I took the 28-Day Challenge - Here’s What I Learned
Face Yoga - Malarkey or Magic?
Ok ladies, gents, anyone out there, what do we think about Face Yoga?
Has anyone tried it?
Does the 28-day challenge actually work on real people?
Do you really see results in 28 days or how long does it actually take?
As fall sets in and the summer tan starts to fade, it got me thinking about how to keep the summer glow through the wet season in the Med - and how to defy dull winter complexion.
On my quest to unleash my inner (and outer) Mediterranean Goddess, I’m up for trying anything! But I have to say I’m a little skeptical that face massage can achieve the results of a face lift … but would love to be proven wrong!
So I declared November Face Yoga month - a 28-Day Challenge - to give it a try.
It is now Day 28 and I am pleased to share my findings.
I’m also interested in what others have experienced with Face Yoga… or any tricks to the mastery for achieving the best results with Face Yoga. Please comment below!
What is Face Yoga?
What is Face Yoga?
So what do we know about Face Yoga?
Where did it come from?
Why is it all over Instagram and Tik Tok this year?
Is it a fad, fiction or real?
I love Yoga and have been practicing on and off since my 20s - but had never heard of Face Yoga. I used to travel to India a lot for my work, and I found an amazing Yoga retreat just outside of Bangalore, called Shreyas . In all my time there, we did not do Face Yoga - only Jal Neti, nasal cleansing and Shirodhara, an Ayurveda head massage treatment using medicated oils.
I did a little desk research and found out this about Face Yoga origins and practice.
Face Yoga - A Summary:
What is it? Facial muscle exercises and massage for anti-aging; facial movements that target individual facial muscles to stimulate microcirculation and bring more oxygen to cells; and specific massage techniques to promote lymphatic drainage. The benefit claims cite facial toning, lifting, and smoothing.
Where did it come from? Most articles cite ancient practices from India, China, and Japan; while one article adds Egypt, Ancient Greece and Roman cultures, as well as Native American practices.
Is there scientific evidence? Most articles caveat that there is very little research on Face Yoga. Interestingly, many articles cite the same study published in 2018 in the journal, JAMA Dermatology. It concludes that Face Yoga yielded modest short-term results, however, that “more research is needed” to understand longer-term effects. An article I found from Harvard Medical School, 2019 was less positive on Face Yoga.
Links to articles here:
Association of facial exercise with the appearance of aging - JAMA Dermatol. 2018
What Is Face Yoga—And Does It Actually Work? - April 2023
Does your face need a workout? - Harvard Medical School. 2019
A Guide to Face Yoga for a Healthy, Sculpted Glow - Vogue. May 2023
Why has Face Yoga Exploded in 2023?
In my google search, I noticed a big gap in the timeline of articles written about Face Yoga. Most of the articles I found are from this year, 2023. Why it is gaining such popularity now? A post-COVID craze of 28-day challenge fitness apps? Celebrity endorsements?
I don’t have an answer to this one, but someone is onto something - Stats from one of the articles cites 2.3 billion views on the TikTok hashtag #faceyoga (September 2023).
Face Yoga APPs vs. YouTube
So how to get started? I first started to see ads for Face Yoga APPs on my Instagram feed. There were a ton of different links to APPs. I started to go down this route, but after clicking on 3 of them I found a very similar approach:
Face Yoga APPs
They all ask you to take a quiz
Once you complete the quiz, and just as you are looking forward to revealing your personalised plan to a younger looking face in 28 days… They all ask you to sign up to a monthly subscription plan, add your credit card and…. HMMMMM
The prices of the APP plans can be steep - some Face Yoga APPs cost $29.99/month!
Face Yoga Videos on YouTube
As I was just looking to try this out, I was not willing to put down my credit card just yet. So I went to the FREE source, YouTube.
There are just as many Face Yoga Instruction videos on YouTube as there are APPs.
I picked 3 to watch before deciding on my Instructor for my 28-Day Challenge.
My 28-Day Face Yoga Challenge: The Method
For my 28-day challenge, I chose FREE YouTube videos from Pilates by Lisa - An Australian woman with amazing skin glow, and a calming voice.
I am trying a mix of Lisa’s 12-minute Face Yoga exercises routine, and 10-minute Face Yoga with Jade Roller - because I’ve been intrigued by those.
Lisa’s Face Yoga routines are easy, fast and require no equipment (unless you opt to add in the Jade Roller routine as I did).
12-minute Daily Face Yoga Exercises
I followed Lisa’s instructions with the 12-minute video every morning for the first week, as a good student**.
My second week started with a busy work morning, and so I decided to see if I’d memorised the routine enough to take it on the road - To combine my face yoga with my dog walk, which worked brilliantly! I love a multi-task opportunity. (More on exercising on your dog walk coming soon in a future blog!)
10-minute Face Yoga with Jade Roller
I did this one every night before bed. Again I practiced with Lisa on video the first week.
The second week I started to bring my Jade Roller to bed occasionally. I did the 10-minute routine, without video, while sitting up in bed, eyes closed, to calm me into sleep - which really has been soothing for those days when you can’t stop your racing mind.
I did not change anything else from my usual diet, exercise and vitamin routines in the 28 days, to isolate this focus group of 1, and to understand the full effects of Face Yoga.
My 28-Day Face Yoga Challenge: The Results
So what happened?
Do I declare magic or malarkey?
Here are my results:
WEEK 1: The first week I did feel amazing. It was like starting to exercise again after some time. My face muscles felt tight and I felt a spring of energy. This tight feeling in the face was exactly what I was looking for.
WEEK 2: By the end of the second week, dare I say, I started to see some difference around my chin and jawline. I wasn’t sure if it was wishful thinking on my part - kinda hard to tell small changes when you stare at your face in the mirror every day. But I swear, there was renewed definition there.
WEEK 3: In the third week I was surprised to still feel that tight and energetic sensation, with dare I say, a bit more glow?
WEEK 4: By the fourth week, noticeable changes did not appear as dramatically from what I experienced after the second and third weeks. However the toning around my chin and jawline seems to have maintained.
As for the Jade Roller, I absolutely love this! It has a cool calming sensation that is meant to be contributing to lymphatic drainage in the face to reduce puffiness and tired eyes.
My Conclusion?
I wouldn’t say its malarkey - but magic may be a stretch, at least in 28 days.
While not exactly a face lift, my take is that there may be something to this. I have definitely experienced some positive change in 28 days. If you read any of the articles cited above, you will note that most commentators, authors and MDs recommend that this is not a 1-month crash fix, but rather visible results happen over time - and that Face Yoga should be combined with other wellness, diet and exercise for an overall healthy lifestyle.
I’m really happy that I tried the Jade Roller as part of this challenge. A welcome surprise add to my wellness routine. I really love the cool and calming sensation, although I’m not sure how this is contributing to visible changes in my face - I suspect the “Vogue Your Face” workout of muscular exercises are doing more for toning and smoothing. But I will stick with it for a moment to exhale each day.
Will I continue?
Yes. I’m interested in seeing if there are more visible effects over the longer term with a regular Face Yoga regimen.
I may try out some other YouTube Face Yoga videos to switch up the daily routines. I’m still not convinced that this is something I need to pay for via an APP however.
I will evaluate again after 3 and 6 months… and I will happily report back on my findings in a future blog.
Please share your experience with Face Yoga in the comments below!
Jade
Lewon
Med
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