Season’s Greetings!
Welcome to the Newsletter for 2006. Once a year 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.
This year I have three new findings I wish to share with you. One exercise addresses the “Long Crows Feet” lines forming down the cheeks that appear as an extension to the smaller crows feet that occur at the side of the eyes. The second exercise is called the “Jowl Flex”. Its purpose is to lift and tighten the jowl area from the bottom of the jaw straight up to the corners of the mouth. The technique for this year is a kind of “massage” to firm the facial muscles and stimulate the face, neck and skin. You can always do this face firming technique on the days you feel you don’t have time for the 15 minute workout. It’s terrific. I found a form of this exercise in a book dated from 1907. It will never cease to amaze me how long facial exercises have actually been around.
The first exercise is wonderful for addressing those fine lines that are an extension of the “usual” crows feet at the corners of the eyes. This one helps to reduce and eliminate the longer lines that can radiate down the sides of the face and the cheeks. Here it is:
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Long Crows Feet
Purpose: To address the long crows feet lines forming down the cheeks that appear as an extension to the smaller crows feet that occur at the sides of the eyes.
Flex your upper cheek muscles so that your lower eyelids are flexed, as well. Place your thumb pads from each hand, pointing down, so they rest at the “inner-part” of your upper cheek muscle about one inch from the sides of your nose nostrils and one-half inch up from the bottom of your nose nostrils. Fingers rest on the sides of your head. Check in the mirror that you have the correct handholds. Keeping your muscles flexed, slide your thumbs out towards your temples along the flexed muscles, counting to 5, and stop at the temples. Be sure you are below the thin skin of the lower eyelids, sliding your thumbs along the top part of the contracted upper cheek muscle.
Repeat 5 times
Do twice a day to correct the condition.
The second exercise called the “Jowl Flex” is a quick and easy work out for the jowls. This one I can even do in the car when driving around. It’s very good for lifting that area that’s so hard to contract – the jowls!
Jowl Flex
Purpose: To lift and tighten the jowl area from the bottom of the jaw straight up to the corners of the mouth.
Sitting up straight, reach for the ceiling with your bottom jaw only and tilt your head back. Contract your cheeks on both sides of the face. At the same time you contract the cheeks, smile with the corners of your mouth. You will feel the jowl area tighten and lift up. Hold for one second.
Repeat one-second holds, ten times.
Hold the last flex for a count of five. Repeat five times.
You should now have performed ten, one-second contractions and five, five-second contractions, altogether. You may experience some muscle aching. A little bit of this is only natural. It means that jowl area is lifting up!
Caution: Please beware that the Jowl Flex exercise can build the muscle up in the area around the “marionette lines” (the lines from the corner of your nostrils to the corners of your mouth). That is, if you find the area around the “marionette lines” is getting fuller than you want, STOP this exercise until the muscle is less full, again. Start the Jowl Flex, after this over-built muscle subsides and workout less, so that you lift the jowls and keep the marionette line area the way you want it.
I consider these exercises I’m offering in this Newsletter to be “Bonus Exercises”. That is, after I do the basic workout of 28 exercises that is the Carolyn’s Facial Fitness program, I add any bonus exercises to the end of my regime that helps me address those areas that are a little bit more stubborn in responding the way I want. I hope you find these two exercises useful for you!
All the exercises and techniques I offer have been beta tested by a group of people for at least six months. This way I’m sure that you are getting an exercise that not only works well, but also builds the face in a beautiful way.
The third item I want to share with you is actually a technique. On those days I can’t or I don’t want to exercise the face, I make use of the “Face Firmer” with wonderful results!
Face Firmer
Purpose: To firm the facial muscles and stimulate the face, neck and skin.
Note: Only “massage” the face when the muscle is contracted!
First, open your mouth as wide as comfortable while at the same time curling your lips around the upper and bottom teeth. Place the heel of each hand on the area beside each side of the chin at the jaw line. Pressing gently, yet firmly, make firm, small circles with the heel of each hand and count to ten, slowly. Keep the big “O” shape contraction with your mouth during the entire exercise.
Next, move up the face, making circles in spots or areas about one-inch apart until you reach the temples. (Please note that the photos on the left only show handholds for this first round of the exercise).
Lastly, starting again at the corners of the mouth, work your way up the face, making circles in spots about one-inch apart until you reach the temples, again.
Remember to keep the circles pressed against the contracting muscle as you work, lifting the heels of each hand up and moving to the next spot and again massaging the muscle in a circular motion for a slow count to ten. Do not slide against the skin.
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 a while 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!