Does facial yoga prevent or promote wrinkles?

Does facial yoga prevent or promote wrinkles?

Aging is unavoidable process that every person goes through in his or her life. A lot of effort has been spent around the world on finding ways to minimize the signs of aging from simple makeup to plastic surgery. New trends and treatments appear in the media regularly that claim to slow down or reverse the aging process.

Recently, facial yoga has gained a wide popularity. The proponents of facial yoga state that by exercising and tightening facial muscles, facial wrinkles can be minimized or prevented. As an example of some of the facial yoga exercises are grimacing or opening the mouth with the tongue out for a prolonged period of time while contracting various facial and neck muscles.

It is true that any exercise in general is a great way to maintain health. However, most plastic surgeons in Los Angeles will disagree that tightening facial muscles by grimacing will diminish wrinkles. It is clear today that strong facial muscles cause more wrinkling of the skin on animation and eventually resulting in permanent skin wrinkles. For example, a person with a strong forehead muscle (called frontalis muscle) is more likely to have deeper horizontal wrinkles on the forehead . Someone how has strong mimetic muscles around the eyes will have more pronounced wrinkles on the sides of the eyes (referred to as crow’s feet). People with strong neck muscle (called platysma) are more likely to have the vertical neck bands.

By weakening or paralyzing facial muscles, the skin wrinkles become less noticeable. This is why Botox has been effective at diminishing or preventing the appearance of wrinkles. When injected into the facial muscles, Botox renders the muscles incapable of contracting for about 3-6 months. When the muscle does not contract, little or no skin wrinkling can be produced on animation. People who have used Botox on a regular basis clearly have smoother foreheads and areas around the eyes than their peers who have not use it.

Vladimir Grigoryants, MD

Board Certified Plastic Surgeon in Glendale

Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon specializing in rhinoplasty, Breast augmentation, tummy tuck, and liposuction.