Face exercises have been a part of my life, on and off, since I was about 20. For at least 15 years, isometrics were all I did and I had been happy about their effects. What's more, everyone remarked about how much younger than my age I looked. That all changed when I came across resistance training and gave in to the temptation to try the program after seeing some beautiful before/after photos. But after a couple of months on the program, I started to notice a bulking of my face that I didn't like and I also started to develop rolls under my eyes that I didn't have before. On sharing my concerns with fellow exercisers, it was suggested that one must keep working even harder to get beyond the "awkward stage". But the more I persisted with the program, the more unhappy I was with how my face was looking.
I decided to stop the program in November 2005 at the advice of a friend who had also been on the program but had also started to doubt its worth especially on seeing how my face had lost its beautiful definition in only 4 months. I decided to stop all face exercises and give my face a chance to hopefully return to how it was before. But after a year, my face was still a sad story. Although it didn't feel "swollen" anymore, the rolls under my eyes were still there and they were very lined. I would look at photos of my eyes from June/July 2005 when I had no lines and no puffing under my eyes when I smiled, and tears would just well up inside. Needless to say, I was very insecure/unsure about trying another new program and thought I would just go back to the isometrics that had never let me down. But by some very unusual circumstances, I found out about Carolyn's Facial Fitness and was very intrigued by her program. I liked the idea that she developed her program after reviewing many programs out there and creatively came up with her own program - saving us the trouble. :)
In the year that I took a hiatus from face exercises, I corresponded with her, sharing my concerns and finding out more about her program. Her professionalism; the thorough research she has done and continues to do; the genuine concern and care for her clients and the support she gives... Just her service in general was above and beyond any previous experience I had had with face exercise programs. And by Jan 2007, I had mustered up the courage to try out her program for at least a year.
I had already concluded that the damage I had in November 2005, was beyond repair, so what did I have to lose? Besides, Carolyn would be there mentoring me as I proceeded with her program, guiding me where I needed guidance. I was sure of this as I had already seen how good her customer service was. The other thing that sold me on the program was Carolyn's total confidence in it. The previous program I was on seemed to suggest at times to back off some exercises and at other times to keep doing them till you got past the "awkward stage", leaving one completely confused about which way to go and when that way would be appropriate. So I was relieved when Carolyn was adamant that to get a nice balanced tone to my face I would have to do only her whole program. She assured me that there would be no awkward stages when doing her entire program. Not having to wonder what exercises to leave out and which ones to double up on, but simply doing the program as she designed it was a huge weight off my shoulders. So nervously, I decided to do the program as she directs on her DVD. That she managed to incorporate isometrics, resistance training and massage into such a short program made it so easy to fit it into a busy day. Within a few weeks, I was starting to "feel" a few changes. I don't know if they were noticeable to anyone else those first few weeks, but I definitely felt and saw a difference. This inspired me to go on, as did the good feeling you get after a workout! And could anything have been more comforting than knowing that Carolyn was only ever just an email away? (And she ALWAYS answered my emails giving me her undivided attention as if I were the only client she had.) And in only 8 months, my face was starting to look more and more like the face I knew in 2005 before I experimented with resistance training for the first time.
The extra skin that was bunching up under my eyes seems to have been smoothed out as have the bulky cheeks that made my laugh lines so prominent. Because "awkward stages" or "uglies" are definitely not a stage I want to go through ever again, I have never tried using copper peptides, Retin A or getting any anti-aging treatments, since from what I understand, these products make things worse before they get better. Besides, for this one-year experiment, I wanted any changes that happened to be entirely due to face exercise hence my reluctance to try out products that might affect my results. So all the improvements I have seen in my face in the last 8 months of CFF have been entirely due to Carolyn's Facial Fitness. Everything happens for a reason, and had I not had the awful experience that led me to Carolyn, I might never have known the happiness I know now. In her humility, Carolyn has designed a program that rocks which she continues to work on to ensure that it remains effective for everyone that uses it; and all the while, she has remained true and accessible to all her clients. I wish her continued success, and pray that all the happiness she's brought to so many lives returns to her a thousand-fold. |
