Facial Exercise: Share the Process and Results
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Wed Aug 19, 2009 8:14 am

Patti1013 wrote:

Hi Newera,
Thanks for your detailed response. For many of the same reasons you mentioned, Carolyn's program has been one of the top three I've considered purchasing. I don't know how long the CFF program has been out and how long it took her to develop it, but I noticed she started facial exercise at 53 (I was barely 54 when I started six months ago) so given the fact that we started face ex's at around the same age, I would think in general that the age related issues I want to address are in her program. I also liked seeing believable before and after pictures of women over 50. And I too found her website to be very informative.

Also, thanks for the detailed report of your progress. Congratulations on your success! I completely agree with you Newera, consistency and perseverance are key to success. Facial exercise doesn't provide instant results, it long-term and cumulative. And I love the idea that I'm in the driver's seat and not at the mercy of someone with a knife in their hand!

I love Loulou's brilliant Ageless if You Dare program. It's a very good and intense workout, so yes, I have dealt with the awkward phases. Mostly in the first few months. Now I know when to back off and take a break.

Stay in touch and keep me posted with your progress.

Thank you, Patti. Yes, I will do further posts from time to time.

free skin care · Wed Aug 19, 2009 8:57 am

I hope it's okay for me to be candid here... Smile

I guess I don't believe that it's possible for any facial exercise program to be 100% free of awkward stages for every single person simply because no one size fits all, just like in body-building/exercising. Of course, I totally believe some programs are much more likely to lead to awkward stages than others (and CFF may be way less likely to produce awkward stages and that would be a large plus for many people), but it all depends upon whether you are using a muscle-building/bulking program (vs a toning program), which muscles are targeted in the program, the training schedule, how quickly people build up each of their muscles, etc. For example, I know Loulou designed her Ageless program to minimize or eliminate awkward stages (and I think she did a good job with that), and for a lot of people this worked, but there are still people on her forum who run into awkward stages. In fact, I even had awkward stages doing Facercise, and I know it is rare for people doing Facercise to complain of awkward stages! As a third example, I do know people who have muscle imbalances from doing pilates--very rare--but it goes to show that no program is 100% perfect, imo. I bring it up because I think it is important for people to have realistic expectations and to be prepared to stick with it in case things get a little rough from uneven build. As Debbie Merrill says, "Don't quit before the miracle happens" Smile

Also, I hope it's okay that I point this out. On Carolyn's web site, she has a photo of a woman named Nonie (http://www.carolynsfacialfitness.com/nonie), who said she did "too aggressive" facial exercise program, got too much built and went into awkward stages, but now has fixed this problem by doing CFF. I suspect the "too aggressive" program was FlexEffect. This is the only picture I have found of the relative comparison of build on two different facial exercise programs, and as such, might be extremely helpful for people to understand that different types of build are possible and that programs are customizable. So it appears that very different results are possible. (FWIW, personally, I think Nonie looks younger and better in the "Before" pictures because her cheeks are fuller and the focal point of her cheeks is higher, whereas in the "After" picture, Nonie's cheeks look a little flatter and lower, even though she has more of a balanced/no awkward stages look in the "After" picture. But the most important thing is that Nonie is happy and found what works for her!) So my message is simply that if something isn't working for you, it may be that the program needs to be tweaked (consult the developer and/or others experienced in that method), or simply try a different program. It is possible to go for different types of builds and results Smile

I hope this helps! Smile

free skin care · Wed Aug 19, 2009 10:30 am

Newera, welcome to EDS!

I'm so glad to see someone else here who has done and liked CFF. I love Carolyn's program and so far it remains my favorite - I am currently doing Loulou's Ageless because I'm so time-crunched and it's the shortest program I have found, but when I have more time on the weekends I often do CFF still, and I know I'll get back to doing it comprehensively at some point. (I do like to try all different sorts of facial exercise programs!)

