10 minute read 

A few weeks ago I posted on the 5 Key Benefits of Facial Massages, discussing the types of massage techniques and how to derive the best from these, to suit your skincare routine. Some of these approaches can be self-applied, though most of us would go to a massage therapist to achieve a truly relaxing massage.

In today’s article I will focus on the specific benefits of Self-Facial Massage approaches and the scientific evidence supporting the development of specific massage steps. I’ll also be exploring the researched evidence for the benefits of Facial Exercises and some of their limitations.

I will also re-iterate why and how “what we feel” is directly connected to how we look, and vice-versa. This is backed-up by scientific evidence and although most of us are aware of how stress affects our bodies and minds, some of you may not know just how incredibly sensitive our biggest organ, the skin, is sensitive to stress… and how this organ impacts on our brain and body.
 

Self-Facial Massage

As discussed in the 5 Key Benefits of Facial Massages article, a major benefit of face massage is the overall improvement of the skin with better hydration, smoothness and tone, all of which lead to glowing skin. Also, I referred to a study that attributed the lifting and tightening effects noticed on facial muscles to not just the regular use of a facial massage, but the use of specific strokes and steps that are unlike those normally used in the “anti-gravity” massages. 

In this study they used computed tomography (CT scan) to evaluate the changes in the facial muscular structure of 5 participants (three women and two men) that embarked on a twice daily self-massage program for 2 weeks. These results showed that the implementation of 5 additional Self-Facial Massage Steps resulted in major improvements in the overall skin appearance and increased strength and thickness on the muscles over the cheek bones.

These steps are illustrated below, overlaying the steps in a normal facial massage. The step name is colour coded with arrows on the face to show the direction of movement.

Commonly Used Facial Massage Steps

Face massage approaches generally involve working against gravity (upwards) from the neck and chin, as well as laterally, starting over the nose and forehead and moving towards the ears. These steps are shown as white arrows.

Additional Self-Facial Massage Steps

The Pink Line Step

• Apply your massage oil or lotion to your fingertips.
• Starting on the chin glide your fingertips around your mouth, along the nose, over the brow and down the outer side of your cheeks towards the chin, following the pink arrows. Relax your face and repeat 3 times.
  • To enhance this step, use your fingertips in “gliding circular movements” or use your knuckles along this contour line.

The Turquoise Line Steps

• Using your fingertips in circular motion, pointing upwards with gentle pressure, follow the direction of the turquoise arrows, starting on either side of your mouth. Repeat 3 times and relax in between.
• Move to either side of your nose towards the cheek bone. Repeat the circular movements as described above 3 times, relaxing in between.
• Move to the temporal area between your eyes and your hairline. Repeat the circular movements as described above, 3 times and relax between each cycle.

The Purple Line Steps

• Place your thumbs under the chin, and using the back of your fingers to ensure that these are around the nose and mouth, glide the fingers up to the temples as shown by the purple arrows.
• Relax your face.
• Repeat 3 times, and as with the others relax in between each cycle.

The Lilac Line Steps

• Place the palm of one hand on one side of your forehead and glide up toward the hairline.
• Do this 3 times on each side of the forehead as shown by the lilac arrows.
• Relax your face between each of the upward hand movements.

The Blue Line Steps

• Place your 3 middle fingers of both hands on your forehead, and glide these to the temples, in front of the ears, under the ears, and behind the ears, down to the collarbone as shown in the blue arrows.
• Repeat 3 times, relaxing between each cycle.
• To end, use one hand at a time and stroke the neck downward from below the jaw 3 times on each side of the neck

What About Facial Exercises? Do they Work?

Of course, we value our face as objects of beauty and character, and in particular ensuring that our skin is wrinkle-free smooth and that increased facial fat doesn’t become too noticeable as we age, can be a source of stress. So, what do we do?

We search on the internet for a natural means to prevent skin sagging, puffiness and overall loss of facial contour, encountering a universe of potential solutions from extracts to facial exercises.

Can Facial Exercises Make You Look Younger?

As we know there is a lot of coverage in social media on the benefits of facial exercises, often referred to as face yoga, with some claiming how their face contours changed dramatically in a positive manner.

Also, bear in mind that many of those that promote facial exercises, they themselves are instructors that do these for a living, possibly 8 – 10 hours each day! And invariably these people tend to be athletic anyway. In these cases, it makes sense that these people would see the benefits of these routines with the time they devote to them.

However, the scientific evidence is tenuous with only now research beginning to emerge with a study focused on exercises to tone facial muscles and attain a younger look.

