Carolyn’s Facial Fitness Newsletter 2005

Season’s Greetings!

Welcome to the Newsletter for 2005. From time to time I send out this Newsletter letting all of my loyal past customers hear about the latest and greatest “discoveries” I’ve made about facial exercises.

I’m in the process of writing a book, The 7-Minute Wrinkle Release Facelift Exercise Program and as a result I’ve come across many interesting and different facial exercises and techniques. In fact, I found it difficult to decide exactly what to choose to share with you this year in the Newsletter. After much hemming and hawing around, I finally made a decision.

This year I have three new findings I wish to tell you about. There are two new exercises for the jowls and one new technique for rubbing out wrinkles. All three techniques have been beta tested for six months and refined for optimum benefits. You can incorporate these exercises and techniques into the “Bonus Exercise” area of your workbook, if you wish.

The first exercise is an advanced exercise for the jowls. I found this exercise in it’s various forms in three books dating from the 1950’s. I will have all of these exercises and techniques ‘bibliographed’ in my book. For now, you can just try the exercises out and see if they bring the result you want. Here is the first exercise:

Jowl Eliminator (Advanced Jowl Lifter)

Photo #1 Photo #2

Purpose: Shortens the muscles and lifts the jowl area up.

Tilting your head back, look up towards the ceiling with your eyes. Curl your bottom lip up over your top lip, tighten the left cheek muscle while squeezing shut the left eye at the same time.. Slowly turn your head to the opposite side, to the right, until you are looking over your right shoulder. Count slowly.. One thousand one… one thousand two… one thousand three… etc. until you reach five. Then return your head to facing forward and begin again. Repeat five times. (Photo #1)

Repeat the same exercise on the other side. Remember that whichever side you are “contracting”, you turn your head in the opposite direction. This will pull, shorten and lift up the jowl area. (Photo #2)

Since this exercise involves a joint, be sure to STOP if there is any pain and start the exercise slowly, maybe only doing three turns to each side in the beginning and slowly building to five.

The second exercise is also for the jowls. It addresses those little puckers that happen at the corners of your mouth and are the beginning of the hanging jowl syndrome. Sigh.
Here is the exercise:

Mouth Pouch Lifter

Photo #3

Purpose: To lift and erase the pouching in the corners of the mouth and therefore alleviate the line forming from the corner of the mouth to the bottom of the jowls:

Place your left thumb, touching the inside of your mouth just below the corner of your mouth on the right side of your face. Place your middle finger from the same hand over the outside of your “pouch” so that it touches your thumb, feeling it through the skin and hold. Your fingers should be acting like little “pinchers”. Draw the corner of your right cheek back towards your ear as you slide your fingers and thumb towards the corner of the mouth, out and over the corner of the mouth until you are touching your thumb and middle finger, together. Count 1,2,3,4,5. (Photo #3)

Next, move your thumb up to the spot just opposite the corner of your mouth, holding firmly, and repeat the slide. Remember to pull back with your cheek as you slide. Now, move it up one more time so that the thumb rests just above the corner of the mouth and repeat the slide. So it goes,

Lower, grasp, draw back and slide…
Middle, grasp, draw back and slide…
Upper, grasp, draw back and slide…”

Remember to keep the count so you don’t do it too fast. Feel the resistance when you pull back and slide.
• Repeat 3 times for a total of 9 slides on each side • Repeat the entire exercise on the other side

Twice a day until the pouching is lifted up and gone.

As I like to do the bonus exercises after I do the basic workout, I have added both of these new exercises to my regime and I have had wonderful results. My personal inheritance has been “hanging jowls” – but NOT any more!

The third item I want to share with you is actually a technique. I’ve seen it in many different forms, but this is the configuration that I like the best. It’s suggested that a French woman from the sixteenth century who was known to “never age” not only did face exercises, but also used a similar technique to this one:

Rubbing Out the Wrinkles

Purpose: To completely erase lines in the forehead, around the eyes and around the mouth and on the neck.

This is a technique. That is, wherever you find you have a wrinkle that will not go away with regular facial exercising, you can try this and erase that wrinkle away. It also works on fine lines, as well.

It is important to always make sure that you are contracting a muscle below the surface of the skin on which you are working, so that the skin does not move. The contracting muscle should keep the skin taut.

For example, contract the muscles between the eyebrows. Making a “V” with your index and middle fingers from one hand, place this “V” so that the wrinkle you wish to erase is between the “V”. Slightly pull the fingers apart so that the muscle stays contracted and the wrinkle is pulled apart between the two fingers at the same time. With the opposite hand, using your middle or index finger, rub over the wrinkle back and forth, creating some friction. DO NOT OVER-DO, especially in the beginning when the skin has not yet “toughened” up from such an action. Do the entire forehead in this way, wherever you see a wrinkle you wish to eliminate. Rub in the same direction as the wrinkle is formed as opposed to perpendicular to the wrinkle.

You can also do your Crows Feet by closing your eyes very tight, making a “V” (around the wrinkle and pulling apart, making the wrinkle look flatter) and rubbing back and forth over the wrinkle with the fingers from the opposite hand. As I’ve said, I’ve found it best to rub in the same direction as the wrinkle has formed, as opposed to across the wrinkle. You can also do the lines from the bottom of your nostrils to the corners of your mouth. Just be sure you contract the muscles, maybe by making the big “O” shape with your mouth, first and holding while you rub out this line. Don’t forget the jowls, as well. Just be sure to contract the bottom of your face as you rub out the jowl lines.

If you want to address the lines on your neck, the same technique applies. Just be sure to contract the neck muscles, make the “V” and rub out the rings around the neck.

There are many variations on this technique and they will be in my book, but I’ve found that this is by far the most effective use of this method. Please also be aware as you “rub away”, that the wrinkles can flatten out, becoming less deep and looking wider for a while before they eventually disappear. It’s part of this process.

Caution, again, remember that this technique can irritate the skin so go slowly. I always rub a nice moisturizing face cream into my face and neck at the end of this workout. And, never treat the area under or above the eyes. This skin is especially sensitive and can be easily damaged.

Please remember to always go slowly and be gentle with your face, neck and skin. You can always build up to the suggested number of repetitions and counts for the holding of any of the exercises in Carolyn’s Facial Fitness. Easy is right, I’ve heard someone say before and I totally agree. And, of course, when in doubt you should always consult your doctor.

When I first started facial exercises, I could only do seven of the Neck Strengthener turns when lying down. That’s all I could muster up. Now, today, I’m Ms. Atlas and probably could do well over a hundred… but this took me awhile to build those muscles that allow me to do the forty suggested turns I do today. I tell you this so that you know that going slowly and carefully, finding your rhythm and tolerances will always bring you the best results.

May you have a beautiful and fruitful New Year and enjoy this holiday season!