Facial Exercises: why is stretching/rubbing/pulling good?
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Sat Jun 18, 2011 6:24 am

Hi, I've been doing tons of reading on the forums about the various programs available. I'm leaning towards purchasing flex effect, but wow, it's expensive.

My question is, if rubbing your eyes causes wrinkles, why is stretching/rubbing/pulling your skin beneficial and helps to thicken skin?

You'd think my eyes would be super taut with all that eye rubbing I do LOL....

Thanks very much for your comments,

-Sandy

free skin care · Sat Jun 18, 2011 10:56 pm

I also have wondered the same thing....but I am assuming there is a "right" way, so that it helps and not hurts the situation. I too have wanted to learn more about these!

free skin care · Sun Jun 19, 2011 5:54 am

Many, if not most, of the facial exercise programs focus on muscle resistance training which will strengthen the muscles since as we age the muscles become slack and elongate. Resistance muscle training puts the muscle back into it's younger, taut form, which it turn helps lift the skin back into it younger form.

Rubbing/massaging stimulates circulation, this process carries nutrients which are needed for cell renewal. Another benefit of massaging is to help with lymph draining and "move" the lymph since it can became a bit stagnate.

free skin care · Sun Jun 19, 2011 8:36 am

Hi Sandymay,

Well, rubbing the eyes creating wrinkles is an urban myth. Of course, if you were to rub your eyes all day or squint all day (like really for a significant part of the day), then yes, that would create problems. But occasionally, it's not a problem

But the theory about massaging the eyes (e.g, stretching/rubbing/pulling) is that it does two things:

(1) Increases circulation, thereby encouraging the delivery of oxygen and nutrients and facilitating the removal of waste products (increasing the circulation will also make the area slightly more full noticeably in some people who would really benefit from the extra circulation)

(2) Encourages the tissue to beef up in size and for the elasticity of the tissue to improve--it's sort of like the equivalent of exercise for the skin (e.g., muscles need exercise so that they stay strong; bones need compressive and tensive forces to get the signal to stay strong; and it appears that skin benefits from massage, which is its signal to remain elastic). That's why there are so many massage programs out there for improving the skin, from Carole Maggio's No Lipo Lipo for cellulite to Tanaka facial massage.

I think the keys are that your current skin condition and elasticity, as well as your general health, dictate how aggressive (or gentle) of a massage to start out with. In the beginning, it's trial and era. Over time, you can work up to more aggressive approaches, with even greater benefits.

In the beginning for me, I did probably 1-2 minutes of massage, and noticed improvements in my undereye tissue right away (meaning within 1-2 weeks). I had very, very thin undereye tissue relative to my age, and hence also somewhat significant dark circles under my eyes. In the beginning, I noticed not much relative benefit to my undereye area from the actual exercises. However, now 2.5 years into consistent *resistance* training for the face (FlexEffect is one of the handful of resistance training programs out there), I can now say it's the opposite, as I've built up a ton of strength in my undereye muscles and you can see even from my side profile that they increased in fullness. I'm especially impressed by and floored by the large improvements in the *elasticity* of my under-eye tissue these past few months, and now being super-aggressive and intense exercises are giving me far more results (per time input) than being aggressive with the massage. I knew that the exercises could help, but I really though the massage would be more important for elasticity---right now, it appears that the muscle-building is really calling the shots and making the area far more elastic. (Now beyond the beginner stage, I am using a bodybuilding training schedule and hitting the undereye super-hard and then resting for 3 days typically).

Anyhow, BOTH the massage and the exercises are great tools, and I highly recommend them to you. They both help but have somewhat different effects and may help you in different ways at different points along your journey.

HTH Smile

Sun Jun 19, 2011 10:50 am

Thanks very much JenJ and cc5597 for your replies. I am definitely going to try facial exercises. Years ago, I purchased Facial Magic, and still have the booklet that went with the VHS tape, but I'm sure exercises have come a long way since the mid 90's. (and to be perfectly honest, I didn't do them very faithfully either Rolling Eyes

)I'm deciding between FE and CM for my next purchase. I was leaning towards FE, but perhaps I should start with a less aggressive one like CM first, and expand later into FE...

Any recommendations would be appreciated, my biggest issues are sagging cheek muscles and the beginning of jowls. I would also like to improve my neck/jaw contour.

I have been doing the Tanaka massage for about 3 weeks now, and love it...I incorporated it into my morning routine. A big thank you to everyone that recommended it Very Happy

!

