have the older version of his book and he says that people who are marathoners or who just run alot have gaunt and sagging faces.

This is from the first edition of his book, page 25:
Don't Run. I know everybody is doing it, but that doesn't make it right. At least don't be a long-term, long-distance jogger. Take a look at the serious runners you know who are in their mid-forties. Serious runners of normal weight have haggard, sunken faces due primarily to a loss of subcutaneous fat. It takes a while to manifest itself, but that is the price extracted for the benefits running offers...........Running is more specific still in the loss of facial padding. The constant rising and pounding down, rising and pounding down, lifts and pulls the facial skin away from the underlying muscles and bones. ....

And he goes on he goes on and on about it. He recommends swimming or fast walking instead.

I do intense exercise (no running) and do facial exercise so obviously I don't follow his plan. But I just thought I would pass on the info. to you.

free skin care · Fri Jan 15, 2010 2:17 pm

I became most aware of this while reading Lulu's Ageless if you Dare download. How you hold your face, neck and shoulders all make such a difference. I keep trying to make it second nature. For me just a little posture with my face can make such a big difference in the marionette lines and jowl area. Also keeping a slight smile helps move up my whole face. I'm hoping facial exercises will help imprint this and make it feel more natural. LD

free skin care · Fri Jan 15, 2010 6:57 pm

Yeah, I noticed this year that there were two things posture-wise that I do with my face that are not good: (1) I furl my brow when I work at my computer (which is most of the day), and the result is that I tend to hold a lot of tension in my eyebrows and I tend to hold them in a lower position than they naturally sit, and (2) I tend to roll my lower lip inwards unconsciously, which makes my lips look smaller than they actually are. So I'm working on fixing both problems, and addressing these facial postural issues is making a significant difference and makes me look a little younger. And I'm still amazed: I would have never thought about something lip posture, or even known that it exists, before doing facial exercises, but there you go! Smile

Sat Jan 16, 2010 10:32 am

gee, the way you/he describes this is just terrible! i don't run that many miles per day, just for like 30 minutes. I wonder if this is enough to damage my face in the way you describe.
i was under the impression that my derease in facial fat was due to losing 10 pounds on my small frame more than anything else.
swimming destroys your skin and hair in other ways, although I loooove swimming.
unfortunately i have neuro-muscular pain and running really helps to loosen it all up--it's either that or medication that makes me fat and suicidal (to be fair, i've never taken the medication--Lyrica--but have heard enough horror stories not to try!)
well, i will continue to hold my face up during running and report back. this is the extent of my facial exercise at this point.

thanks for all the feedback, people!
also, i want to mention that i try to hold my face up by pulling the back of my ears and scalp down toward my spine, which raises my cheeks, not just lifting my cheeks, which i notice engages the muscles attached to the naso-labial folds. maybe someone with more info about the muscles of the face can enlighten us here.
i developed some of these techniques by thinking about the carole maggio exercises and on the flex effect forum, that is, that they advocate making sure you do the "scalp flex" exercise in every session. what i do is kind of a constant scalp flex.

love,
Esme

Swissmom wrote:

Hi Esme. It's funny that you should mention sag caused by running. According to Dr. Imber who wrote the Youth Corridor, running is harmful to the elastic fibers. Running (or intense exercise) can actually speed up the aging process. He's not that keen on facial exercise either. I have the older version of his book and he says that people who are marathoners or who just run alot have gaunt and sagging faces.

This is from the first edition of his book, page 25:
Don't Run. I know everybody is doing it, but that doesn't make it right. At least don't be a long-term, long-distance jogger. Take a look at the serious runners you know who are in their mid-forties. Serious runners of normal weight have haggard, sunken faces due primarily to a loss of subcutaneous fat. It takes a while to manifest itself, but that is the price extracted for the benefits running offers...........Running is more specific still in the loss of facial padding. The constant rising and pounding down, rising and pounding down, lifts and pulls the facial skin away from the underlying muscles and bones. ....

And he goes on he goes on and on about it. He recommends swimming or fast walking instead.

I do intense exercise (no running) and do facial exercise so obviously I don't follow his plan. But I just thought I would pass on the info. to you.

free skin care · Sat Jan 16, 2010 9:45 pm

Esme - Scalp flex is one of my favorites. A great overall lifting feeling, isn't it? I try to do that one everyday and then I try to mimic it at times just to make sure my scalp responds by pulling up.
I love, love, love facial exercise.

free skin care · Sun Jan 17, 2010 3:24 pm

I agree that runners look older.Why?Running causes facial sagging and it will make your boobs sag too.They also make drs wealthy who have to do surgery on their knees and back.I always tell my runner friends that but they always refuse to believe it because they "get hooked on the runners high Rolling Eyes

! Also you have major sun exposure which is not good for your skin either.I totally agree!All diehard runners over 40 look old!!!! Sagging faces and bad skin!

free skin care · Sun Jan 17, 2010 5:43 pm

True - I remember Joan Benoit Samuelson - A fabulous runner - younger than 40 - looking older - face very gaunt and leathery. Her body was amazing though - trim, taut... oh well. It's the bod or the face, right Laughing

(P.s. don't think she had much for boobs so no problem there!)

free skin care · Tue Jan 19, 2010 7:40 am

Have to agree, really don't think running is good for you, particularly the face, it stands to reason, the force each time you foot hits the ground. Not good for your joints or boobs either.

