Facial Exercise: Share the Process and Results
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Sat Jun 12, 2010 1:30 pm

Thank you so much, Hermosa, just what I was looking for.

free skin care · Sat Jun 12, 2010 6:27 pm

Hi Lipper - I am getting to this party a little late but glad Hermosa hooked you up. I think Tanaka is a great adjunct to facial exercise - they seem to work well together toward the same end.

free skin care · Fri Jun 18, 2010 6:42 pm

mpstat wrote:

As I mentioned on the previous page of this thread I got this book after searching for it for a while. I got it through Alibris books online, and paid a hefty price of a little less then $100 which is fine with me since it is a rare book. One of the reasons I got it because Loulou mentioned it in her book in reference to dry brushing. The Wrinkle Book describes some of dry brushing, but it has more then that... it is a little gem on facial exercises. The Wrinkle book done it all right with muscle diagrams, exercises targeting specific muscles. Elinor was a smart and beautiful woman....

After I shared my find with sigma, she found another book that is basically a reprint of The Wrinkle Book, by another lady named Barbara Cartland. I also bought this book LOL. Barbara's book titled Keep Young and Beautiful. Barbara added Elinor's name to the list of authors, but really Elinor had no idea about Barbara's book because she published it when Elinor was no longer around. However the reprint can not be even compared to the original Wrinkle Book because it is missing most of the useful diagrams, and on top of it for some reason the parts of the text were modified to remove references to specific muscles plus some other simplifications took away from the topic. I would not recommend the reprint as a substitute for The Wrinkle Book..

This is from the FE thread, and I didn't want to be accused of going off on a tangent.

I found an edition of the Barbara Cartland book (which made me chuckle as the BC I remember was pink-obsessed, a bit, er, eccentric, about 80 and not looking great for her age! Not very nice, I know, but just my observation. She was related to Princess Diana, too).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Young-Beautiful-Paperduck-Barbara-Cartland/dp/0715614967/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1276911156&sr=8-2-catcorr

It's also on Alibris (the site mpstat mentioned) for much more. http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?qwork=3523101

Cross-posting my own as a curiosity:

ljk wrote:

As for the history of facial exercises, I'd never heard of Sanford Bennett (page translated from Finnish): http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en%26sl=fi%26tl=en%26u=http%3A%2F%2Fkasvojenkohotus.blogit.fi%2Flisauskoa-jumpan-tehoon-eli-ennen-ja-jalkeen-kuvia%2F (it will work if you copy/paste into the address bar).

..Interestingly, under "Free Kasvojumppia" it actually has the whole Sanford Bennett (who is listed there as a facial exercise pioneer) book from 1912, called "Old age; its cause and prevention; the story of an old body and face made". Might have a skim through it later! http://www.archive.org/stream/oldageitscausea00benngoog#page/n9/mode/1up
There's even hand exercises listed on there. ..I'm interested the whole results/evolution of facial exercises. Would love to see the Elinor Glyn book too!

Could we even speculate that Elinor read HIS book? Not that it would even matter now..

Edit: Though his book does seem to be more about about exercising the body Very Happy

!

free skin care · Fri Jun 18, 2010 10:25 pm

I read the entire Sanford Bennet book He was an incredible testament to body and facial exercising. I have not seen the others but wil check them out as you have posted. Thank you. It's wonderful to have the inspiration of the past patriarchs & matriarchs: the trailblazers We should all be grateful for their courage, belief, fortitude and willingness to share their journey; To me that is the great gift.
None of us would be where we are in this without the efforts of such folks.

Sat Jun 19, 2010 6:52 am

Which Sanford Bennett book are you speaking of? I found a website where you can download some of his stuff for free, I guess because they are in the public domain?

