Wednesday, 17 December 2008 13:20
We’ve all heard that it takes many more muscles to frown than to smile. Dig a little deeper and you’ll find there’s no agreement on the numbers here – in fact, reliable sources peg the smile muscles as being more numerous! Either way, as our skin ages and loses its elastic properties, these frequent muscular contractions cause wrinkles – no doubts about that.
Botox is one solution to the wrinkle problem and that prematurely aged look, but is it the only one? Here’re some exercises you can try that work on the facial muscles and keep wrinkles at bay for just that bit longer:
Facial exercises can be divided into three types based on target muscle groups: |
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| 1: Neck and Throat |
- Sit straight on a chair and look up at the ceiling. Hold it for 10-20 seconds. Repeat this 10 times. Try opening and closing your mouth for better results.
- Lie on a bench or bed so that your head hangs down from the edge. Try to bring your chin towards your chest, hold and release. Repeat it 10 times.
- Lie on your stomach with your head as above. Now try to raise your head and look up. Hold and release. Repeat 10 times.
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| 2: Lip and Cheek |
- Pout your lips. Try to bring them close to your nose and hold there for 10 seconds. Repeat 10 times.
- Sit straight and close your lips. Join your teeth together and smile without opening your lips. Hold for 10 seconds and release; repeat 10 times.
- Sit straight facing a mirror. Smile wide and try to draw your cheeks close to your eyes. Hold it for 10 counts and release. For variation, wrinkle your nose, hold and release.
- Close your mouth and blow air into your upper lip. Hold it for 10 seconds. Now move it to your left cheek. Hold and move it to your lower lip. Finally hold and move it to your right cheek and release.
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| 3: Eyes and Forehead |
- Sit upright with eyes closed. Try to rotate your eyeballs keeping your eyes closed all the while. First rotate clockwise, and then anticlockwise.
- Look straight with eyes wide open. Look as far up without moving your head and hold. Repeat for extreme left, right and down.
- Lift your eyebrows as far as possible and hold them there for 10 seconds. Release and repeat 10 times
- Close your eyes. Gently place two fingers of each hand on each eye. Now move your eyes feeling the pressure all the while. Repeat 10 times.
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| For improved blood circulation, weekly face and neck massage sessions are recommended. Not only does this bring tone to your face, it can also prevent wrinkle formation. Read top 10 natural ways to beat wrinkles. |
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| Facelifts and The Lifestyle Lift® |
| This elasticity of the skin that keeps it looking young is also sometimes altered drastically when you undergo a procedure like a traditional facelift. While the wrinkles seem to be gone, the skin can seem artificially ‘pulled’ or stretched. For a more natural and relaxed appearance, a minimally invasive procedure such as The Lifestyle Lift® may deliver better results. The Lifestyle Lift® also works especially well for the neck, eyes and forehead regions, getting rid of wrinkles without leaving behind that unnatural stretched appearance. |
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| Either way, smile more – it does make you look younger! |