-Sandy

free skin care · Sun Jun 19, 2011 10:59 am

I don't own Facial Magic, but I hear it's a good resistance training program for the face. For what it's worth, I would dust it off and try it out for at least 3 months before deciding to purchase another program. You already have it, and it might help you decide whether you want more toning exercises or more resistance exercises, or you might want to stick with it. I think 3 months is a good timeline to get an initial sense of a program and to avoid jumping around. Just my 2 cents. Whatever you choose to do, I'm sure it will work out, as long as you're consistent and tailor it to your needs. HTH Smile

Sun Jun 19, 2011 11:48 am

Thanks again cm5597, but it's not in my nature to wait and see Confused

....so I did more research, and decided to purchase FF....

Hopefully it will come sooner than the 6 weeks the website said it may take...but in the meanwhile, I will do the facial magic (from the booklet, as I do not have the VHS anymore), and some exercises I found on youtube. (ageless**y70, CM, yoga face)

FF just seemed to be a more comprehensive program, and I didn't think I would outgrow it...and the fact that they have their own forum just for users intrigued me...hopefully I will be granted access before my FF kit arrives....

Thanks again everyone for their feedback,

I appreciate it all! Very Happy

-Sandy

free skin care · Sun Jun 19, 2011 12:04 pm

Very cool, and I totally understand Smile

Best of wishes, and let us know if we can be of any further help Smile

Sun Oct 23, 2011 5:42 am

Sandymay wrote:

I have been doing the Tanaka massage for about 3 weeks now, and love it...I incorporated it into my morning routine. !

-Sandy

I find that Tanaka massage enhances the results from facial exercise. I love it too!

free skin care · Sun Oct 23, 2011 7:26 am

I'm also loving the massage, it seems to change my face as I'm doing it. Rubbing, massaging tissues, I think it's very good.

At this time I'm not sure if my results are from face exercising, or massage, or both.

The exercizes I'm using is "The Five Minute Face Lift, and also some from Carole M that I saw online.

Lastly, I think bending over at the waist and letting my head hang down to the floor is very good. I noticed from pictures when I was doing a ton of yoga last winter, my skin was better. i do think the inversions and time to relax/sweat have alot to do with that.

Cheers to all!!

free skin care · Mon Oct 24, 2011 4:27 am

Redtigerwoman what is the "Five Minute Face Lift"? Have you got a link (sounds like my kind of exercise!)

redtigerwoman wrote:

The exercizes I'm using is "The Five Minute Face Lift, and also some from Carole M that I saw online.

Tue Oct 25, 2011 7:09 pm

Hi TherersaMary,

I wonder if she meant "The Five Minute Facelift by Reinhold Benz"?

-Sandymay

free skin care · Tue Oct 25, 2011 10:05 pm

I am on the fence about this, tons of other respected EDS members love them, but to me all that rubbing dosent sound like a good idea. If your also on the fence about it you could try using a micro current device.

free skin care · Wed Oct 26, 2011 6:28 am

If someone is on the fence about facial exercises they might want to try the Yamuna Save Your Face(ball rolling program). It is not aggressive and might really be a help. I use it and have cut back on the sessions of facial exercises.

free skin care · Wed Oct 26, 2011 6:40 am

Toby wrote:

If someone is on the fence about facial exercises they might want to try the Yamuna Save Your Face(ball rolling program). It is not aggressive and might really be a help. I use it and have cut back on the sessions of facial exercises.

I still have to have a look into that, thanks toby.

free skin care · Wed Oct 26, 2011 2:38 pm

sometimes i feel i look worse after a day or 2 off of exercises. i have stopped doing them and replaced it with lightstim.

i wonder if it's possible face exercising is good for some people but not others.

massage seems to be better for me. maybe i just haven't found the right exercises...

Wed Oct 26, 2011 5:24 pm

redtigerwoman wrote:

Lastly, I think bending over at the waist and letting my head hang down to the floor is very good. I noticed from pictures when I was doing a ton of yoga last winter, my skin was better. i do think the inversions and time to relax/sweat have alot to do with that.

Good idea with the yoga. I did it a few times but work commitments always got in the way of sticking with it long term. Bending over at the waist is something I will have time for, though

free skin care · Fri Oct 28, 2011 5:34 am

Echoecho - I can completely understand your concern, and the misapprehensions out there about facial exercises are enough to put many people off because it goes against the grain of what we've always been told by many of the so called experts (but its always interesting to see if there is another agenda when we hear this).