Sat Jun 19, 2010 7:31 am

Here we go, this is a site where you can download for free his book "Exercising in Bed" which has a bunch of stuff for the face and neck. It looks like his other book is being scanned and will be available soon. Apologize if this is already posted somewhere in this thread, it's been a while since I read the whole thing:

http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/Competition/Sanford_Bennett/sbennett-intro.htm

P.S. Dummy me, it's actually right above my post but this is a different one.

free skin care · Sat Jun 19, 2010 9:30 am

I really appreciate the discussion on the origins of facial exercise and massage - I am bringing over something mpstat posted on the New Flex Effect edition thread - this is interesting and appropriate for the "Share the Process and Results" thread.

Thank you to mpstat for sharing this:

mpstat wrote:

I was on a hunt for The Wrinkle Book, Or, How to Keep Looking Young by Elinor Glyn for a while and eventually after I had been patiently searching for it for many months I was able to buy it. This is an excellent book published in 1920s ....

As I mentioned on the previous page of this thread I got this book after searching for it for a while. I got it through Alibris books online, and paid a hefty price of a little less then $100 which is fine with me since it is a rare book. One of the reasons I got it because Loulou mentioned it in her book in reference to dry brushing. The Wrinkle Book describes some of dry brushing, but it has more then that... it is a little gem on facial exercises. The Wrinkle book done it all right with muscle diagrams, exercises targeting specific muscles. Elinor was a smart and beautiful woman....

After I shared my find with sigma, she found another book that is basically a reprint of The Wrinkle Book, by another lady named Barbara Cartland. I also bought this book LOL. Barbara's book titled Keep Young and Beautiful. Barbara added Elinor's name to the list of authors, but really Elinor had no idea about Barbara's book because she published it when Elinor was no longer around. However the reprint can not be even compared to the original Wrinkle Book because it is missing most of the useful diagrams, and on top of it for some reason the parts of the text were modified to remove references to specific muscles plus some other simplifications took away from the topic. I would not recommend the reprint as a substitute for The Wrinkle Book.

Mon Jun 28, 2010 2:18 pm

Ladies,
according to The New Cambridge bibliography of English literature, Volume 5 reprint of "The Wrinkle Book" was published in New York a year later, in 1928 under the name "Eternal Youth" .
I was able to locate that book on fantasticfiction, which listed it as a novel.Risking loosing $40 on some dopey old romance I bought the book and it is, indeed a facial exercises book! I am one happy woman!
As of today one copy is still available on biblio dot com.
Just to let you know - maybe will be easier to locate "Eternal Youth" since it was published in the US.

free skin care · Mon Jun 28, 2010 3:56 pm

thanks SueEllen - Hope mpstat sees this and will comment.

Tue Jun 29, 2010 5:02 pm

This photo was taken of me over the weekend and I am distressed to see these diagonal lines on my cheeks. I'm wondering what kind of facial exercises might be beneficial? It seems I need to build out my lower jaw? I own Carole Maggio, Ageless and Flex Effect (2nd edition).

free skin care · Tue Jun 29, 2010 7:52 pm

lipper wrote:

This photo was taken of me over the weekend and I am distressed to see these diagonal lines on my cheeks. I'm wondering what kind of facial exercises might be beneficial? It seems I need to build out my lower jaw? I own Carole Maggio, Ageless and Flex Effect (2nd edition).

Hi Lipper,

I believe that those lines are particularly created by a lack of fullness plus other issues in the lower cheeks and jawline area. I recall that the trainer Loli said the (very uppermost part of the) platsyma is the main muscle to work here, but I forget whether she said that one would also need to work the risorius, too. But I definitely remember she said is was due to some complicated issue involving loss of fullness in the lower face, the insertions of the platysma, and some other more complicated anatomy that was over my head and quite beyond the normal content that is contained in any facial exercise program. I would ask the FE trainer Loli about this one. HTH Smile

Tue Apr 05, 2011 1:50 pm

Hi, I'm newly registered though I've been trying to familiarise myself with the forum and posts over the past few weeks. I'd like to post about my facial exercise experiences in general, not so much about the specific programme but about the effects I'm having, as I'm thinking of stopping due to fluctuating results that are really starting to concern me. I think my experience might be of interest to others, and also I hope to get some feedback and advice.
I can't see a "start new topic" button anywhere.
Thanks!

free skin care · Tue Apr 05, 2011 6:14 pm

Hi Dotty - Feel free to share your facial experience on this thread if you'd like. It would be appropriate. We have a loyal following of facial exercisers and I know we'd love to read what you have to tell us. Thanks.... and welcome to EDS.
~sis

Wed Apr 06, 2011 12:36 am

Thanks for the welcome sister sweets!
I’m 42, slim and reasonably active and health conscious. Until last year, I generally looked young for my age. But then after losing some weight (not on purpose), I became concerned that my neck was beginning to slacken and that age was really starting to show. I also noticed slacker skin on the inside of my elbows, for example, so I had lost weight all over. I generally have sensitive skin!
I tried two different FE programmes, but by October last year was very distressed about the state I was in. I should say that I followed the regimes carefully although I possibly overdid the neck at the very beginning by doing the “extra” neck exercises suggested.
I then found a third programme and had some correspondence with its founder who suggested a month’s break, then a gentle regime of just three days a week, with absolutely nothing in between.
I did this. After about 4 months my results have been mixed. I have firmer cheeks and smoother skin. Some days it seems to be working, but then everything will sag, literally overnight, and I will look ten years older. The neck skin is definitely looser, especially under the chin. Also, I think the muscles around my mouth are now too pronounced.
Unfortunately, when I look at pictures of myself from last year I have to conclude that the overall trend has been negative.
I am puzzled. I am sure that facial exercises do work for many people. But why the fluctuating results for me? In the early days of starting the third programme, I was actually quite encouraged as the muscles seemed to be regaining their firmness and the neck seemed to be lifting. So it did help, but then got worse again. Have I just been overdoing it for my ultra sensitive skin, despite being on a gentle regime?
For now, I have decided to give it a break while I rethink and research. I have been looking through the forum pages and found some interesting comments (on "Ageless if you Dare - Loulou's Facial Exercises" p38 – I can’t post links yet as I’m a new member) about avoiding the overworked look, and how the face can worsen as the muscle is damaged, but that it will grow back stronger, and how people mistakenly give up facial exercising at this point. I’d like to know more about this.
I’m trying to approach this with a cool head, but naturally am very distressed (understatement!) and wondering whether I’ll have to resort to something drastic.
Really sorry about the long post but I’ve hopefully given a clear picture. I’d be very interested to hear from others! Thanks.

free skin care · Wed Apr 06, 2011 1:56 am

Hi Dotty

Ok well with any program you do, you go through spits and spurts for sure. I’ve near enough done every program at some point during the last 10 years, and there are always similarities in them that are interesting. With the neck, that was definitely one of my problem areas after losing weight too and I know the exercises on their own weren’t cutting it for me. I’ve been an avid user of Retin A though, and also wondered initially why that hadn’t helped me out. Now with each and every program I always got advised to take a break, every sing time I ignored that advice and launched into it because I was desperate for results. That really made me look soo much worse. Then hubby got diagnosed with cancer and that treatment too precedence and I have to say I completely forgot about facial exercises for that 12 months period. My face looked even worse after that so I was determined to do everything to the best of my ability and get some results and I have to say the best results I’ve had has been with one program that’s aggressive but for my part I really benefited from having people I could ask questions to and get answers from, and from the sounds of it that’s what you need too (support in your journey). Ageless used to be fantastic originally, but the support just isn’t there properly any longer. So I’d say FlexEffect is by far the best program I’ve come into contact with. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t recommend the other programs out there: both Carolyn’s Facial Fitness and Facial Magic people were fantastic. Carolyn answered my queries immediately within 24 hours, and I used to similar from Cythnia too, but obviously they’re just one person and with FlexEffect I kind of like that you got a couple of people to work with rather than just one person. Now the other thing is that menopause can really mess up your face. I had such a hard time with it, but thank God my family doctor knew about hormones etc and worked out a plan and I have to say hands down once I got them balanced – I was good to go but I noticed that my friends who were also going through the Change looks often became effected. So there were times when I’d wake up just like you, and things were working but othertimes I’d wake up and it looked like I had been hit with the ugly stick. For me too skin brushing helped too. Aging aint easy and I’m fighting it as graciously as I can but really wanted to shout out to you as I’ve been where you are and come through the other side and its hard but its so worth it! So don’t give up hope. There are many theories out there about overworking things etc and I think like anything you can find many contradictory things and opinions – I’ve found them several times which always confused me, so it definitely helps having access to trainers.

