Which facial exercise programme?
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free skin care · Sat Sep 24, 2011 11:23 am

So...just hit 40 (boo!). I want to start a facial exercise programme. I've looked at and tried Eva Fraser and Ageless if You Dare. I'm also looking at the Carole Maggio Facercise. Any advice would be welcome - not just in terms of effectiveness but ease of use. I sometimes try to do exercises in the car (which does get some funny looks as I grimace) but I haven't really properly used any one system properly. Thank you. Smile

free skin care · Sat Sep 24, 2011 2:33 pm

Hi Pips

I apologize for my post in advance as it won't give you the answer you seek.

I don't know how long you've done the programs you've tried or why you "haven't really properly used any one system properly". The programs you mention have given some people great results but in each case you will find the people committed to the program for a spell. And since different programs work for different people, what program YOU will need is really something you have to decide for yourself. If you ask anyone who has tried different programs why they picked the one they picked, you will get so many different reasons and each person will swear their program of choise is the best. Obviously there's no "best" if there are so mny of them that get that title. Many found their niche by trial and error. Others did their homework by reading reviews (there are many in the DIY forum) or looking at results achieved to decide on their program.

So my advice would be to do a bit of research on the programs you already have and decide on one then commit to it for at least 6 months (I think that's what some trainers suggest). Some people prefer to do more than one program. My opinion on that is to make sure you do each program in its entirety. I think doing some exercises from one program and others from another could lead to an overlap of working the same muscles that could lead to a bad build...or you may overlook some muscles...since they are so interconnected and most movements affect several muscles while missing others...and not necessarily in the same way--meaning mixing and matching may mean confusion galore. I just feel most instructors try to create a complete program whose exercises complement each other, so if you don't follow their direction, you won't get the results they promise. And following directions includes doing all the exercise they recommend in their program.

Anyway, sorry for the ramble, and good luck in finding a staple in the programs you have.

free skin care · Sat Sep 24, 2011 3:12 pm

Of course. The reason why I have Ageless and the Eva Fraser one is as a result of quite a lot of 'homework' on this very forum which I think is brilliant. Perhaps there is already a post which compares all three in which case I would be grateful for a link.

However, if not, though I appreciate much is personal or trial and error, if I can save 9 months (3 months to trial each properly) of going down the wrong path, I'm sure you will understand why I am seeking advice. I do spend a lot of time reading the forum which is why I have all three names. I would be very interested to see what people have found the upsides and the downs with each.
Thanks

free skin care · Sat Sep 24, 2011 3:45 pm

Pips, please don't take this as an effort to frustrate your efforts. I just know from my own experience that you will find people who tried all three programs and liked only one and people who use all three and people who use only two of them because they don't care for the third. In other words, there isn't a size that fits all. And it's easy to get askewed results unless you had a good sampling of people from each program sharing their points of view. If only Maggio followers respond to this thread, you'll be convinced that's the program to go for. If only Team Eva respond, again, you'll believe that's the best program. Similarly if only Team Flex Effect posts, you will believe theirs is the best.

What's more, depending on what the people's goals were, the programs they selected might have been just for specific issues they had which may not necessarily be the same as yours-- but I suppose if they give explicit reasons for their choices, that will help you some.**

I suspect you bought the programs you have because you read/heard good things about them. Did they not live up to the good reviews, or are you just being impatient and haven't given them a chance? I guess in an effort to point you in some direction, I'm trying to understand what you've found out so far, and why you're still searching.

Idea

I just had another thought. Perhaps you are still in research mode because you like them all or don't like them all, and just want further reassurance or just can't afford to them all so want to make the best choice? Then I hope you will get good input that helps you. In the meantime, you could probably browse the DIY forum as I've seen threads comparing at least two of the three you mention at one time or another. I don't know if there's a thread that compares all three. Maybe you could start it. Wink

Here are a couple of threads I was referring to:

http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=32485

http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=40737

**PS I just realized that another way you could get your answers, in case you can't get a good sampling of people from each program responding here, is to find threads that discuss each program in particular and see if any of the info there helps you. Even though you might have already read those threads before (which is how you came to own the programs), it gets easier to get a feel for what is being said after you've explored the programs and now have some insight into what they are about. So don't overlook re-reading the posts that helped you decide on the programs in the first place. I hope you find the answers you seek.

free skin care · Wed Oct 05, 2011 12:56 pm

I haven't tried Eva's program, but I have tried Facercise and Ageless. They both have their pros and cons. So that you know my background, my program of choice is FlexEffect, with a couple exercises from other programs (1 from Ageless, 3 from Facercise).

