Can Exercising Reduce Facial Wrinkles and Lift Sagging Skin ??
One methods that has been touted for over fifty years to reduce facial wrinkling and aging is exercising the facial muscles. One of the original books on this subject was entitled Lift Up Your Face from the 1950s, which I actually have a copy in my plastic surgery library. The concept continues to be espoused and written about today, now even expanding the exercise theme to include yoga facelifts, acupuncture facelifts and electric stimulation devices that promise to tighten the face through ‘muscle build-up’.
Having a good knowledge of the facial muscles and the facial aging processe, I still cannot understand how most of these approaches have any hope of being effective. Short of the platysma muscle of the neck (which I actually think can be tightened), the rest of the facial muscles are quite small and would have little impact on keeping the face uplifted as they are responsible for facial expression and not tissue suspension. The face ages as ligaments to the skin become lax, which subsequently allows skin and fat to sag (with the exception of the lips and chin) The facial muscles cannot prevent this problem, no matter how ‘tight’ one tries to make them. In fact, exercising (making extreme facial expressions) is likely to increase facial aging by making skin wrinkles worse.
For real prevention or improvement in facial aging, stick to the tried and true methods, Botox, injectable fillers, skin resurfacing, and eventually skin excisions and lifting procedures. (aka facelift)
Dr Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana