Aging faces? There’s a workout for that!

Wish you could say goodbye to all that makeup you use to stay looking youthful? The answer may lie in a few simple exercises proven to keep your face young and healthy.

As we age, definition of the face tends to diminish, making us look older. Dermatologist Dr. Martha Arroyo of Advocate Condell Medical Center, Libertyville, Ill. explains that several changes in the body influence this change. “Signs of aging in the face are typically due to gradual changes in definition over time,” Dr. Arroyo says. “These can include changes in distribution of facial fat, laxity of the skin, and even changes in the shape of the underlying bone.”

A study conducted by Northwestern University finds that facial exercises can help middle-aged women appear more youthful by increasing the muscle mass where these changes are occurring. Women between 40 and 65 years of age were asked to perform a 30-minute daily or alternate-daily facial exercise taught to them by facial exercise instructors for 20 weeks. The prescribed exercises, which focused on stimulation of the facial muscles, resulted in fuller and firmer muscles in the upper and lower cheeks. With this increase in volume and lift, dermatologists observed that these women appeared an average of three years younger after the trial period.

Gary Sikorski of Happy Face Yoga and coauthor of the study, developed the below exercises. To test their effectiveness for yourself, he suggests:

1. The Cheek Lifter: To begin, open your mouth and form an O. Then, position the upper lip over the teeth and smile to lift cheek muscles up. Afterwards, put fingers lightly on the top part of the cheek, release the cheek muscle to lower them, and then lift them back up. The repetition of lowering and lifting the cheeks trains the facial muscles, making them stronger and more enlarged.
2. The Happy Cheeks Sculpting: To perform this exercise, start by smiling without showing teeth and pursing the lips together. Next, smile and force the cheek muscles up, while in the meantime, place fingers on the corners of the mouth and slide them up to the top of the cheeks. Hold fingers in place for 20 seconds.

It appears that just like the rest of your body, facial muscles can be trained to keep you looking healthy and young. Start practicing today and perhaps you, too, will see the results!