In my opinion....

Ageless can't be beat in terms of quickness: just 5 minutes a day. Really, I don't know of any facial exercise program out there that is faster! But in terms of convenience, you really need to focus when doing the exercises, so you can't do them while driving. The strengths of the program are that it emphasizes the cheeks, eyes, neck, and lips, and it aims to build fullness by focusing on resistance exercises. The weakness is that it's an imbalanced program: it doesn't target all the voluntary muscles of the face, and it downplays key areas like the forehead, jawline, and lower face.

Facercise (the original program, at least) is about 13 exercises long, so will take you a little more than double the time of Ageless. The good things about Facercise is that it is more balanced than Ageless in tackling more areas of the face. It is a mixture of high-repetition resistance exercises and isometric/toning exercises. It's biggest weakness in my opinion is that it does not have resistance exercises for the cheeks and hence can't really build much fullness there; only lift, wrinkle-reduction, and toning. It also omits exercises for a few muscles, but still is more comprehensive than Ageless.

What sort of other information do you want to know?

I agree with Nonie about the fact that if you've already read lots of posts and aren't sure what to try, mostly likely each of us will just chime in with our biases. However, the more pointed and specific questions you ask and the more you tell us about your particular situation, the better we can help lay out the strengths and weaknesses of each program.

Best wishes Smile

free skin care · Wed Oct 05, 2011 1:42 pm

Thank you - that's really helpful information - what I was looking for really. It sounds like the Flex effect is too long for me to do in reality and I am looking for something quite manageable. From what you have said doing Facercise with one or two of the Ageless cheek ones would be a good plan. Are there some cheek ones you would recommend?
Thanks again.

free skin care · Wed Oct 05, 2011 6:10 pm

pips wrote:

Thank you - that's really helpful information - what I was looking for really. It sounds like the Flex effect is too long for me to do in reality and I am looking for something quite manageable. From what you have said doing Facercise with one or two of the Ageless cheek ones would be a good plan. Are there some cheek ones you would recommend?
Thanks again.

Well, the shortest version of FlexEffect is 12 minutes long. You do 3 reps of all the exercises, about one exercise for each of the 26-27 voluntary muscles of the face. When you progress beyond the beginner stage, then you can tailor things and do more or less of some exercises. Also, FlexEffect is very comprehensive, so if you are looking for something that's quick to get into and short, you would likely be overwhelmed. It is my favorite program and I wouldn't trade it for anything else, but if I were to imagine someone who wants something super-easy (and won't be happy otherwise), who is more at the beginner or immediate level, and who doesn't mind neglecting areas of the face, well, then I wouldn't recommend FlexEffect. I'd recommend FlexEffect when you advance to the stage of wanting more or having at least 15 minutes a day (12 min for facial exercises, 3 min for massage).

If you wanted something inbetween Ageless and Facercise, if I had to make a generic recommendation, I would recommend:

(1) Do the 1 forehead exercise from Facercise

(2) Alternate doing the 2 eye exercises from Facercise one day and the 1 eye exercise from Ageless the next

(3) Do the 1 nose exercise from Facerise

(4) Do the 6 cheek exercises from Ageless

(5) Do the 1 nasial labial (caninus) exercise from Ageless (don't do the one from Facercise)

(6) Do the 1or 2 jawline exercises from Facercise

(7) Alternate doing the lip exercises from Ageless (1) and Facercise (2)

( Cool

Do the neck exercises from Ageless and Facercise

But I'm guessing that routine will still take you about 10-12 minutes, so that's getting close to the 15 minute mark. And Eva's program, FlexEffect, CFF, the twice a day version of Facercise, etc. are all in the 15 minute or more range.

Use that as a starting point (not as gospel), and then adjust from there. Whatever facial exercise programs you do, should eventually be sure to tailor the program to your own needs.

Finally, I should add that I know lots of people do indeed like Eva's program, so that's worth finding out more information on.

