If anyone could make us believe in the power of facial exercise, it’s royal bride-to-be Meghan Markle. Sure, she’s been blessed with killer scaffolding, but her face alwayslooks toned and taught in addition to her good bone structure.
The actress credits British facialist Nichola Joss (a Bazaar favourite), for her bright, chiselled visage, having spoken about her facial massage techniques in beauty interviews and on her now-defunct lifestyle blog with a piece on her “life changing facial”.
Talking to Birchbox, the actress explained that she doesn’t only rely on professional facial massage with Joss, but does DIY facial exercises, too.
“I do facial exercises from one of my favourite aestheticians, Nicola Joss, who basically has you sculpt your face from the inside out,” she explained. “I swear it works, as silly as you may feel. On the days I do it, my cheekbones and jawline are waaaay more sculpted. There’s a reason she is in high demand around awards season when every actress wants to look A-plus.”
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Leading face yoga expert, Danielle Collins, says that the right facial exercises can “strengthen muscles attached to the skin, improve lymph flow and relax lines caused by holding tension in the face for long periods of time”. This could, therefore, reduce wrinkles and puffiness, lift sagging skin and allow the skin to look healthier.
Collins has created her own method featuring key facial exercises (below) to be performed in combination with skin massage which work the lower, middle and upper layer of skin. She believes that “by working all these layers correctly, it will increase the blood circulation, allowing more oxygen and more nourishment to reach the cells of the skin”. Hello glow.
But don’t forget the massage. “Face massage combined with the face exercises will increase the collagen and elastin, the natural plumping agents which will mean a firmer and healthier complexion. Boosting the collagen and elastin is a key way for the skin to look younger and healthier.”
Here, Collins demonstrates her top facial exercise moves.
1. The owl
Danielle Collins
“Make a big C shape with your thumb and index fingers. Place your index finger just above and parallel to your eyebrows and your thumbs on your cheeks. Start to pull down with the index fingers while trying to raise your eyebrows and making the eyes wide. Hold for two seconds, relax and repeat again. Now do three more times. Then hold this position for ten seconds. This will firm up the forehead, reducing lines and wrinkles.”
