Facial Exercises: why is stretching/rubbing/pulling good?
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free skin care · Tue Apr 24, 2012 9:08 am

ClaudiaFE wrote:

TheresaMary wrote:

yes I'm also interestd to hear from Deb? I know the thread you're talking about and she did say she was going to try it? Wonder if Claudia knows or will speak to her and can tell us?

Luminosity wrote:

Did Deb Crowley ever investigate if she found the Vaculifter to be of benefit? With the massage and cross stretching, does the Vaculifter truly add anything else?

I suppose for those days when you feel tired (my arms ache sometimes from having to hold them up to cross stretch) it might come in handy. Otherwise, the blood flow and plumping from cross stretching seems quite amazing on its own.

Hey there,

NO, neither of us have tried the Vaculifter. Not for any particular reason other than there always exists a lack of time to devote to some things. Keeps getting pushed aside for other things.

I'm super curious about it, and if you could see my to do list. Well, you might faint. LOL! I know that Nanci sells them at http://ncnskincare.com/blog/vaculifter The whole system intrigues me. And since it's working the tissues in a direction that you can't really create with your hands, I very much think it's worth a try. But I don't have experience with the item to pass down.

Claudia, thank you for the update! I love my cross stretching so I am wondering if you could clarify what you mean by the Vaculifter working the tissue in a direction that you can't create with your hands... Do you mean the suction is drawing cellular fluid/ toxins/ etc. from the dermis to the epidermis... and then causing a kind of lymphatic drainage effect? If so, could deep massage simulate this to a certain degree?

Just trying to wrap my head around the benefits and if I should get (yet another!) gadget to help the process of toning/firming.

Thank you again! Smile

free skin care · Tue Apr 24, 2012 5:40 pm

Hi, Luminosity.

I'm not an expert on lymph drainage.I am a believer in stimulating the lymphs, but wouldn't be able to guide a person with their face.

What I mean is, the vaculifter sucks the skin outward. It doesn't strike me it's in the same fashion as when we cross stretch, and massage.

So, just another way of hitting the tissues. Do you NEED to do that? Not necessarily. But I would personally have to work with the tool in order to give an opinion about how I think it would benefit. Other than what they claim on the video clips.

Have you tried massaging from inside you mouth? Use your CLEAN thumbs and work in circles around ALL the tissues you can reach within your mouth, Cheek. WOW! For sure! I include gum tissue (with more of a thumb behind teeth, pointer finger hooked over gums with a squeeze0

free skin care · Tue Apr 24, 2012 5:50 pm

ClaudiaFE wrote:

Hi, Luminosity.

I'm not an expert on lymph drainage.I am a believer in stimulating the lymphs, but wouldn't be able to guide a person with their face.

What I mean is, the vaculifter sucks the skin outward. It doesn't strike me it's in the same fashion as when we cross stretch, and massage.

So, just another way of hitting the tissues. Do you NEED to do that? Not necessarily. But I would personally have to work with the tool in order to give an opinion about how I think it would benefit. Other than what they claim on the video clips.

Have you tried massaging from inside you mouth? Use your CLEAN thumbs and work in circles around ALL the tissues you can reach within your mouth, Cheek. WOW! For sure! I include gum tissue (with more of a thumb behind teeth, pointer finger hooked over gums with a squeeze0

Thanks for clarifying, Claudia! And wow, the inside mouth massage sounds fascinating. I just now finished my FlexEffect exercises and ended with some cross stretching. Feeling nicely pink and invigorated right about now! Smile

If you ever do the Vaculift I would love to hear your impression. For now I might just stick to massage, exercise, and cross stretching... but you never know what the faries might drop off in the mail!

Sat Sep 22, 2012 1:19 am

I go for face slimming facials and it involves a lot of hard massages on the facial. When I asked, the therapist said it is necessary. I suppose if there are massage cream applied, the rubbing should not incur any "damage".

free skin care · Wed Mar 13, 2013 10:59 am

I just thought I would bump this topic, because I find it to be a very interesting one.

I was reading through the thread and I noticed one of the posts by SeanyUK mentioning light resistance around the eyes is only good for so long. And when I look at my eyes I think that I could possibly make a change and I really want to get into more vigorous rubbing around there. But with that said, I may regret it and have the problem of, "if it aint broke, dont fix it".

I can without a doubt say that rubbing, stretching, and exercise is generally very good for the face. I have been doing this now for about 5 years, I will be turning 27 this year. I am just still so hesitant around the eye area to continue rubbing.

I have tried rubbing around the eye area the last couple of days, and the general consensus that I look tired. Should I stick through this or is it better to stop?

Thanks guys!

free skin care · Thu Mar 14, 2013 2:46 am

Hey Bob

I know what you mean, and I’m guessing you are a guy so in some ways I think guys are much more luckier than us girls because you don’t rip each other to pieces over looks, and also you don’t get bombarded with what to do/not do etc. I got into facial exercises after losing a lot of weight in my 50’s, and my face sagged big time. I did start out with lighter resistance exercises but for me, the thing that really took it up a notch was when I used a lot of resistance. I’m not so sure that at 27 years you want to be using heavy resistance, as you are probably needing to maintain what you got rather than undo damage. It might be a good idea to ask SeanyUK directly, but I don’t think he visits here now, but he may be better able to give you some advice.

With rubbing around the eyes, and looking tired – are you actually tired? For me, my eyes are okay, nothing spectacular but when I look at my friends my age group I (am slightly biased) do think they look better. Yet I know if I don’t sleep very well or have stresses my eyes show that generally. I do think like when you start out, a couple of days is early timings to me, and that you need to do it for a period of time. If you think back to when you did facial exercises, your cheeks may have been quick to respond but some other muscles may not, well I think with eyes sometimes from what I’ve read they too do the same. Don’t know the answer but figured it worth sharing some ideas!

Tessie

Mon Nov 04, 2013 1:34 am

I'm not quite certain if this query should rightfully go in this thread or should rather be posted at one of the massage topics out there. But this mainly has to do with post-exercise or adjunctive regimen that those who do FE includes with their program. The q's are as follows:

1. Do you do the massage (be it pinching, pulling, pressing or sliding) daily or does it coincide with the FE schedule? If done daily, what sort of massage are you doing? I understand Tanaka is inadvisable to be done often.

2. For those who incorporate dry brushing as well together with the massage and FE, isn't it too much stimulation for the skin as it has been "manhandled" just by the FE alone esply with resistance-based programs where one does a lot of tugging and pinching? I agree that stimulating the skin by above means would help with thickening it, making it plumper and look healthier. But im also inclined to believe that the skin can only take as much and this would vary individually and would there be any unfavorable consequences if ever the skin has been overstimulated?

free skin care · Mon Nov 04, 2013 5:08 am

Well I’m not a program creator so imagine that depending on which program you are using there will be different results but I do all of those things so will share my own experience if that helps.

1. Yes I do massage, and have done Tanaka, and even do programs where massage is incorporated (Patricia Goroways for example). It is done to coincide with the exercises, so my understanding is that it depends on how responsive your skin is (or how sensitive). So if you have very sensitive skin you may not do it every day but instead every other day. I understand at FlexEffect they advise you to do it 5x a week and 2 days rest. I do not think that Tanaka has any official recommendations that are translated yet so who knows what she advises but from what I’ve seen some have done it daily without problems but again I think it depends where you start from.

2. Too much stimulation – depends what you are doing stimulation wise. For me dry brushing is in essence an exfoliation technique. Does it stimulate the skin – sure somewhat but not the same way that deep massage can and does stimulate the skin – its still stimulatin but a different kind of stimulation. Again depends where you are starting from, but if you believe that the skin can only take so much then you will create that in my mind and it doesn’t matter what anyone says you will find a way to prove your way right above everyone elses.

Sat Nov 09, 2013 10:02 pm

Not trying to be mean here but how do you think smokers develop those lines around their mouth? The smoke everyday and they pucker their lips around the cigarette which in time causes wrinkles so to the one who said that a little tugging and pulling everyday around the eyes causing wrinkles is an urban myth is full of it. Do it enough everyday and you will develop wrinkles. Even dermatologist say so.

free skin care · Sun Nov 10, 2013 7:30 am

Olivia - smokers puffing is different than massaging the eyes. yes the pout has been linked to a cause of those lines, but tobacco is mnow for destroying collagen. second the pucker does not provide any resistance not are there any places where people rub or lock on and engage the muscle. if you think of it sensibly as well how many times does a smoker pucker a day? i used to smoke and stopped but would easily get through at least 10 a day (sometimes double that).

Who said that - hopefully they will clarify it moreso!

free skin care · Mon Nov 11, 2013 7:22 am

Agree w/TM about the "smoker's lines". Its not just the puffing, its the collagen degradation from nicotine and its byproducts and the oxygen steal from the skin. Also, its hormonal depletion causing the lines, as an OBGYN once told me. And UV damage.

I quit smoking many years ago and with needling, exercises and topicals have eliminated any lip lines now. I dont do HRT tho.

This is a question for Nonie: which Eva Fraser eye exercise gave you the most bang for your buck?

free skin care · Mon Nov 11, 2013 7:31 am

Here are photos of twins. One smokes and the other one doesn't. Of course there are a lot of other things involved in aging like lifestyle, diet etc. but I thought it was interesting.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2480695/We-know-smoking-bad-health-pictures-PROVE-bad-looks-Compare-twin-smokes-doesnt-dont-believe-us.html

free skin care · Mon Nov 11, 2013 7:34 am

fawnie wrote:

Agree w/TM about the "smoker's lines". Its not just the puffing, its the collagen degradation from nicotine and its byproducts and the oxygen steal from the skin. Also, its hormonal depletion causing the lines, as an OBGYN once told me. And UV damage.

I quit smoking many years ago and with needling, exercises and topicals have eliminated any lip lines now. I dont do HRT tho.

This is a question for Nonie: which Eva Fraser eye exercise gave you the most bang for your buck?

Yes... good question Fawnie. Would love to know what Nonie thinks.

Not smoking or quitting smoking is the best beauty thing anyone can do. Smoking decreases blood flow to the area. Blood is life! Constriction of vessels causes depletion of nutrients, reduces healthy blood flow, and generally causes sluggish cell turnover. The lines develop easily and it's even worse inside the mouth to the gums. Nicotine and other toxins are in cigs and they cause another level of destruction in and around the mouth. The immune system is in havoc.

free skin care · Mon Nov 11, 2013 8:05 am

RE: the twins pictures, I honestly couldnt tell which was the smoker, except blonde twin has pronounced neck rings! But I do agree: smoking has terrible impact on health and skin.

free skin care · Mon Nov 11, 2013 9:45 am

I could tell the smoker in every picture - might be my computer - IDK.
Anyway - I bet if you looked at their gums and x rays- you could see some things. Smoking destroys attachment of your teeth - bone and collagen.

free skin care · Mon Nov 11, 2013 9:59 am

^^ agree with that!

I do think that stretching/rubbing has impact on collagen production. After my knee injury my physiotherapist told me to stretch the skin over the scar to stimulate collagen production. She told me that collagen will organize itself in the direction in which the skin is stretched. So I did that and my scar, while still visible, isnt horrible like some others' I see.

free skin care · Mon Nov 11, 2013 11:13 am

fawnie wrote:

This is a question for Nonie: which Eva Fraser eye exercise gave you the most bang for your buck?

Fawnie, you must remember I started Eva's face exercises when I had no sign of aging whatsoever. So as far as giving me more bang for my buck, I couldn't really tell when I wasn't really fixing anything. I had hooded eyes all right but they are hereditary. You can see my eyes as a baby did not show any eyelid whatsoever:

And then my eyes when I was 20 before I did face exercises:

But nothing needed to be fixed as far as I was concerned. I started the exercises just so I could onto the youthfulness I had as long as possible. But in the years I was doing the WHOLE program, while everything else just got firmer, my eyes did change to this :

Notice though that part of why my eyes look good is because my forehead too is lifted and smooth because it too got exercised. Also I think what may have happened is everything else was at its optimum tone...so I suppose just the upper eyelids needed more work. My lower eyelids looked good too on July 3, 2005 as did the rest of my face:

http://images41.fotki.com/v9/photos/3/31573/3146130/eforeaggressivefacialexercises-vi.jpg

I had no idea the upper eyelid lift was happening because it was very gradual and only caught on when I read on the Flex Effect website that face exercises can lift eyes and then wondered if they really had done anything to mine. I looked for old photos of my eyes and you could have knocked me over with a feather because I was staring at a natural bleph that I never even knew had happened right under (well above Very Happy

) my nose.

The exercise that targets the upper eyelids and to which I attributed this change before I realized that it got help from all the other exercises I was doing, is the upper eyelid exercise shown on Eva's website:
http://www.evafraser.com/facial_fitness.html It is an exercise found in just about every face exercise program there is (which is why this eyelift happens in all programs)...but I don't believe it alone will bring out the lift people would like. All the muscles above the eyes need to be lifted too...and you will find most people who get that change are doing a complete program.

You can see the same change happening in other programs too. This exercise not only lifts hooded lids but also creates a crease in a monolid like you see on Asian eyes. You can see it near the end of the slide on Judith Olivia's website: http://www.facelady.com/beforeafter.htm

You can see the lift happening in Elaine's eyes if you look at her photos on her website:
http://www.faceworks.co.uk/results/

You can see the lift happened in Cecilia's eyes within a couple of months of doing Flex Effect (but her eyes still had a lot of youthful tone hence the quick results)...so don't feel discouraged if yours don't respond as fast:

And then you can see it in CFF's Carolyn's eyes. She was 53 in the first photo below which is when she was starting face exercises. Note how you couldn't see her eyelids then. Then pic to the right shows her eyes at the age of 60 after about 7 years of face exercises and you can see her eyelids are very exposed:

You can also see it in Nancy's eyes (Facial Magic):

Again, all these people do complete programs. So do not get obsessed with fixing just one area of your face. Work your whole face and trust that when all the muscles tone up, everything will tie in together nicely and you will look better than ever. Do not overwork any one part because usually a problem you see in one area may have nothing to do with the muscles in that area. It could be muscles elsewhere that are slackened and so creating a droop and not supporting/lifting the ones in the area you are not happy with. So work the entire face. The toned muscles will stay toned and the weaker ones will eventually catch up in tone in due time.

Also don't keep looking for progress or expect results within a certain time frame. Everyone's face is different so I don't think anyone can tell anyone how long before they see results in their own face. I have never set deadlines when working towards something, and I can tell you the surprise you get when results come when you aren't looking for them is beyond rewarding/exhilarating.

When I recently updated my photos with the shape of my lower face/laugh lines, it was because that change came to me by surprise. When I started CFF in 2007, I had laugh lines I hated and I did initially try to "work harder" on exercises I thought would fix them. This was not making things better. Carolyn advised me against doing that and told me to do the whole program. As you know, I was happy with laugh lines after 8 months of working the whole face. So back then I would never have guessed that in my 7th year I would still be seeing changes that I was not looking for but which happen to improve my face and make me happier than before.

In other words, committing to a program in its entirety and just doing it, even if results seem slow in coming (as long as nothing is looking worse), is a good habit to adopt. It makes for a stress-free journey because we all know a watched pot never boils. So as long as your face appears to be looking the same (not getting worse), quit checking for change and just follow Nike's advice w/r/t the exercise program and "Just Do It!" Let results come when they will. Treat this as just another part of your daily grooming regimen, like combing your hair. You do it because it is part of your routine, not because you think combing your hair today will transform it to look like some model's hair you admire. Every seed you sow adds to the bounty that you will reap in the end so keep sowing.

free skin care · Mon Nov 11, 2013 11:42 am

Thx Nonie for your inspiration!

Yes I do CFF's complete program and love the way it makes my skin feel and look. Im not one to treat my skin like delicate feathers, but I do apply a bit of oil b4 the rubbing/exercise/massage to lessen friction tears. This also increases the penetration of the oil. Win/win!

So thx for answering my question and confirming that Im doin it rite!

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