I hope this helps Smile

free skin care · Wed Oct 05, 2011 6:26 pm

Oh, and if you had to skip one of the cheek exercises, I'd recommend skipping the one for the innermost part of the upper cheek muscle (the caput angulare, which is nearest the nose). Other ones that tend to be less important or best downplayed for some people are the risorius (lowest cheek muscle, typically extends from the mouth corner to the earlobe) and the buccinators (the mid-cheek area, the area where your cheeks suck in when you suck on a sour lollipop). But these are all individual matters. For example, for me personally, I have a thin lower face, with a bit too much concavity in the lower face, so I'm working the risorius and the buccinators like there is no tomorrow So yeah, tailoring things once you find out your unique strengths and weaknesses is super important.

free skin care · Wed Oct 05, 2011 10:02 pm

Thank you very much. I think the thing that put me off the Flexeffect was people saying they got over-developed muscles with it. Sounds like they have a more scaled down version

free skin care · Thu Oct 06, 2011 2:34 am

Yep we kind of get hit with that all the time, but in reality any program out there that uses resistance has the potential to enable a muscle to overbuild. I've heard from people who used all the ones named above, and others not mentioned who had overbuilding, and overbuilding is such an easy thing to correct. I've overbuilt several areas of my face at different points and I think the longest I had an area overbuilt was simply 3 weeks.

pips wrote:

Thank you very much. I think the thing that put me off the Flexeffect was people saying they got over-developed muscles with it. Sounds like they have a more scaled down version

free skin care · Thu Oct 06, 2011 6:23 am

Or you could try Tom Haggerty's shapeyourface.com. He's got the exercises written there for free, but he's got a dvd that you can buy and its a short program, only 5 or 6 exercises but its pretty impressive and cheaper. I'm not sure Ageless is available any longer - the forum was shut down and they've vanished.

free skin care · Fri Oct 07, 2011 11:56 am

Great thread, I'm also very much contemplating starting an exercise program.

My biggest issue is that I'm developing mouth pouches, and - particularly on my left side - the cheek area beside the corner of my mouth is sagging. The smile lines are there even when I'm not smiling, if you know what I mean. It is out of sync with the rest of my face, which is not so bad - I put it down to acne-drying topicals I used throughtout my thirties, it seems like the collagen there has broken down or something.

Is this a problem that can realistically be improved via facial exercise, and if so, how long would it take?

free skin care · Fri Oct 07, 2011 8:53 pm

Must pipe in with a vote for Rose Tran's Facial Yoga.

free skin care · Sat Oct 08, 2011 7:06 am

I have been doing Carolyn's routine for 9 months and so far so good! I do it 3 times a week. I have notice subtle improvements over time.
I started Ageless in Nov 2010. Did it for 2 months and it did not agree with me!
I will never again do a routine that involves pulling or pinching the skin!

free skin care · Mon Oct 10, 2011 3:49 pm

I think Carolyn's program has quite a bit of pulling of the skin... I have been using the program for about two and a half months and have always wondered about this.

Recently I came across Senta Marie Runge's program and was a little alarmed to see how adament she was against pulling on the skin at any time, especially during facial exercises-- while Carolyn's program talks about pulling on the skin (with muscle contracted underneath) as being crucial for results both in muscle and skin tone. Ageless also has you pinching skin (i.e. pulling it) in order to do the exercises....

What is the consensus on pulling of the skin? Does FE recommend it? I am not familiar with their program yet. Is it helping or hurting?

free skin care · Mon Oct 10, 2011 5:42 pm

Oh, bye pulling the skin I meant grabing skin and pulling it away from the face.

I always put a little cream on my face before I do my routine.

free skin care · Tue Oct 11, 2011 8:17 am

I mean either pulling skin away from your face (sounds like Ageless) or just rubbing across skin/pulling it as you do exercises (as is the case with Carolyn's program)

free skin care · Tue Oct 11, 2011 8:43 am

FE does kind of recommend pulling on the skin, but for most people starting out the execises do involve some scary looking movements but its very similar to that of Carolyns. Iï¿½ve heard it suggested that FlexEffect is one of the programs that Carolyn owned when she was developing hers (alongside of course Facercise ï¿½ the Nose Shortener and Cheek Pumps are dead give aways in my opinion).