Theresa

Wed Apr 06, 2011 12:07 pm

Hi Theresa,
Thanks for telling me about your experience. I'm so sorry to hear about your husband's cancer and hope that experience is now safely behind you both.
Could you tell me more about the process of reversing the damage and starting to see some improvement? How long did it take, especially your neck. What convinced you to try FlexEffect despite your previous bad experience - apart from the support of the trainers - were you recommended?
My dilemma is now whether to start up again, after a few weeks' break, and believe in the theory that you may go through a worsening effect before it starts to get better, which I don't know enough about yet. I'm hoping to hear from a few other people and get as much information about it as possible, to help me make up my mind.
All the best,
Dotty

free skin care · Wed Apr 06, 2011 1:25 pm

My husband thankfully made a full recovery and is in remission now, but it was stressful at the time for sure.

For me, I saw some changes pretty early on with almost everything I tried. Nothing major though. I often thought this is because I started later than most doing them - I was 50 when I tried my first program. Also I lost a lot of weight with WeightWatchers and that plays havoc with the face let me tell you from personal experience. So I kind of did facial exercises on and off for the last 10 years and have to say its only really in the last year that I've been serious and dedicated about it and seen some fantastic results.

Well what convinced me with the newer FlexEffect kit was that the dvd demo'd everything. I'm old fashioned learner in that I need to see something before I'm able to do it. I can't cope with just written instructions and the 2nd edition whilst was good was (a) way too time consuming; and (b) the dvd demo'd only a few exercises. Not all of them, so that was the winning reason for me trying it again. Also have to say they were promoting it for like a year before it was ready and I was determined it would be the last one I tried.

I also don't believe the it gets worse before it gets better stuff. Sorry never made sense to me. I've had some hap hazard results for sure, but thats usually because I'm addicted at trying to improve myself and so do end up a bit overkill at times adding to my routine, but I have to say hand on heart I don't know what my face would look like if I didn't.

I'd say hunt around for a program that feels right for you. Whilst FlexEffect worked better for me because of the support and the issues I had, its not for everyone as their forum shows quite clearly but the same is true for every program I've tried. People love it or hate it.

Dotty wrote:

Hi Theresa,
Thanks for telling me about your experience. I'm so sorry to hear about your husband's cancer and hope that experience is now safely behind you both.
Could you tell me more about the process of reversing the damage and starting to see some improvement? How long did it take, especially your neck. What convinced you to try FlexEffect despite your previous bad experience - apart from the support of the trainers - were you recommended?
My dilemma is now whether to start up again, after a few weeks' break, and believe in the theory that you may go through a worsening effect before it starts to get better, which I don't know enough about yet. I'm hoping to hear from a few other people and get as much information about it as possible, to help me make up my mind.
All the best,
Dotty

free skin care · Wed Apr 06, 2011 8:21 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrceQS7qdaI&feature=PlayList&p=3E2EE7549E97F563&index=0

dotty - above is a link to a wonderful facial massage. Once you get it down it will be 3-4 minutes tops and you can use it while you cleanse your face. I love it.... It gives you fave a tone, a glow and less stressful than facial exercise.
I also dry brush my face - You can use a brush but I use a glove I got from Carole Maggio's store. this also tones and increases blood flow (as does massage).

Someone who's site you should check out is Tonya Zavasta (I think that's the right spelling). She is 53 and has done amazing things with her face, body and life from facial massage (She has a you tube video demoing her technique which is simpler than the one I've posted and also she dry brushes and is a raw food advocate. It's very interesting and inspiring to hear her story.

