Face yoga has emerged as a groundbreaking practice that combines the benefits of facial exercises with the mindfulness of yoga, promising a non-invasive route to a more youthful and radiant complexion. We spoke with Marina Klimenka, co-founder of the face-yoga app Luvly, about the benefits of face yoga for women and facial yoga exercises that you can practice at home. Here’s everything you need to know about facial yoga for women…
What is Face Yoga?
Face yoga, also known as facial yoga, face exercises or facial massage, is a holistic approach to facial rejuvenation and natural beauty enhancement that involves a series of facial exercises, poses, and relaxation techniques. It’s based on the principle that like the rest of your body, your facial muscles can be toned and strengthened through regular exercise. By targeting specific muscle groups, face yoga or facial massage can help you achieve a firmer, more youthful look without resorting to invasive procedures.
“Face yoga is like a revitalising self-care ritual,” says Marina. “It’s all about exercising and rejuvenating the facial muscles, just as we take care of our body through traditional yoga. It’s a natural way to maintain a youthful glow and a healthier, more radiant look.”
How Does Face Yoga Work?
Face yoga works by targeting and strengthening the muscles in your face and neck. Through regular practice, you can improve circulation, relax tension, and achieve a more youthful appearance. Marina says: “I’ve experienced this personally as I used to have a slightly puffy face in the morning. However, after incorporating face yoga into my daily routine, I’ve noticed a significant reduction. The relaxed tension and improved circulation contribute to my radiant and youthful look.”
The Benefits of Face Yoga For Women
Improved Skin Elasticity
One of the key benefits of face yoga for women is the improvement in skin elasticity. As we age, our skin loses its natural elasticity, leading to sagging and wrinkles. Facial yoga exercises work to tone and strengthen the underlying facial muscles, which in turn can help tighten and firm your skin, giving you a more youthful appearance.
Reduced Wrinkles and Fine Lines
Face yoga targets areas prone to signs of ageing, such as the forehead, around the eyes, and the mouth. Regular practice can significantly reduce the appearance of these lines, helping you look and feel younger.
Relaxation and Stress Reduction
Face yoga isn’t just about physical benefits; it also promotes relaxation and reduces stress. The soothing exercises and mindfulness techniques involved in face yoga help release tension in your facial muscles and relax your mind, leaving you feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.
Can Face Yoga Help With Lines and Wrinkles?
Marina tells us that she truly believes in the holistic approach of face yoga. “While it may not completely replace procedures like Botox, it’s a natural alternative that supports your skin’s vitality and helps to reduce lines and wrinkles over time.”
Can Face Yoga Improve Jawline?
Face yoga for the jawline includes exercises for the neck, chin, jaw, and other facial muscles. It has been proven that face yoga can subtly improve your face’s features, making your cheekbones and jawline look more pronounced and sculpted.
“I’ve personally seen how face yoga can have a tremendous impact on the jawline,” says Marina. “It helps to define and lift the jawline, resulting in a more sculpted appearance. It’s empowering to see the changes in the mirror as you progress with the exercises.”
Face Yoga Exercises: The Foundations
Before diving into the exercises, it is essential to understand the underpinnings of face yoga. As with our body muscles, our facial muscles can be strengthened and trained. Regular practice of face yoga techniques can improve blood circulation, enabling more oxygen and nutrients to reach the cells of the skin, resulting in a healthier, brighter appearance.
Key Face Yoga Techniques
The Cheek Lifter
Open your mouth to form an “O,” pull your upper lip over your teeth, smile to lift cheek muscles up, and place your fingers lightly on the top part of your cheeks. Release the cheek muscles to lower them, and lift them back up. Repeat this lifting and releasing action to firm and tone your cheeks.
The Eyebrow Lifter
Press three fingertips under each eyebrow to force your eyes open. Smile while trying to frown your eyebrows down against your fingers. This exercise works against gravity’s natural pull, tightening forehead muscles and reduce sagging.
The Jawline Definer
Tilt your head back until you’re looking at the ceiling. Move your lower lip over your upper lip as far as you can. You should feel a slight stretch under the chin and jawline. Hold the pose for a few seconds, relax, and repeat. This targets the muscles in your chin and neck.