I've posted earlier in this thread about CFF but not in so much detail. Your posts have been extremely helpful. One of the things I especially like about Carolyn's program is the very believable and inspiring improvements shown in people in my age range and higher - including Carolyn herself. The fact that it is working so well for you is also inspiring and cheering - we're on the right road with facial exercises & massage, and it's never too late to start!

newera wrote:

Hi, Patti. This is my first post on the forum, so I hope I do it right. I'd like to put in a word for Carolyn's Facial Fitness. I'm nearly 64 and have been doing CFF for eight months. I had always been told I look younger than my age, but I was beginning to see the lines and sagging increasing little by little. I'm not one to take things lying down, but I would never have gone down the route of invasive procedures, even if I had the money to do it - which I don't. Fear would be a big enough deterrent on its own, plus my preference for doing things for myself. I knew something about facial exercises, but decided to find out more, so after several days' worth of surfing the internet, I had a lot more information. I read it all carefully, but finally decided on Carolyn's Facial Fitness. What made me lean towards CFF first of all was the comprehensiveness of the website - there's a huge amount of information - plus I felt a kindred spirit with Carolyn when I read about how she developed her programme. Also, the Before/After photos featured older women who I could identify with and who had achieved striking but believable results with CFF. Carolyn herself started facial exercises at 50, so that was an encouragement in itself. I think the biggest plus of all, though, was Carolyn's promise that she personally answers all queries. She provides an email address, phone number and even her home address. That easy accessibility really appealed to me, because no matter how clear the programme (and CFF is very clear), I always have little questions that come to mind. There were lots of them, but Carolyn has been true to her word and I can honestly say that most of my emails have been responded to within the hour - as long as I bear in mind the time-difference between Seattle and the UK, where I live. I find her to be very friendly and approachable and genuinely interested in her clients. As for the programme itself, what I like about it is that it covers the whole of the face and neck, including the nose and ears - and there's even a technique for 'rubbing out' lines and wrinkles. So, eight months in, what are the results so far? Well, to my great relief, there have been no 'awkward phases' such as users of other programmes have reported. I couldn't have coped with that, even temporarily, and Carolyn promised there wouldn't be any. I would say the first real signs of progress came after about four months. My skin started to feel thicker and springier - something that most facial exercisers report, whatever the programme. Over the next few months, my cheeks, eyelids and brows gradually lifted, my neck and upper chest became stronger and smoother. Everything now feels firm, plump and taut - even my earlobes! Another thing I've noticed is my improved facial posture. For years I'd walked around with my mouth slightly open, as it seemed an effort to close it fully (I suppose because of slack mouth-muscles). Now my natural default position is to hold my lips lightly together - which I can only think is because the muscles around my mouth have tightened up. I'm working on the lines around my mouth, which are slowly but gradually responding to the 'rubbing out' technique. Carolyn warned me it would be a long job, but I told her I'm up for it - and I am! To me at age 64, all these improvements are very gratifying. Because CFF is such a comprehensive system and suits me, I intend to continue with it for the rest of my life, and I'm sure I can expect to see further improvements over time. Consistency and perseverance are the key.

free skin care · Wed Aug 19, 2009 6:43 pm

Quote... As Debbie Merrill says, "Don't quit before the miracle happens"

Awesome...!!!!!

free skin care · Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:32 pm

aprile wrote:

... I have incorporated dry brushing with the facial beauty mitt and new bamoo mitt that Carole Maggio sells. I am stunned at how I've had such great success using these two little babies!! They are very inexpensive too ~ only about $7 & $10 each. When I first saw them I thought how in the heck can they work? But, they have truly changed my complexion, lifted my face and even generated collagen production ~ my skin just feels thicker. You might want to try them to jump start your program! Aprile Smile

Aprile, I have both of the mitts and I love them. I haven't remembered to use them every morning but I'm gradually getting into the groove and I think my skin likes it. I actually used a little face brush to dry-brush my face previously but I find I prefer the massaging feel of my hand in the mitt on my face. I try to do this right before the NLL routine on my body in the mornings - haven't managed to do it regularly yet but I'll get there!

free skin care · Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:54 pm

I'm all about facial massage - I do it when I can - and try to be daily. wish I had gotten the bamboo facial mitt - I got the other one and I use it regularly.

I checked out CFF site and tried some of the exercises and liked them. Of course I have not done the entire set so I cannot comment as to the comprehensive nature of it (as compared to FE). Fe makes your entire face feel worked out - a day at the facial gym! As to Nonie's pictures I think she was young to start with and therefore looked rather good already but did improve over time. I did not think her overbuilt look was anthing I would call obvious or problematic. I thought she looked good for all the exercises she did.
All faces are different and the way we use our muscles differ.
I do appreciate that many of the faces on Carolyn's site are probably not spring chicken's but she doesn't give age (unless I missed that) which FE does and that helps me.

I appreciate knowing Carolyn is in her early 60's and shows her progression.
I did enjoy Caroyn's site and would love to try her program. I would love to try Carole Maggio's too. I know there are great benefits of all the programs and wish I could know better how they differ and how they are similar.
Is there anyone who has done ALL OF THEM? Wouldnt that be great to have a panel who has done all of these and can discuss differences, and how each type might benefit different people?

Thu Aug 20, 2009 8:53 pm

sister sweets wrote:

I'm all about facial massage - I do it when I can - and try to be daily. wish I had gotten the bamboo facial mitt - I got the other one and I use it regularly.

I checked out CFF site and tried some of the exercises and liked them. Of course I have not done the entire set so I cannot comment as to the comprehensive nature of it (as compared to FE). Fe makes your entire face feel worked out - a day at the facial gym! As to Nonie's pictures I think she was young to start with and therefore looked rather good already but did improve over time. I did not think her overbuilt look was anthing I would call obvious or problematic. I thought she looked good for all the exercises she did.
All faces are different and the way we use our muscles differ.
I do appreciate that many of the faces on Carolyn's site are probably not spring chicken's but she doesn't give age (unless I missed that) which FE does and that helps me.

I appreciate knowing Carolyn is in her early 60's and shows her progression.
I did enjoy Caroyn's site and would love to try her program. I would love to try Carole Maggio's too. I know there are great benefits of all the programs and wish I could know better how they differ and how they are similar.
Is there anyone who has done ALL OF THEM? Wouldnt that be great to have a panel who has done all of these and can discuss differences, and how each type might benefit different people?

I've thought exactly the same thing. Well, maybe not owning all the programs out there, but eventually investing in at least three or four of them. I'm still fairly new at this, six months of Ageless does not make me an expert. But I've seen positive changes that keep me motivated and I would like to explore other facial exercise programs.

I'm pretty sure I'll buy FE when the new DVD/book is available. I don't question that one. In the meantime, I'm seriously thinking about buying Carolyn's Facial Fitness for the reasons I mentioned in my earlier post. And as I've said, I like her website. It's fairly comprehensive, although I too would have liked to see ages mentioned in the before and afters. That would be a big help for a point of reference. I've also tried a couple of the freebie sample exercises she offers on her site, and yes, it's not enough to evaluate the whole program.

If or when I buy CFF, I'll post a detailed review for everyone here.

free skin care · Fri Aug 21, 2009 6:37 am

Meta ~ I have a real thin face and my skin was getting thin due to peri-meno. Since I've been consistently using them both now for over a month, I cannot believe how much thicker my skin feels. This to me is such an acomplishment due to the prior condition of my skin even with facial exercise. I use 30 circular motions per area of my face. As for an awkward stage with Facercise ~ I wouldn't call it that ~ I'd call it a backwards stage. BUT, that was because I was doing the exercises more than the recommended twice a day due to my extreme impatience!! Apparently when you do this, you strip the muscles of the face. The muscles of the face are very small and respond quickly, but we must not overwork them ~ hence an awkward stage or more like it ~ backward stage. If you don't give those small muscles time to recuperate and build ~ this will continue to happen. Just guessing, but perhaps this is what happens with some of these programs where the workouts are more intense. All the best, Aprile

free skin care · Fri Aug 21, 2009 8:13 am

How long do you give your muscles a rest, a couple of days without any facial exercise??

free skin care · Fri Aug 21, 2009 9:20 am

I would disagree that "awkward stages" are steps backwards. Although, obviously, a person may interpret this as undesirable.

Generally, an awkward stage is evidence of an imbalance in the facial structures. Generally already existing and made obvious. They can be brought on in several ways. They are really something we've only noted in this ever growing field of facial exercises in the last 5-7 years... (as we have realized more and more that the handling the face like a peice of wet tissue is a directive for a person with a skin disease)... and further, as we have more people of an older generation working their faces for the first time as opposed to starting out as when they are young. (I think desperation has lead many to finally challenge their old ways of thinking in order to avoid the knife and costly injections).

Awkward stages can be brought on by, as already stated, an overzealous individual who jumps on the more is better train. (don't worry, one can always get off that train, and return to their actual destination... I would relate this to the guy that builds his biceps non stop and ignores his legs...). They can be brought on by a misunderstanding of form and one needs individual attention to work his/her own genetic placement. And I think what we see now most often, is an individual, who is getting a late start (which by my personal def can be in their late 30's if they've allowed damage... sun... bad diet... etc)... and that person wakes up areas in an un-uniform manner. Which is bound to happen with ANY workout that is meant to address issues to bring on more than a subtle change. You will see this in a gym all the time. An overweight person will go through weird looking stages as fat disappears (say from the rear first, or the belly first.. or unfairly from the chest first.) And muscle develops at different rates. How many women do you know that won't lift weights because their glutes and quads respondsat MOCK speed... They end up looking even MORE bottom heavy. Step backwards? Well... for the ego, and emotions... perhaps. For the well educated? Absolutely not. It's progress.

Again, and I think I have a whole awkward stages write up in one of these threads... But it is self awareness that helps a person avoid, and or correct these... Seek guidance when it's not intuitively obvious. So, like for the body, when you see that your glutes and quads are getting huge, you CHANGE your routine. You don't quit it. When you see that your lips are getting too big in realation to the rest of the face. BACK OFF. You respond well. Perhaps too well for your liking. Trust me, many women would kill for the ability to respond.

Regarding how long to rest your face: If you are getting a tired look, you should compare that to an overly sore body after a workout. Mildly sore, you can do a workout... if you can't walk... hold off. Same thing goes for the face. If you're swollen, or puffy, or look exhausted. Recuperate as long as necessary. Those NEEDED breaks will get fewer and further in between.

free skin care · Fri Aug 21, 2009 6:46 pm

Regarding resting....

Right now for most muscles, I am working them at such an intensity that I could do them every day, even though I have chosen not to do them everyday. I have chosen not to do them everyday because I'm doing virtually all the exercises in FlexEffect (covering the 26 voluntary muscles in the face), but I don't want to spend more than 20 minutes on my face each day, including massage...hence I try to hit half of my facial muscles each day.

Virtually all facial exercise programs have you work or say you can/should work each facial muscle in their program every day (Ageless is the one exception I know of). But if you are going for a maximum increase in muscle, then if you go by traditional bodybuilding philosophy, you would want to train harder (lift heavier weights) but rest longer, like 2-3 days in between training sessions for each muscle. So for my cheeks right now, I'm currently experimenting with working them hard enough to need to rest at least 48 hours (but no more than 72 hours) between training sessions. For those of you familiar with the FlexEffect cheek bootcamp, what I am doing is slightly less intense as week 2 of the three week program. And if I mess up and over-train, I'm willing to live with the temporary consequences for the potential opportunity to learn and build a lot more muscle Smile

As to how to tell when to rest, I use the metric of when any soreness goes away plus 1/2-1 day extra as a rough guideline...but after a while of getting familiar with particular muscles, you get a sense of what they can handle Smile

free skin care · Mon Aug 24, 2009 9:15 am

On Carolyn's FF I've been looking at the free Jowl Lift exercises.
I'm not quite sure how to do the Grand Gesture - do you make a semi circle at the corners of the mouth and keep the fingers there during the countdown?
How would that lift the jowls?

