NEW ARTICLES EVERY MONTH
November 2007
FACE GYM
Muscle training for the face
We’ve known for a long time that our face reveals much more about our emotional and physical state than we would like. No wonder! There are 21 mimetic muscles that lie directly under the facial skin. They reflect joy, well-being, anger, sadness or pain expressively, but leave behind tracks over time. Our face often “stores” recurrent mimetic expressions in the form of fine lines. Laughter, worry or anger lines, for example, get etched into our skin. Added to that are environmental influences and a lifestyle that isn’t always healthy. But don’t worry; we’re not completely at the mercy of the signs of time. What’s important is consciously treating our skin well by avoiding excessive exposure to the sun, eating a lot of fruit and vegetables and drinking enough mineral water. In addition to routinely taking care of your facial skin, targeted facial exercises also help fight those small wrinkles. We’ll show you how they work!
Wake up to a radiant face
It’s best to counteract tired facial muscles and small wrinkles in the morning when performing your daily face care routine. The exercises make you more alert and, on top of that, the shift between tightening and relaxing stimulates the muscles as well as connective tissue, thus smoothing the skin. When “training,” it is important that you tighten the muscles for at least 10 seconds and repeat each exercise several times. The following exercise will help fight wrinkles on the forehead. Place fingers from both hands firmly on your forehead and raise your eyebrows (not with your fingers.). Tighten and hold for a few seconds. Do you want firmer cheeks? Then try this exercise:
Press your lips together and put your fingers flat on your cheeks and pull your skin outwards.
Now, against the resistance of your hands, try to pucker your lips as if you’re getting ready for a kiss. And here’s a training tip for a beautiful throat: Pull your lower lip onto your lower incisors and place fingers from both hands flatly on the edge of your lower lip. Now pull the skin in the opposite direction of your chin.
For beautiful moments
The skin around the eyes is particularly sensitive and is therefore susceptible to small wrinkles and bumps. A massage on the acupressure points of the upper lymph paths helps fight these. The points, located between the fingers (where ducks have webs between their toes), should be pressed for 10 seconds. Pause briefly, repeat and then change hands. This exercise also helps when it comes to bumps. Close your eyes and use your middle fingers to pull the corner of your eye outwards. Now, open your eyes against the resistance exerted by your fingers. Hold for a few seconds, loosen, then repeat. Wonderfully relaxing is also an Asian self-massage in which each exercise is repeated 10 times. Close your eyes and put your fingers on your eyelids. Now, roll your eyes around — first left, then right. Then use your middle and ring fingers to stroke your brows first, then the top and bottom of the eye socket from the inside to the outside. Lastly, tap your thumb against your temples and stroke your face outwards.
