Our faces are one of the most essential parts of our appearance since it is the first thing people see when they meet us. Our faces provide a first impression on a cosmetic level that, unfortunately, plays a big role in how we are perceived. Generally, the opinions formed over appearance are superficial and indicate people lack depth. Nevertheless, managing the appearance of our faces is an important part of remaining presentable to the greater public. 

While our physical appearance is not as important as our personalities, we can still take pride in our appearances and work to improve how our faces look. The problem is that enhancing the appearance of our faces is not a simple matter, and finding methods to restore it is a challenge.

Several products created and marketed for toning and lifting our faces are primarily composed of makeup. While cosmetic products have their place in society, some prefer to address their appearance more directly. This has led to the development of facial exercises that allegedly can tone and lift our faces without cosmetic assistance. 

While facial exercises have developed a following, some question whether facial exercises are viable for improving your appearance. Facial exercises might seem like a perfect tool, but the results might not be as promising as implied. Therefore, a little more background information might be necessary if you are considering using facial exercises to improve your look.

What Are Facial Exercises and Do They Work?

Facial exercises are what the name implies and involve small exercises designed to slim and tone your face. Multiple facial exercises exist that focus on different parts of the face, like the jaw or cheeks. These exercises are supposed to help slim the face and tone it so you can cultivate the look you want. While they are purported to be effective in improving our facial appearance, there are doubts about their efficacy. The first thing to note is that facial exercises usually involve moving the jaw or massaging parts of the forehead. While this can relax the tissue and make your face feel smoother, no evidence supports improved facial features.

The main reasons facial exercises are employed are that they supposedly reduce wrinkles in the skin and help reduce weight around the face. The latter effect is believed to be because the facial muscles are exercised. As a result, there is a theory that this exercise burns calories and reduces the fat around the face. While this hypothesis seems sound in theory, no evidence supports this effect, and facial exercises do not directly reduce the fat around your face. The exercises might strengthen the muscles in your face, but this can have undesirable consequences on your appearance and cause you to appear older than you are.

The former theory that facial exercises can reduce wrinkles is backward and will exacerbate your wrinkles rather than mitigate them. This is because facial exercises stretch your skin out and reduce its elasticity, causing new wrinkles to manifest. The belief that the exercises would tighten the skin has since been disproven. As a result, the concept that facial exercises can help tone or lift the face is a fallacy that has disrupted several beauty routines. 

While facial exercises might be a disappointment, there are options to help you improve the appearance of your skin and reduce blemishes.

Option #1: Vitamin C

One of the main tools for repairing the appearance of our face is vitamin C, an important resource for the human body. Vitamin C is a crucial component of a healthy body but has a fatal flaw that makes it more complicated than other resources. Our bodies do not naturally synthesize Vitamin C and can only be cultivated via dietary changes or supplementation. Increasing vitamin C levels adds antioxidants to the body and is a key ingredient for synthesizing collagen. We will discuss collagen later, but the vitamin C added to your diet can help combat several skin issues that facial exercises claim to address.

One of the main benefits of vitamin C is that it addresses skin blemishes that impact your appearance. Some of the main blemishes that vitamin C can treat are dark spots that manifest in some complexions. Dark spots are generally the result of excess pigment in the dermal layers, causing our skin to darken in localized areas of the face. Vitamin C can inhibit pigment production and reduce the pigment saturating the dark spots that blemish our faces. However, the main benefit of vitamin C that facial exercises claim to address is the abundance of wrinkles.

Excess sebum (oil) production can overhydrate the skin and cause it to dry out or promote bacterial colonization. As a result, wrinkles and acne are more common in the skin with large oil concentrations. Topical vitamin C can reduce sebum production and introduce anti-inflammatory effects that reduce the blemishes that normally manifest in your complexion. Vitamin C is primarily used in skin care to reduce acne, but its benefits can help lift your face and restore some youth to your complexion. While vitamin C can help rejuvenate your facial complexion, it also relates heavily to the next point.

Option #2: Collagen

Collagen is easily one of the most important resources for skincare since it is what our bodies use to create our skin in the first place. Collagen is a protein we produce in the womb that our bodies use to manufacture skin, hair, and nails. Without collagen, we would be walking, talking skeletons with exposed flesh and organs. 

Unfortunately, collagen remains a necessary resource for our skin since our skin is exposed to elements and damage that can scar or tear our dermal layer. This damage can occur anywhere our skin is exposed, and the results can be hard on the eyes. Because of the damage that can arise, our bodies maintain a finite supply of collagen to rebuild and restore the skin.

Collagen, while limited, can be supplemented with specialized products, and introducing vitamin C to your body provides the key ingredient our bodies need to produce more. By improving collagen concentrations in the body, we have more for our bodies to use to repair the skin. Collagen also preserves the hydration and elasticity of the skin, which naturally deteriorates as we age. 