I am not an expert by any means! just my two cents worth.

also regarding Lyrica, have to agree, I put on about 7kgs in about 4 - 6 weeks, I stopped taking it!

free skin care · Tue Jan 19, 2010 11:59 am

Esme, I think you made an excellent point. I too, was made aware of this by Loulou's Ageless book and DVD. So I began what I call "facial posture" deliberately, and before too very long, it became second nature. Now I automatically have a tilt to my chin, the corners of my mouth turn up slightly, and I hold my head up higher. That, in turn, makes my allover posture much better. It makes such a difference in how we are perceived. I've had great success with facial exercises and drybrushing, but to me, facial posture is key. Hey, if you're gonna do all that work, show it off & be proud! Laughing

~ JJ

free skin care · Sun Feb 21, 2010 6:34 pm

okay, I've been trying this and in general thinking about how I might hold my face up and back at the same time.

I've come up with two exercises that I think have already made a huge difference in my face!

First, a little background: I've been dabbling in facial exercises for a couple years now, but stop every now and then because, even though they build my cheeks, they ALSO build this area in between my eyes and my mouth, close to me nose. I'm not necessarily talking so much about the nasolabial lines as that strip of muscle and skin that runs from the bottom of my "tear trough" to my lower cheek. It's more pronounced when i do facial exercises.

So, I've been engaging my scalp, at the back of my ears, and visualizing pulling back my scalp toward my shoulders, wrapping around the bottom of my ears. Then I visualize "opening" up my face and engaging all the muscles outward, as if my face was a flower, opening. I hold this several times for 30 seconds at a time. try not to raise your eyebrows, but engage the muscles underneath the eyes, by all means.

The second exercise is related. Maintain the first posture, and then press your tongue against the roof of your mouth at the same time. This pushes the apples of the cheeks upward and outward, rather than merely up. It also engages the muscles along your jawline, preventing sag (I hope!). I also hold for 30 seconds for several times a day.

I like the first one because you can do it whenever you remember and no one will think you are a freak. It also makes me a lot more conscious of my facial posture, and posture in general!

both of these exercises have made the hills and valleys much less noticeable on my slightly ever-so-gaunt face. i'm very happy with the results, hope anyone interested understands what i mean when i describe the exercises!

and thanks to esmestark for drawing my attention to posture in general; i've been holding my whole body up since this post!

--avalange

free skin care · Sun Feb 21, 2010 6:46 pm

Thanks avalange - I am into visualization and I like how this is a part of what you have written. Scalp flex from Flex Effect is a favorite of mine and this is somewhat a take-off of that.

free skin care · Tue Mar 02, 2010 5:20 pm

Hi esmestark, any updates on results from holding your face up, now that it's been a couple months?

Your name reminds me of one of my favourite J.D. Salinger stories, "From Esme - With Love and Squalor" Smile

free skin care · Tue Mar 02, 2010 9:46 pm

massage is really helpful, but it should be conducted with correct massage cream.

Mon Mar 08, 2010 4:48 am

I definitely agree about 'holding your face up'.

I recently had to have a new passport photo taken, and the new rules are MUCH stricter than the last one - no holding anything up at all!

Look straight ahead, lips tightly together, no hair anywhere on face, absolutely no expression at all etc.

The first two photos were rejected, and the final one is the most hideous photo - I look like one of 'Australia's most wanted'.

free skin care · Mon Mar 08, 2010 2:31 pm

Petal47 wrote:

I definitely agree about 'holding your face up'.

I recently had to have a new passport photo taken, and the new rules are MUCH stricter than the last one - no holding anything up at all!

Look straight ahead, lips tightly together, no hair anywhere on face, absolutely no expression at all etc.

The first two photos were rejected, and the final one is the most hideous photo - I look like one of 'Australia's most wanted'.

What do you mean? Did you hold your face with your hands in previous passport photos??

Tue Mar 09, 2010 2:24 am

Quote:

What do you mean? Did you hold your face with your hands in previous passport photos??

No, not literally holding it up with my hands, but just sort of livening it up and having SOME sort of expression!!

free skin care · Tue Mar 09, 2010 12:51 pm

Oh I see - like smiling and stuff!
For some reason I pictured you giving yourself a "manual facelift" for the photo - it's just my overactive imagination.

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