Facial Exercises are never just about rubbing though. Interestingly enough there is recommendations for both exercises and massage with good reason and purpose behind them (such as increasing circulation, stimulating lymphatic drainage, strenghtening skin and cells etc) and some of the exercises in appearance do horrify people on first presentation because they will often tell me how the place they buy their eye cream from always advises them to use the ring finger to apply and do so lightly. I always giggle when I hear these things, because I say if its producing the results they're wanting then no need to fix what isn't broken, but more times than not they're not happy with the appearance of their eyes etc and want something to use alongside the cream that they've been using for the last 6 months that hasn't produced the results they wanted.

There are many different ways of handling any issue, but facial exercises to me are a great addition to anyones routine because they're encouraging the body to not only be healthy but also to work from the inside out, and if your using Retin A, CPs or even Vit C on the outside, your covering a lot of bases to avoid many issues that will often crop up later on.

Now with microcurrent - I've seen demo's and I've met Tina Richards (of Tua Viso) and am aware of them and they're great devices and with things like bells palsey if someone isn't able to do manual exercises - they're by far the next best thing at helping them. However for most of us, toning isn't the only goal. Whilst you're young now and toning may be suiting your needs, from what I know the EMS devices aren't enough to actually encourage significant muscle development, and strength (and thus fullness as you would get from working the muscles).

Of course each and every person's goals will be different and its important to get realistic with what is possible but I just wanted to throw this food for thought out there.

I completely understand where your coming from with your post, and am grateful for forums like EDS where these things can be discussed because it does give me insight into what a lot of common misconceptions about facial exercises are and also highlights to me the various myths/stories that are out there that I may otherwise never hear about.

echoecho wrote:

I am on the fence about this, tons of other respected EDS members love them, but to me all that rubbing dosent sound like a good idea. If your also on the fence about it you could try using a micro current device.

free skin care · Fri Oct 28, 2011 5:42 am

Redtigerwoman â€“ its very common what your describing (about looking better after a day or 2 off exercises) and Iâ€™d like to help explain why this happens and how its actually a sign that what your doing is having a good effect. I donâ€™t know which program your using, but I teach and work with FlexEffect so Iâ€™ll use that program as an example. With our resistance exercises, its about causing microdamage to muscles to encourage the body to repair them and heal up stronger for the future. So I often tell people to train with the exercises 5 days of each week with 2 days off. Now most people beginning always report the same. That they look better say on Sunday afternoon (their 2nd day off). I then explain to them whats happened is that theyâ€™ve allowed their body extra recuperation time. So their body goes into overdrive at not only repairing but also preparing for the next challenge. That extra 2nd day off is literally a vacation to the muscles and they relax and often youâ€™ll see the relaxation is very visible in their faces. Of course this happens frequently during a personâ€™s first year of training, but for most people after they have done the workouts for a while what you start to notice is that the face doesnâ€™t show the same signs of stress and tear that it previously did because its more familiar with working out etc.

I havenâ€™t found anyone who I can honestly say facial exercise is bad for â€“ and almost everyone Iâ€™ve worked with has said how different they have felt the day after a session with me (and sometimes in sessions I make them do a lot more sets of a particular exercise they have been struggling with just to make sure their form and technique is correct and that they know it) and if I do so I always advise them to rest two days before beginning it themselves and they always seem to get excited and make contact with me that they see a major improvement on the 2nd day for that very same reason.

At FlexEffect weâ€™ve been suggesting that exercise and massage should be done and that one is not more important than the other because both truly deliver amazing benefits and when carried out together are a fantastic team. So please donâ€™t give up and donâ€™t be hard with yourself. Only inevitable is change, but it doesnâ€™t mean that change is always bad â€“ sometimes change is and can be good â€“ ESPECIALLY where GROWING OLDER is concerned!

redtigerwoman wrote:

sometimes i feel i look worse after a day or 2 off of exercises. i have stopped doing them and replaced it with lightstim.

i wonder if it's possible face exercising is good for some people but not others.

massage seems to be better for me. maybe i just haven't found the right exercises...

free skin care · Fri Oct 28, 2011 7:09 am

I've actually decided to get filler in my nasal folds (Android also the lips something I've always wanted to do) until the damage where's off Android start up with facial exercises again after that because I do like my cheeks and jaw its just that the nls have gone haywire. I would be interested in purchasing the flex affect later on, sean do I just head directly to the site and is it available to australia?

