Exercise isn’t just for your body anymore, it’s also something you should be doing for your face. Not to guilt trip you here (going to the gym regularly is already hard enough) but the key to firm and radiant skin could lie in the muscles underneath your skin. There are a variety of ways to firm, tone and tighten your skin that are non-surgical — find out how face workouts can stimulate collagen, improve cell renewal and increase blood circulation to your complexion (hello, glowing skin).

Face Gyms
Recently, a slew of salons devoted to working out your face have popped up. There’s FaceGym, Skin Fit Gym and Face Love, all studios that focus on exercising your facial muscles. The good news is that unlike at the gym where you need to do all the hard work, an aesthetician will do all the exercises for you. Your “trainer” will work on your skin using their fingers and knuckles stretching, whipping, kneading and pinching your skin. The process helps contour your face, can noticeably lift your brows and make your cheekbones more pronounced. Your treatment can also include stimulation devices and rollers to help sculpt your face. Your session will finish with the application of serums resulting in a face that looks refreshed and rejuvenated.

Buccal Massage
Buccal Massage takes the face exercises outlined in the face gyms to the next level. That’s because during a buccal massage your aesthetician doesn’t just apply motion from the outside of your face but also from the inside through your mouth. This skin-tightening procedure is apparently beloved by Meghan Markle and works inside the cheek, lips and jawline. It’s particularly helpful in toning your laugh lines and jowls, two locations famously hard to tighten. There are only a handful of aestheticians who perform this procedure for example Danna Omari the owner of Noy Spa in NYC. If you’re interested in doing this at home there’s also this next-level tutorial from a Korean aesthetician you can follow for yourself.

Microcurrent Facial
This treatment is billed as ‘pilates for your face’. During the procedure, skin cells are gently broken down and then grow back stronger using low-voltage electrical currents. An aesthetician delivers low yet precise doses of energy to your skin by using two handheld facial prongs. You may feel a tingle but the process isn’t painful and many say quite relaxing. During your facial collagen and elastic production is stimulated and signs of aging are lifted from your outermost layer of skin your epidermis. This procedure is great to refresh your skin in order to look more youthful and also a good preventative measure to strengthen your facial muscles regularly to prevent sagging.

Jade Rollers
You know the foam rollers you use after working out at the gym to release tension from your muscles and encourage lymphatic drainage? Imagine that jade rollers doing them same thing for your face. These babies massage your face and can reduce swelling and puffiness. Use with serum or moisturizer before you go to bed, always rolling up (never down) as a great nighttime skin ritual that will leave your skin taught. Some people like to place their jade rollers in the fridge so that the cool effect is extra tightening.

Skincare is great but facial exercises have the potential to lift your skin and muscles in ways your products can’t. They are a great non-surgical option to firm your facial muscles and give your skin a youthful glow.

Featured image by Noy Spa