TIA

free skin care · Mon Sep 07, 2009 7:01 pm

cm5597 wrote:

Regarding resting....

.....But if you are going for a maximum increase in muscle, then if you go by traditional bodybuilding philosophy, you would want to train harder (lift heavier weights) but rest longer, like 2-3 days in between training sessions for each muscle. So for my cheeks right now, I'm currently experimenting with working them hard enough to need to rest at least 48 hours (but no more than 72 hours) between training sessions. For those of you familiar with the FlexEffect cheek bootcamp, what I am doing is slightly less intense as week 2 of the three week program. And if I mess up and over-train, I'm willing to live with the temporary consequences for the potential opportunity to learn and build a lot more muscle Smile

AS I understand it the facial muscles are different than the muscles of the body and because they are so small and not worked the same way as the body - resting in between is not required nor recommended. but let us know how it works out for you. I have to get back into FE forum and check out that bootcamp!

free skin care · Mon Sep 07, 2009 7:57 pm

Sister... It's not the size of the muscle that dictates that you can work your muscles daily, it's the fact that you don't tear the muscle up (for the purpose of build) as MUCH as you would the body muscles with weights.

Ex: When you do bicep curls, you use a weight in hand. Lift as much as you can. You create tiny tears. Muscle growth is the evidence of healing those tears. Then, when you are stronger, and you add MORE weight...you keep up the muscle tearing routine... The muscle must be allowed to heal. Otherwise, you just break it down... which will probably result in injury, and utter dissatisfaction.

With a facial exercise, you use your own hands for resistance. You can not 'cause the same degree of tears in the muscle fiber as you would with a weight that you keep increasing overtime. Because of this, you need much less to little time to "recover." It is, however, adding resistance that allows for the tiny tears in muscle and hence the build. From an FE perspective that's the goal.

Again, if a person looks worse for the wear after a facial exercise program, they are exposing some damaged tissues, and would probably want to rest. Kind of like a couch potato taking her first aerobics class. It's gonna be REALLY obvious how out of shape she is within the hour. We recommend breaks at this juncture so as not to send a person into emotional despair requiring some sort of anti depressant in order to continue. If a person can work through that... then they can safely go on...

At this juncture, a persons personality and ability to cope needs to be written into the scheme of things.

free skin care · Mon Sep 07, 2009 8:37 pm

Claudia wrote:

Sister... It's not the size of the muscle that dictates that you can work your muscles daily, it's the fact that you don't tear the muscle up (for the purpose of build) as MUCH as you would the body muscles with weights.

...I posted some questions about this in the "Facercise" thread, but Claudia, if you don't mind, it would be great to hear your answer in this post instead...

My question, as posed in the Facercise thread, was

cm5597 wrote:

I have to be honest and confess that I have never quite understood this particular point. For example, even when training the body, one can do body-weight type exercises with high variable resistance and build muscle, just like we do with facial exercises. So there doesn't seem to me to be any concrete difference between training body and facial muscles.

To give a concrete example, if I only do 1 set until failure (or almost failure) for say my biceps, I know I could train every day. But I wouldn't build as much muscle as if I did 3 sets til failure for my biceps, but exercised them every 2 or 3 days. Wouldn't the same thing apply to the face? And if the facial muscles don't tear down as much after 1 set of say 10 reps and I could do this every day, doesn't that mean that I should just do more sets (plus more subsequent rest) so they tear down more and hence build up even larger than if I were training them every day? This is just something I've always been confused about.