I've used many programs. This evening I just did the 7 minute CM superset. I really like it. Quick and easy. There are some quick lifts that I like - one is on the Eva Frasier site and you can download it quick and easy (and free). I also like one from someone named Ellie - I will have to look for that link but she has a facial ex that I do in the car. it does a quick tone of the face and works.

You don't have to spend a fortune to get good results. I'm convinced of that. I do like Flex Effect and do the in-the-mouth exercises for the cheeks most days. I've never used trainer advice - didn't feel like I needed to but that may make a difference for you like it did for Teresa Mary. Claudia is on here - from flex effect and I'm sure she'd be happy to answer questions for you in terms of what the program could offer you.

Sun Apr 10, 2011 11:37 am

hi dotty,

thought i'd share my experience which so far mirrors yours (but aso of a few other users posting on this forum) pretty closely. in january 2009 i started doing ageless, and was overall satisfied with the results, although there was one moment around march when i felt i was looking pretty rough, which i just chuked to 'the uglies.' a friend i hadn't seen in about a year at that time commented that i 'looked good, that i had lost some of that youthful air i'd always had but looked good.' should have listened to what he was actually saying i suppose (lost youthfulness), rather than focus on what i wanted to hear (you look good--different). over 2009 and the early part of 2010 i continued to do the exercises regularly. in 'posed' pictures i looked indeed good, although different, but in candids i seemed older and decidedly tired. by mid 2010 i started to notice a pronounced loss of volume in my before all-too-full face (despite a raw diet for years and extremely low body fat). worst were/are my mid and low cheeks which are sunken, with 'groves' forming from under the eyes through the middle of the cheeks. very noticeable also from a 3/4 angle - beneath the cheekbones which are now very sharp there is a concave (hollowed) area that used to be convex (full, rounded). overall my entire face took on this tired, gaunt, sunken look. i have tried changing my diet and as a result have put on weight in places i'd rather not have it (gut) with very little positive effect on the face. as of fall 2010 i've reduced the frequency of exercising dramatically and have for all intents and purposes stopped doing them in 2011. i am somewhat torn on tanaka, which i'd also been doing since fall 2010-fall 2011 and which i've recently started doing again lightly in teh morning.

overall i must say that the exercising seems to have done much more damage than good--but with the same sort of inconsistency of result that you were mentioning (days when it seemed to really work, alternating with times of looking really sunken and gaunt). i think that if you have any fullness in your face you should stay away from them, as you will most likely lose said fullness as a result. exercises might work better (but differently) for someone who is mostly concerned with tightening a drooping face, but for somewhat on the younger side (i am 33) i would be very very careful or better yet stay away altogether.

(not very welcome) lesson learned. on the good side, doing the exercises taught me to be more aware of my face, the ways i 'hold' it, the places where i hold tension, the part that 'expression' plays in overall appearance and how it might contribute to the way we age. so not all bad, as a learning experience, but at the very best mixed (leaning toward negative) when it comes to visible results.

hope the long-long 'vent' helps others out there who are considering facial exercising.

Sun Apr 10, 2011 1:30 pm

Sorry I couldn't get back here sooner to say thanks for the continuing feedback, folks - I appreciate it.
Experiences really do seem to vary don't they!
I will check out your various links and also other forums here on specific exercise plans, to see what people are saying.
Denham I know what you mean about looking better at times but losing the youthful look at the same time. That's just how I'd describe it.
Best to all, Dotty

free skin care · Fri Apr 15, 2011 11:45 am

what if i put an electrical self-trainer (like butterfly abs) on the area of my face i want to train?

free skin care · Fri Apr 15, 2011 8:18 pm

If you use a self trainer on your face I know we will all want to hear about it... Far as I know it's unprecedented. We love trailblazing.

free skin care · Sat Apr 16, 2011 5:03 am

they dont sell them on the TV anymore Sad

. where could i get one?
it should be as small as possible to specifically train only the wanted muscles in the face.

free skin care · Sat Apr 16, 2011 8:44 am

Sorry Vor - I don't know anything about these devices.

free skin care · Sat Apr 16, 2011 12:48 pm

Cleo II ... Is this not a 'self-trainer'?

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