This deterioration is why signs of aging (like wrinkles) appear and affect our visage in ways we want to prevent. The more collagen our body has, the longer it will take for these blemishes to appear. While there is no way to prevent wrinkles completely, prolonging them can help you maintain an appearance that aligns with your real age. 

Collagen supplementation should be done cautiously since excess collagen can exacerbate acne scars. Additionally, collagen supplements are only effective if you have a low concentration. The supplements will not yield any positive effects if your collagen levels are normal. If your collagen levels are low, you can maintain a healthy appearance and lift your face's skin to avoid looking older.

Option #3: Green Tea

Another substance that can help improve your face's appearance is green tea, which might be a surprise since most people view green tea as a beverage. While green tea is a wonderful drink, the herb is a powerful tool that has a longstanding place in Eastern medicine. Green tea is known for rejuvenation, but its effects are not strictly medicinal and can extend to cosmetic benefits. 

Green tea can improve the health and appearance of the skin in ways that facial exercises cannot. Green tea has since become a major powerhouse in cosmetic products, primarily for facial masks and lotions. This is because applying green tea to your face can reduce the effects of aging and lift your skin back to your youth.

This effect was reinforced in a long-term study conducted in 2013, where 24 subjects were divided into a test and control group—the subjects in the test group were given topical cosmetics with green tea extract. The study found that the subjects in the test group enjoyed improved skin microrelief and moisturization. These benefits reduced the effects of aging and restored some youth to their visage. However, wrinkles are not the only blemish that green tea can help repair. Green tea can be used to reduce blemishes around the eyes, such as dark spots and bags.

Green tea has a high polyphenol concentration and has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects that help restore the luster of your skin. The antioxidants prevent oxidative damage that might promote wrinkles and other blemishes. The anti-inflammatory effect reduces the severity and risk of acne and other issues damaging your skin. Fortunately, acquiring topical green tea products is simple due to its spike in popularity. So, adding a green tea skincare product to your arsenal should be simple and help maintain your skin's appearance and tone.

Option #4: Aloe Vera

Another interesting addition to your facial skincare toolbox is traditional Aloe vera, which has long been used to treat sunburns. While Aloe vera has a tried-and-true purpose in treating skin issues, it has additional benefits that can help protect the health and appearance of your facial skin. The most notable benefits of Aloe vera are that it is an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial, meaning it protects against the same detrimental substances that cause wrinkles and acne breakouts. 

This means Aloe vera can help reduce the factors contributing to aged or discolored skin. These effects are further compounded by Aloe vera's history of treating sunburns since sun damage can cause your skin to wrinkle prematurely or suffer discoloration. Aloe vera can also rehydrate the skin and counteract the issues that could cause wrinkles regardless of what caused the damage.

One of the lesser-known benefits Aloe vera provides is that it can help adjust your skin tone by lightening it. Dark spots and other blemishes can mark your face and make it difficult to maintain your desired visage. Additionally, some people suffer hyperpigmentation that oversaturates the skin and causes patches of skin that are darker than the rest. This can make it difficult to make public appearances, but Aloe vera can lighten pigmentation and bring the dark patches back in line with the main complexion.

Aloe vera's pigmentation effects were corroborated during a study where a group with hyperpigmentation was divided into 4 subgroups:

• Subgroup 1: This group received aloesin.
• Subgroup 2: This group received arbutin.
• Subgroup 3: This group received aloesin and arbutin.
• Subgroup 4: This group received placebos.

The treatments were administered 4 times daily, and the subjects were exposed to ultraviolet radiation on their forearm to test the effects. When the study was complete, Subgroup 3 showed the highest pigmentation reduction. This study confirmed Aloe vera's benefits for treating pigmentation issues and restoring tone.

Finding the Right Blend

Facial exercises are often described as an effective tool for improving the appearance and health of your facial complexion. While facial exercises have become common for some people, they are ineffective in improving your complexion or the weight around your face. Generally, facial exercises can backfire and cause your face to age rather than regain its youthful appearance. The qualities of our faces that define tone and appearance are so specific that physical exercise cannot do anything to change it. As a result, most people are under the impression that synthetic beauty products are the only option. Fortunately, this is not the case.

We at Teami believe that the best way to address cosmetic and health issues is to employ natural substances that can rejuvenate the body without harmful chemicals. That is why we have curated a catalog of several products employing substances like green tea and vitamin C that can help restore your visage. Most of our products are topical and can introduce the substances you need to improve your appearance. 

With so many products on the market, it can be difficult to determine which are worth investing in and which are not. We encourage you to visit our website and see if any products appeal to your needs. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out; we love to advise our friends on ways to improve your health.