Just saw this below too...

ClaudiaFE wrote:

It is, however, adding resistance that allows for the tiny tears in muscle and hence the build.

...so wouldn't you want a bit more tears so that you can't train every day, but hence build more muscle in the long-term. Because I can and am certainly training hard enough right now by doing extra sets such that I can't train every day (similar to a FlexEffect bootcamp, with an intensity between weeks 1 and 2) and that seems to be working quite well so far!

Thanks SO much! Smile

free skin care · Mon Sep 07, 2009 8:39 pm

P.S. I should have said ... "To give a concrete example, if I only do 1 set OF PUSH-UPS until failure (or almost failure) for say my biceps, I know I could train every day. But I wouldn't build as much muscle as if I did 3 sets of PUSH-UPS til failure for my biceps, but exercised them every 2 or 3 days." ... to make a better analogy with facial resistance training.

free skin care · Mon Sep 07, 2009 9:04 pm

Hey CM...

I difference has to do with how much your resistance weighs...

Yes, without weight, you can apply resistance and change it up and get different results...That what I mean by hitting the muscle differently. In the same way you can curl just 15 lbs and a rotation changes the entire exercise AND result...

But you're not adding weight in your pushup example, and therefore can't tear it up the same way... or to the extent if weight was involved. Now, have your child sit on your back and do those pushups... you're gonna tear more!!! Also, I would disagree that anyone can do 3 sets of an exercise to "failure"... once you've hit failure... you can't keep going. If you can... you didn't hit failure.. it just hurt really bad...

Consider the person that does pilates... ONLY... I guarantee they will NEVER qualify for a body building competition. (beautiful bodies? Yes, BIG and BULKY? NO WAY! They will change up the routine, and even add a bit more weight through stronger springs, but without constant added weight, over time regardless of sets and reps, they can't get much bigger. But I do agree that how they tweak their routine fatigues the muscles in different ways...

Your face is the same. You may be getting more aggressive, which means that over time you are able to activate MORE muscle. Remember when you first started and couldn't move certain parts and now you can? Well, those newly moving parts are available to you to tear... (doesn't that sound horrid? But it's a good thing... I PROMISE...) But unless your cheeks are moving up from the weight you can apply with your own fingers to 5 lbs, to 10 lbs, you can't tear it down in the same way you can your arms and legs... and really, you don't want to.

Does that help? If not... fire off some more...

free skin care · Mon Sep 07, 2009 9:09 pm

I should add that with your Push Up analogy, by doing more without weight, like the face you can achieve more faster... But you're not likely to build A LOT of size. I would expect you to cut up more... Kind of the way a dancer does, or a yoga person (yogi??) does. Stronger and more cut.

free skin care · Tue Sep 08, 2009 9:50 am

ClaudiaFE wrote:

But you're not adding weight in your pushup example, and therefore can't tear it up the same way... or to the extent if weight was involved. Now, have your child sit on your back and do those pushups... you're gonna tear more!!!

But there is weight involved in a push-up--it's the weight of having to support your body...hence it's a bodyweight exercise, with the weight/resistance provided by one's body. You can see this because some people cannot do full push-ups and have to lean on their knees, which lessens the resistance/load. As long as the weight of your body is heavy enough to provide high enough resistance, then you should be able to tear down muscle and re-build much bigger muscle...it's only when you become strong enough that your own bodyweight doesn't feel so heavy anymore that your own bodyweight alone won't build much size and you need the additional weight of, say, a child. Would you agree with that more precise statement, or am I missing something?

ClaudiaFE wrote:

Also, I would disagree that anyone can do 3 sets of an exercise to "failure"... once you've hit failure... you can't keep going. If you can... you didn't hit failure.. it just hurt really bad...

I just meant the standard definition of a set--a continuous number of repetitions followed by a rest. So the idea of a rest between each set was implied, as is the convention when mentioning the number of sets one performs. Hope that clarifies what I meant Smile

With that clarified, what are your thoughts on this?