SeanySeanUK wrote:

Redtigerwoman â€“ its very common what your describing (about looking better after a day or 2 off exercises) and Iâ€™d like to help explain why this happens and how its actually a sign that what your doing is having a good effect. I donâ€™t know which program your using, but I teach and work with FlexEffect so Iâ€™ll use that program as an example. With our resistance exercises, its about causing microdamage to muscles to encourage the body to repair them and heal up stronger for the future. So I often tell people to train with the exercises 5 days of each week with 2 days off. Now most people beginning always report the same. That they look better say on Sunday afternoon (their 2nd day off). I then explain to them whats happened is that theyâ€™ve allowed their body extra recuperation time. So their body goes into overdrive at not only repairing but also preparing for the next challenge. That extra 2nd day off is literally a vacation to the muscles and they relax and often youâ€™ll see the relaxation is very visible in their faces. Of course this happens frequently during a personâ€™s first year of training, but for most people after they have done the workouts for a while what you start to notice is that the face doesnâ€™t show the same signs of stress and tear that it previously did because its more familiar with working out etc.

I havenâ€™t found anyone who I can honestly say facial exercise is bad for â€“ and almost everyone Iâ€™ve worked with has said how different they have felt the day after a session with me (and sometimes in sessions I make them do a lot more sets of a particular exercise they have been struggling with just to make sure their form and technique is correct and that they know it) and if I do so I always advise them to rest two days before beginning it themselves and they always seem to get excited and make contact with me that they see a major improvement on the 2nd day for that very same reason.

At FlexEffect weâ€™ve been suggesting that exercise and massage should be done and that one is not more important than the other because both truly deliver amazing benefits and when carried out together are a fantastic team. So please donâ€™t give up and donâ€™t be hard with yourself. Only inevitable is change, but it doesnâ€™t mean that change is always bad â€“ sometimes change is and can be good â€“ ESPECIALLY where GROWING OLDER is concerned!

redtigerwoman wrote:

sometimes i feel i look worse after a day or 2 off of exercises. i have stopped doing them and replaced it with lightstim.

i wonder if it's possible face exercising is good for some people but not others.

massage seems to be better for me. maybe i just haven't found the right exercises...

free skin care · Fri Oct 28, 2011 7:56 am

If you want to purchase you literally just head to the site, and I know several flexers who are also based in Oz who have purchased without issue.

With fillers though, you may find exercising helps them dissipate faster so it may be something you want to leave quite a gap between having them done and doing facial exercises because otherwise you'll need to have them redone regularly until the areas get beefed up.

Sorry my machine has had upgrades recently to 2010 software and I think my keyboard isn't syncing yet properly with the forum, as its changing my apostrophes into strange marks.

echoecho wrote:

I've actually decided to get filler in my nasal folds (Android also the lips something I've always wanted to do) until the damage where's off Android start up with facial exercises again after that because I do like my cheeks and jaw its just that the nls have gone haywire. I would be interested in purchasing the flex affect later on, sean do I just head directly to the site and is it available to australia?

free skin care · Fri Oct 28, 2011 8:21 am

Oh thanks for that information, I was wondering about that as it is also the case with ems devices. If I wanted to work on the muscels that are around my cheekbones therefore enhancing them could I withot causiing any issues with the filler?

SeanySeanUK wrote:

If you want to purchase you literally just head to the site, and I know several flexers who are also based in Oz who have purchased without issue.

With fillers though, you may find exercising helps them dissipate faster so it may be something you want to leave quite a gap between having them done and doing facial exercises because otherwise you'll need to have them redone regularly until the areas get beefed up.

Sorry my machine has had upgrades recently to 2010 software and I think my keyboard isn't syncing yet properly with the forum, as its changing my apostrophes into strange marks.

echoecho wrote:

I've actually decided to get filler in my nasal folds (Android also the lips something I've always wanted to do) until the damage where's off Android start up with facial exercises again after that because I do like my cheeks and jaw its just that the nls have gone haywire. I would be interested in purchasing the flex affect later on, sean do I just head directly to the site and is it available to australia?

free skin care · Fri Oct 28, 2011 8:32 am

To be honest, thats not my forte with EMS and fillers but I suspect that much like exercising it would be a no. However, I think its always wise to go to the device owner or company and ask them about it.

free skin care · Sat Nov 05, 2011 11:56 am

Sandymay wrote:

Hi, I've been doing tons of reading on the forums about the various programs available. I'm leaning towards purchasing flex effect, but wow, it's expensive.