However they do have some massage movements which I can understand would scare the hell out of most people and I was one of them in the beginning, but I wish I had started them earlier on. I started facial exercises in my 50ï¿½s, and have continued them for the last 10 years frequently and have to say hand on heart I think pulling the skin is actually good for it. Iï¿½ve heard one of the trainers say that stretching the skin isnï¿½t a prolonged stretch but only a few minutes so its just like stretching the body, it releases tense spots (which I like the idea of but canï¿½t quite get my head around how our face would develop tense spots in the same way as on the body but ca la vie).

I do like the stretching element though, as I always find it really brings something to my skin, whether its blood, oxygen or whatever. I do know what you mean though re SMRï¿½s program but some of the cheek exercises look similar to me (although the FE folks say theyï¿½re completely different even they canï¿½t knock that they look similar). SMR does have you pulling the skin on some parts despite warning against rough handling. I do think there is another guy Stamford Bennett who you should look into ï¿½ as he advocates really rough handling of the skin and had tremendous results and started even later than I did.

free skin care · Tue Oct 11, 2011 8:44 am

Sorry just realised my apostrophes symbols get changed into strange characters when I post. Not sure why?

free skin care · Tue Oct 11, 2011 9:12 am

I purchased the Neck Line Slimmer for $4.00 off Ebay and have recently started using the Flex Affect (had to try it after getting great results with the Neck Line Slimmer). Both of these devices make for a relatively low priced facial exercise routine which is extremely easy to use. I have been using the Neck Line Slimmer for about two months now and have to say that the results have been dramatic, it's slimmed the neck to the point where it looks tucked in at the top and shaped the jaw, and at $4.00 who can complain? Razz

free skin care · Tue Oct 11, 2011 9:46 am

Think you mean the Facial Flex (not Flex Effect). Facial Flex is a little elastic devise you put in your mouth and works the muscles. Flex Effect is a system of 30 exercises plus other techniques that are done using the hands/fingers and the facial muscles. Both are very different!!

echoecho wrote:

I purchased the Neck Line Slimmer for $4.00 off Ebay and have recently started using the Flex Affect (had to try it after getting great results with the Neck Line Slimmer). Both of these devices make for a relatively low priced facial exercise routine which is extremely easy to use. I have been using the Neck Line Slimmer for about two months now and have to say that the results have been dramatic, it's slimmed the neck to the point where it looks tucked in at the top and shaped the jaw, and at $4.00 who can complain? Razz

free skin care · Tue Oct 11, 2011 7:25 pm

TheresaMary wrote:

Think you mean the Facial Flex (not Flex Effect). Facial Flex is a little elastic devise you put in your mouth and works the muscles. Flex Effect is a system of 30 exercises plus other techniques that are done using the hands/fingers and the facial muscles. Both are very different!!

echoecho wrote:

I purchased the Neck Line Slimmer for $4.00 off Ebay and have recently started using the Flex Affect (had to try it after getting great results with the Neck Line Slimmer). Both of these devices make for a relatively low priced facial exercise routine which is extremely easy to use. I have been using the Neck Line Slimmer for about two months now and have to say that the results have been dramatic, it's slimmed the neck to the point where it looks tucked in at the top and shaped the jaw, and at $4.00 who can complain? Razz

Your right, I keep on getting the two names mixed up they just sound so alike Confused

Mon Oct 17, 2011 5:59 pm

I would suggest using several different facial exercise books and DVDs because they each offer something a little different. Your face will benefit from the variety.

free skin care · Tue Oct 18, 2011 1:49 am

I agree that its good to use different programs, but not in the beginning because you have to learn your face and whats already working and whats not working properly. So its a word of caution on my part, I'd say stick with one program for 6 months before adding anything to it.

lawmom wrote:

I would suggest using several different facial exercise books and DVDs because they each offer something a little different. Your face will benefit from the variety.

free skin care · Fri Oct 21, 2011 9:14 am

sister sweets wrote:

Must pipe in with a vote for Rose Tran's Facial Yoga.

Must say first that I use Maggio's program as my foundation program. However, recently I did try Rose Tran's cheeck exercises and they are very good. One of them reminded me of one of the cheek exercises that Carole had in her old "advanced" Facercise program. I think the cheeks are an area that cannot be "over-exercised" like other areas because when under stress or if overly tired, the face always gets a quick pick-me-up doing cheek exercises. Gotta love it! Smile

~ Aprile

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