ClaudiaFE wrote:

Your face is the same. You may be getting more aggressive, which means that over time you are able to activate MORE muscle. Remember when you first started and couldn't move certain parts and now you can? Well, those newly moving parts are available to you to tear... (doesn't that sound horrid? But it's a good thing... I PROMISE...) But unless your cheeks are moving up from the weight you can apply with your own fingers to 5 lbs, to 10 lbs, you can't tear it down in the same way you can your arms and legs... and really, you don't want to.

I agree with this...

I think what I am still confused about is why we don't aim for enough intensity in training a particular facial muscle such that we can't train it every day... In training the body muscles, we aim not to train them every day so that we can train them harder, and the formula of more intense training + longer rest brings the most gains... So I would think that if you were going for maximum build in facial muscles, rather than doing one set and training every day, you'd want to do maybe 2-3 sets of 10 reps (or less) with more resistance applied by your fingers and train every 2-3 days.

Hope this clarifies what I meant! Sorry, I'm having trouble describing what I mean Smile

Thanks so much, Claudia!! I really appreciate all your help! Smile

free skin care · Tue Sep 08, 2009 10:41 am

Hey CM... it's a tough thing to describe for me too... I have to run around a bit today... I'll try to get back to this by this evening...

C

free skin care · Tue Sep 08, 2009 11:19 am

No rush--Thanks so much, Claudia! You know I really appreciate it Smile

free skin care · Tue Sep 08, 2009 12:25 pm

These are good questions, but to answer them fully would be like writing a book in itself. Lets just say the hardwork of working the muscles to their core in the shortest amount of time and to their maximum has been done and in testing we found that the best results came from working out daily and to 10 reps per exercise to a count of 6. I did some beta testing, and found that once people had been doing it for a while, they got a more intense workout by extending the count somewhat, but its literally a huge subject in and of itself that has so much detail it might be overwhelming for many.

When we do body workouts we use external weight through a movement, and usually the body muscles are so much larger than that of the face (whose largest muscle is the masseter and even when you compare that to the bicep or calf muscles, you can appreciate the size distinction). But not only that, when you work out your biceps, you will use your arms to a further extent than you will use your facial muscles after working out. So you will keep the stress on the fibres that you have torn, whereas where you have exercised your face, you will never tear 100% of the muscle fibres - the body won't let you do that - its nature is to do everything it can to survive, and so it will interfere before your able to get the whole muscle fibres of whatever muscle your targetting. Not only that but the face is usually much more balanced of slow/fast twitch fibres, whereas the more active muscles of the body are one type or another (and usually its depend on the level of activity as to whether they are fast or slow - an example is long distance runners versus sprinters).

Its a huge subject that I don't wont to bore readers with here as its literally a book in the making already (and there is even more on the subject than the basic anatomical parts I have mentioned here already!).

free skin care · Tue Sep 08, 2009 3:32 pm

Thanks Sean - that's kind of what I meant many posts back when I said it wasn't the same as working the body. Facial muscle (I mentioned the size), etc being different in many ways than the body and how we work it out. I do my counts for longer for many areas - cheeks, neck, etc. but still try to hit it - FE or Ageless almost everyday (if not everyday). I think most of the readers are involved enough in facial exercise to appreciate and keep up with what you have to tell them. Thanks a lot for the good info.

free skin care · Tue Sep 08, 2009 4:08 pm

Hi Everyone,

I have been considering trying the facial exercises, but have neck and jaw problems. I'd like to hear from some of you that have similar problems and have used these exercises. Did it help your pain or make it worse Question

Thanks for any input Wink

free skin care · Tue Sep 08, 2009 4:25 pm

My suggestion is - Since you already have neck and jaw problems I would NOT do exercises that work the TMJ, jaw and neck area. Without an evaluation and a specialists recommendation these are too risky.

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