My question is, if rubbing your eyes causes wrinkles, why is stretching/rubbing/pulling your skin beneficial and helps to thicken skin?

You'd think my eyes would be super taut with all that eye rubbing I do LOL....

Thanks very much for your comments,

-Sandy

Sandy you ask a good question and while I do face exercises and believe in them, I do believe that stretching of the skin can cause sag and wrinkles. I believe there's a method to the madness, and it takes a leap of faith to actually believe that the author of any program is sure his or her method won't cause sag.

I've had more success with face exercises than I have had failure. IMO, "getting worse before getting better" is not a necessary step in face exercises journey. I know from experience that face exercises do not have to make your face worse. I think one of the things people don't realize when they start face exercise with a program that involves resistance training is that most of the people who have had success with such exercises are people who didn't use those kind of exercises as their intro to face exercises. Rather, each one of the long-term successes started with a program that involved toning and it was only after their faces had reached a plateau of sorts that they added resistance training.

IMO, to jump into resistance training when your muscles are slack and weak from little use is just asking for trouble. Even wanna-be bodybuilders would tear muscles if they showed up at the gym on their first day ever and tried to lift a weight that their bodies were not yet prepped for.

Back when I started face exercises, resistance training wasn't something that seemed to be the rave. Eva Fraser's program, which was my intro to face exercises does have a bit of resistance training in the advanced program. But if I remember correctly, the beginner's workout just asks you to do some toning exercises involving control and pauses that make your muscles work. No rubbing, no stretching, no pulling. And I had no problems whatsoever doing the program and think it's an excellent program.

Despite my years of training and therefore very well prepared face, I did find out that there are certain resistance programs that are too aggressive even for me and can cause wrinkles. While massage is good for the body, I do not think it's OK for the delicate skin of the eyes. When I feel the skin around my eyes, I do not feel a chunk of muscle under it that could take the force of massage. Not like on the cheeks anyway. So rolling/massaging that skin in my opinion will stretch it exactly as it does when you rub your eyes. I do not massage my eyes and never have. I feel massage is for muscles and the more I read of people saying that their skin looks good soon after they massage and then worse the day after, the more I am convinced it's not a good thing. I mean, if an exercise is working, then you would not need more of it down the road, but less of it. That one has to resort to "beating" oneself up is just scary to me.

So what am I saying? I am saying that if you're starting face exercises, start with a toning program. Don't worry if you don't see remarkable results in a month or two or three. If the program isn't hurting you or making you uglier or making your wrinkles worse, then keep at it. It may be a year before you actually see what it's doing, but if it's Eva's or Tom's (Two programs I have knowledge of) then I can assure you, they will give you good results. What I must stress is PLEASE do follow proper form. Tom's program emphasizes not to wrinkle your face as you work it, so learning to isolate your face will take time and in the beginning you may not be able to, but just focus on that proper form and in time, you'll get it.

While I do Carolyn's Facial Fitness, I did not mention it in the above paragraph because it has some resistance training, and while I understand that keeping in touch with Carolyn helped TheresaCats to get exercises that didn't involve resistance training when she started to have problems with the program, I don't know about those exercises. So with CFF, you'd have to keep in touch with Carolyn to get direction and advice on what to do. I started CFF to fix problems from an aggressive program and had results within 8 months. But you must remember I had many years of face exercises under my belt and only a few months of a bad program. The resistance training in CFF is as gentle as that in Eva's Advanced program which I was familiar with...but notice even Eva doesn't expect you to start with that. I know there are people who have started with CFF as their first program and had wonderful results, but just to be on the safe side, I'd suggest doing a program that doesn't involve pulling/stretching first and only introduce those that do later if you like.

free skin care · Sat Nov 05, 2011 12:09 pm

I would like to clarify the point about getting worse before getting better not being necessary for a program to work. If you're young and have never had wrinkles, you should not get any from doing face exercises; that's what I meant by getting worse.

If you already have wrinkles or folds, you may find that when you start doing a face exercise program, the very same wrinkles you had (not new ones) appear wider. This is usually because the ones you've had are opening up as muscles underneath push up on them. Eventually they will flatten and be smooth as the muscles underneath completely lift the fold. That's what happened to Robert's forehead wrinkles (See the Sept 2006 forehead and then his forehead in May 2008): http://www.carolynsfacialfitness.com/robert

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