As we get older, we naturally start to see more fine lines forming on our faces. This is because we produce less elastin and collagen as we age, so our skin is less elastic and plump than it was when we were younger.
Fine lines form when we express with our faces – something we do all day long. Over time, the creases we make when we pull different expressions start to etch into our skin, since we no longer have the same levels of collagen and elastin to help our skin bounce back into shape.
A great skincare routine can help to smooth these lines and support collagen production. Look for nourishing natural products like Almora’s Serum for Fine Lines, which is packed full of antioxidants to support skin cell regeneration and restore your skin’s elasticity and firmness.
Of course, we can also use face yoga fitness to smooth fine lines and reduce or prevent wrinkles. There are loads of different techniques you can try. Some boost blood circulation and encourage collagen production, others prevent lines by releasing tension from the facial muscles, and others lift and strengthen the muscles to tauten and tighten the attached skin.
I’m sharing five of my favorite techniques in this post.
Before you start, make sure you have a clean face and clean hands. Apply your Serum for Fine Lines and follow with some Radiance Day Face Oil. This will give your skin a lovely glide and is also enriched with Bio Retinol to increase collagen production and smooth fine lines.
1. Tapping
This is one of my favorite ways to start and end a face yoga fitness sequence. It’s a very simple move – simply tap your fingertips rapidly all over your neck area, then work up over your jaw, around your mouth, over your cheeks, around your eyes, and over your forehead.
Use a lighter pressure for the eye area, since the skin here is especially delicate.
This is a beautiful way to wake up your skin and get the energy moving through your face. It’s also brilliant for boosting blood circulation. Not only does this bring lots of fresh oxygen and nutrients up to the skin’s surface, but it also helps to boost collagen production, which in turn helps to prevent and reduce fine lines.
Plus, the tapping action encourages your skincare products to penetrate more deeply into your skin. And it feels lovely too.
2. Forehead Smoothing
The forehead is one of the first areas where many of us notice fine lines starting to form. This is because we tend to use this area a lot when we express. Over time, this causes lines and wrinkles to etch into the skin.
This next technique is one I love for smoothing the forehead. To do it, form your hands into fists.
Using the middle knuckles, smooth out over your forehead. Start in the centre and stroke outwards towards your temples, using both hands at once. Return to the centre to repeat the move.
With this technique, we’re working to relax the frontalis muscle, which is the large muscle which runs over the front of the forehead. Many of us hold a lot of tension in this area which can contribute to those horizontal lines we see forming on the forehead.
“When we relax the frontalis muscle, we help to smooth out the skin of the forehead, preventing those fine lines from forming or getting worse.” Danielle Collins
3. Eye Smoothing Acupressure Massage
Another area where we often experience fine lines is around the eyes. Some of these will come from smiling, which is always lovely to see! I definitely don’t want to suggest there is anything wrong with lines and wrinkles – these are a testament to everything we’ve experienced throughout our lives.
Instead, my aim is always to help you look and feel the best you can for the age you are. So, we’re not necessarily trying to get rid of lines altogether. We just want to gently smooth the skin and help release tension from our facial muscles.
One way to do this for the eye area is to work with the acupressure points at the inner corners of your eyes. Place the tips of your index fingers to either side of the bridge of your nose – you should feel a little indent.
Start by just pressing lightly on the acupressure point as you breathe deeply through your nose. Then, start to massage in a small circular motion, first in one direction and then in the other.
This acupressure point is wonderful for relieving eye strain, so a great one to use if you’ve been spending a lot of time on screens. Squinting our eyes can contribute to fine lines, but massaging this acupressure point helps to release tension from the muscles and smooth the skin.
This acupressure point is also a good one to use if you’re experiencing stress headaches or difficulty sleeping.
4. Cheek Lifting
With many of the face yoga fitness tips I’m sharing in this blog post, we’re looking to release tension from the muscles to smooth out the skin and reduce fine lines.
But there are some areas of the face where we want to concentrate on lifting and strengthening the muscles instead in order to tauten, lift, and smooth the attached skin.
One area where we’re working more with muscle strengthening is the cheeks. By naturally lifting and sculpting the muscles in this area, we also help to smooth the fine lines that can appear between the nose and the mouth.
First, puff out your cheeks with air (a bit like a hamster). Don’t worry if this makes you laugh, some face yoga fitness techniques can look a bit funny!
Use the fingers on one hand to smooth out the skin above your upper lip. With the other hand, tap lightly over one cheek. Continue for around thirty seconds, take a break, and then repeat on the other cheek.
Don’t forget to use your other hand to smooth out any lines – we never want to create fresh lines with face yoga fitness.
5. Chest Opening
My fifth and final tip is all about posture. This is particularly important for smoothing fine lines in the neck area, which are often made worse because we tend to spend a lot of time hunched forward looking at screens.
“Bad posture can affect us both mentally and physically. It creates tension in our upper body, which in turn can lead to lines on our chest and neck area. Of course, everything is connected, so tightness in these areas also contributes to lines and wrinkles elsewhere on our faces.” Danielle Collins
This technique aims to combat that hunched forward position, open up the chest, and release tension from the shoulders, neck, and upper back.
Take your arms back behind you and interlace your fingers. Try to straighten your arms as much as you can as you push your chest forwards. You should feel a lovely stretch through your upper body and shoulders.
Continue to hold the stretch as you gently turn your head from side to side.
I hope this has given you some ideas for how you can use face yoga fitness alongside your skincare routine to smooth fine lines and prevent or reduce wrinkles.
“Perhaps the most important thing face yoga fitness can do for our faces is encourage us to spend some time prioritising self-care. When we feel nurtured and cared for on the inside, it shows on the outside too.” Danielle Collins
