Face yoga: can it shorten your philtrum and make you look younger?
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Introduction
In this article, we will look at what face yoga is, whether we think it is worth doing, based on scientific evidence and user reviews, and we’ll look at how you could incorporate it into your life.
We’ll also examine some of the ways our face ages that we might not realise. We’ll explain what your philtrum is and how it changes as you get older!
Face yoga is often also called face exercise, and it is generally a sequence of exercises for the face and neck. It can also involve massage, and techniques designed to stimulate acupressure points and lymphatic drainage.
What is a philtrum?
The philtrum is the vertical groove that runs from the nose to the upper lip. At the bottom of the philtrum, we have the Cupid’s Bow, the V-shaped groove in our top lip. In youth, the philtrum has good volume and the Cupid’s Bow is well-defined. As we age, the philtrum and the area above the upper lip becomes longer and flatter, and the philtrum ridges and the Cupid’s Bow become less defined.
Recently, the “lip lift” plastic surgery procedure has become very popular. A horizontal section of the flesh under the nose is removed, which has the effect of shortening the philtrum and making the upper lip more prominent.
What we are going to consider in this article is whether you could achieve similar or even better results with face yoga. Surgery is expensive, involves recovery time, can have complications and leaves a small but visible scar under your nostrils. Face yoga can be completely free and has no side effects, but it requires your time and the discipline of building it into your daily routine.
What does the science say?
The 2018 study, “Association of Facial Exercise With the Appearance of Aging”, looked at the effect of a 20-week facial exercise program on the appearance of middle-aged women. The women were aged between 40 and 65, and were considered to have mild to moderate facial atrophy, referring to loss of underlying muscle definition. The results were measured by assessing before and after photos, and participant satisfaction questionnaires. The results showed an increase in upper and lower cheek fullness, and the estimated average age of the participants dropped from 50.8 to 48.1. This study has some limitations but it certainly suggests that there could be strong benefits to regular face exercise.
Interestingly, another 2018 study, “The effect of facial exercises on the mental health in elderly adults”, found that facial exercises can improve the mental health, facial expression, and tongue muscle power of elderly people.
Combining practical exercises, health and lifestyle advice and wellness tips, this is an essential book for anyone who wants to look and feel their best at any time of life.
- Offers practical step-by-step exercises targeted at specific problem areas as well as whole-face routines
- Includes focused chapters on all areas of the face, including the forehead, eyes, cheeks, mouth, jaw and neck
- Provides essential advice on nutrition, skincare and exercise regimes to support your Face Yoga and general overall wellness
What do the users say about face yoga?
You can find lots of positive experiences if you look at the user reviews on Amazon for face yoga books, and in the comments section of the YouTube videos. You can clearly see that a lot of people use these techniques and experience benefits, including improved face volume, better facial symmetry, and reduced wrinkles and lines.
How do I start doing face yoga?
It depends on what type of learner you are. Some people like to read instructions and prefer books, others are visual and prefer video. You can find many channels and videos on YouTube dedicated to face yoga, and there are a number of face yoga apps, which include premium or paid options.
The best thing about face yoga and exercise is that you don’t have to spend any money to do it as all the information you could ever need is already on YouTube. The beauty of the dedicated apps is that they have additional features like programs designed for your specific needs, and they can help you record how often you do the routines and the progress you are making.
We are big fans of the Masumi Channel on YouTube as her videos are very concise; you go straight into the exercises with very little wasted time, and Masumi is a young, Japanese woman who is very entertaining and fun! The video we are including below focuses on the lower face, but she has many, many videos so you could select one that addresses your particular concerns.
Face lifting exercises for beginners with Masumi Channel
Can face yoga improve your Philtrum and Cupid’s Bow?
Yes, for sure, you will see benefits if you do exercises that target the lower face and mouth area, with particular focus on the muscles of the upper lip. You will see the area plump up and regain definition.
We’re not sure that face yoga can actually shorten the philtrum so, if your philtrum length is a matter of concern, lip lift surgery might be a better option, if that is within your budget. We still think that, before considering surgery, you should spend a number of months doing face exercises to see what results they give you.
Conclusion
We often point out in our articles that signs of aging are much more complicated than people think. We tend to focus on wrinkles and skin quality, and don’t realise that things like the length and shape of the philtrum and Cupid’s Bow also play a big part in what age we look.
We think that face yoga and exercise make a lot of sense and appear to be evidence-based as the research certainly indicates that it is effective in helping people look younger.
The pros of face yoga are that it is free and it really does work. However, the major con would be that it is not always easy to build face exercises into your weekly routine. It’s the kind of thing that we start with enthusiasm but after a few weeks we forget about!
What do you think? Have you tried face yoga or exercise? How did you build it into your routine? Did you see good results?