This study involved a small group of women aged 40 and older who carried out daily exercises aimed at reducing their wrinkles, fill in hollow cheeks as well as minimising other signs of ageing. These exercises were aimed at strengthening and building muscle groups in the cheeks, jawline, neck, eyelids and eyebrows.

The overall conclusion when comparing the before and after participant face images, after an intense 20-week program, showed that those involved appeared about “3 years younger” at the completion of the program.

Is this a fantastic result?...

Well, considering that the 20-week long program required the participants to engage in performing 32 daily exercises of at least one minute, meaning a daily session of at least 30 - 35 minutes, as well as committing to two 90-minute muscle resistance facial exercises with a professional instructor, the resulting improvement of looking 3 years younger is quite minimal… if at all worth it.

After all, with all our busy schedules, dedicating that amount of time daily for 5 months is indeed a commitment.

Clearly not for everyone.

What About Reducing the Facial Fat with Facial Exercises?

Although since the 1960’s various celebrities – from Jack LaLanne, Jane Fonda, Olivia Newton-John, Cristiano Renaldo have advocated the use of workouts, including facial workouts, and there are plenty of websites, books, and other marketed tools promising miraculous results, there is no evidence that facial exercises effectively contribute to slimming the face contour.

And, there is a very good reason for this. When you workout you burn calories leading to weight loss, however, there is no way to predetermine which calories you are going to burn. So, while facial muscle exercises will strengthen and tone your muscles, the calories needed to do any workout will not arise just from the fat on the face.

To slim down your face, it is much more effective to approach this as an improved fitness strategy, with a healthy diet and exercise program designed to suit you. So, your face and body will be slimmer and better toned.

But just a note of caution, just because we exercise to look and feel better, we cannot change our bone structure, and the face contour will ultimately reflect what we were born with!

The Cycle of Feeling Great and Looking Younger - Skin-Brain-Skin Connection

How we feel and how we look are a lot more directly linked than you think. This has been intensely studied in respect of the impact of stress in our lives as well on the complex relationship between stress, inflammation, skin conditions and ageing.

Yet, although there are ample reports of psychological stress contributing to the onset or worsening of many skin diseases, the exact underlying mechanisms have only began to be understood in the last 2 or 3 decades. Below is a Figure with a simplified summary of the “Skin-Brain-Adrenal-Brain-Skin Connection” that is being revealed through multi-disciplinary research including the fields of psychology, endocrinology, skin neurobiology, skin inflammation, immunology, and pharmacology.

Let’s not forget that our skin is a huge sensorial organ. So, we feel through our skin.

There are three key organs involved in this Stress Response, namely the Skin, Brain and the Adrenal Glands. Each of these organs produce substances, many of which are hormones, and these have vast and profound effects on our physiology.

Some of these substances like cortisol and adrenalin produce stress responses, and most people are familiar with them, and the fact that they are also associated with inflammatory conditions. Others like the “love or liking” hormone, such as prolactin that regulates oxytocin (associated with breast feeding, but not exclusively) are relaxing, inducing states of ease and calm.

So, in a nutshell below are examples of the Stress Substances as well as the Calming Molecules. Since there are plenty of links on the web explaining what these do, I will not provide further details. Instead, I will list where in these 3 organs they are produced. The arrows in the Figure show their target organs.

The Skin-Brain-Adrenal-Brain-Skin Connection

Figure Legend:

• The direction of the arrows indicates the target organs.
• The colour of the arrows indicates the organ where the substances or molecules are being generated.
• For example the Skin arrows are Green, with little green beads, indicating that the skin produces some substances, targeting the Adrenal Gland as well as the Brain.
• But the Brain and the Adrenal Gland also target the Skin, each with the respective pink or blue beads.
• The specific Skin Cells that produce both Stress and Calming Substances include: keratinocytes, sebaceous glands, nerve endings, fibroblasts, mast cells (immune cells), inner lining of blood vessels.

Below is a Summary of the effects of the Stress and Calming Substances on the skin.

Take Home Message

There is no doubt that looking after ourselves, be it our bodies or our minds, is fundamental to feeling good, and this permeates through whatever we do. This extends to our lifestyle, our diet, exercise, even to facial exercises and the way we choose to think or feel about ourselves.

But of course, we must be realistic as to what can be achieved and to how much we put into our approaches to look and feel better.

And, as research is showing, the connection between our Skin and Brain is core to our wellbeing. Stress in our minds permeates to our skin, as injury on our skin is sensed all the way back to the brain that then activates the adrenal glands that produce more stress hormones… and so the cycle repeats.

So, consider the ways in which you can look after yourself - every day. It may not be that easy or exciting, but it will help to make you look younger!