The Neck Toner
Sit with your back straight. Tilt your head back to look at the ceiling while keeping your lips closed and relaxed. Bring your lower lip over your upper lip as far as possible. Hold for five and return to the starting position. This exercise targets the muscles in your neck and under your jawline.
Incorporating Breathing Techniques in Face Yoga
A vital element of yoga is breathing, and face yoga is no different. Deep, rhythmic breathing enhances the relaxing effects of the exercises and helps detoxify the body. You can rejuvenate your face and instill a sense of calm throughout your practice if you incorporate deep breathing into each movement.
Seeing Results From Face Yoga
We asked Marina how often we need to practice face yoga to see results. She said: “The beauty of face yoga is that it’s not just about the destination – it’s about the journey. I always recommend a daily commitment to face yoga, just 5-10 minutes a day.
“The consistent practice and the little moments of self-care are part of what makes it so enjoyable. Ultimately, the journey and self-discovery are as rewarding as the final destination. Many users have shared that face yoga has become their cherished ‘me-time’, a soothing wellness ritual that they look forward to every day.
“How long it takes for face yoga to work varies from person to person. From my own experience, the results become noticeable after several weeks. Over time, you’ll witness enhanced muscle tone, a radiant complexion, and a youthful appearance.”
Facial Massage: The Importance of Daily Routine
The key to seeing results in face yoga is to follow a consistent routine. Spending just 10-15 minutes a day can result in visible results. Warm up your facial muscles, then do exercises that target specific areas of your face, and then relax your muscles with a cool-down.
Advanced Techniques: Combining Face Yoga with Skincare
Use your skincare routine to enhance the impact of face yoga. Applying a serum or moisturiser to your face before exercises will aid in smoother movements across your face and promote deeper penetration of your skincare ingredients.
Is Face Yoga Really Effective?
Speaking about face yoga and its effective results, Maria told us: “A lot of people ask ‘does yoga for the face really work?’ and I wholeheartedly believe and advocate the effectiveness of face yoga.
“It’s like a secret weapon to preserve the natural beauty of your face. With consistent practice, you’ll experience a remarkable difference in skin tone, fine lines, and overall appearance. It’s worked for me, and I’m confident it can work for anyone.”
The Science Behind Face Yoga
Researchers have found that face yoga has a multitude of benefits, including improved facial appearance, reduced stress, and a decrease in signs of aging when performed methodically and regularly.
Luvly Face Yoga For Women
Luvly is a female-founded face-yoga app that empowers women and promotes self-confidence. With personalised face yoga programs, skincare guides, and expert advice, it helps delay signs of aging, improve skin elasticity, and improve self-confidence.
The #faceyoga hashtag on Instagram has garnered over 500 million views, proving that face yoga is a trend that is here to stay. Luvly reinvents natural, non-invasive beauty procedures and self-care routines. In addition to providing expert-led tutorials, Luvly’s anti-acne nutrition advice and highly coveted Gua Sha program are second to none.
Their users are not just followers; they become empowered skintellectuals, equipped with the knowledge to fine-tune their skincare routines for optimal results.
Since March 2020, more than 4 million customers have sculpted their faces and enhanced their skin’s beauty and youth, using the app for up to 20 minutes a day. But once the app gained popularity among users, the team behind the brand realised the users’ needs went far beyond face yoga exercises: women are looking for a universal solution that will allow them to be their own role models for themselves and others by nurturing their authentic beauty. The brand believes it’s never too late to start a healthy habit.
Today, Luvly’s mission is to help women nurture their authentic beauty and brilliance through non-invasive skin care and facial fitness rituals that promise to tone, tighten, and sculpt their facial muscles.
“With our app, women can enjoy some ‘me-time’ when they can move away from the hustle and bustle and do something beneficial for their minds and bodies,” says Marina.
“With Luvly, any woman can improve her skin tone and slow down skin ageing by following simple exercises curated by experts. Regular facial massage and face yoga practices have been proven to improve blood circulation and restore facial tone without expensive and painful cosmetic and invasive procedures.”
The Women’s Journal is currently trying out the female-founded face-yoga app, Luvly. Honest review content by women, for women, coming soon…
