Facial muscles play an important anti aging role.. 

You are probably well aware of the muscles in your body and realize the importance of exercise to keep them toned but how much do you know about your face muscles?

Few of us have any understanding of our facial muscles, how they work and - most importantly - what part they play in the aging process.  Most  anti aging remedies focus on two approaches - skin care treatments and surgery.  There is very little awareness of the importance of muscle tone in facial aging.

The truth is that the muscles of the face - properly toned and exercised - can decrease or even reverse the effects of aging.

Fifty seven hard working muscles..

Your face - like every human face - has fifty seven muscles that work together to support and maintain your facial features.  With every facial movement you make from frowning when you get cross to laughing at a joke or chewing your food - your facial muscles work hard behind the scenes to perform thousands of tiny movements every day.

A patchwork quilt beneath the skin.. 

Your facial muscles resemble a thin patchwork quilt just below the surface of the skin.  This thin layer of muscle is interconnected with bundles of fibres so they work together to give your face life and to produce all the expressions that enable you to communicate with other people.  Without our muscles - or when our muscles no longer work in the way they are intended to - our faces become mask-like, cold and impenetrable.

How loss of muscle tone contributes to aging.. 

You may be aware that most of the 600 muscles in your body are attached to your bones but not to the skin.  The fifty seven face and scalp muscles are unusual in that they are attached directly to the skin of the face but they are not connected at all to the bone.  This is one of the main reasons why your face can so quickly start to betray your age. 

As muscle mass declines with age and muscle tone reduces your whole face appears to sag.  What is happening is that slackening muscles are pulling the skin downwards producing a sagging, drooping look - the "mini avalanche" as a well known dermatologist has called it.

Some of the effects of decreased muscle tone that you may be familiar with:

eyelid "hooding" and eyebrow drooping

increase in under eye puffiness

sagging jawline and development of jowls

nasal labial lines (between the lower part of your nose and the corners of your mouth) develop and deepen

mouth corners start to turn down

chin sags and double chin develops

Facial muscle tone can be restored..

This may seem like a bit of a depressing list - but in a way it can be good news.  All these effects - and others - which you may have accepted as a natural part of the aging process are directly associated with the poorly toned muscles in your face. 

First of all some information about the different muscle groups in the face and what they do. 

Most important muscle groups in the face..

Each area of the face and scalp have muscle groups that perform specific functions.  Here are some of the most important muscles groups that play an essential part in the aging process:

Mouth muscles

• orbicularis oris - completely encircles the mouth and connects with the upper and lower lips, cheeks, nose and surrounding areas.  Sometimes called the 'kissing' muscles it is involved in puckering of the mouth.  Repetitive puckering as smokers do when they draw on a cigarette can result in deep lines on the upper lip
• mentalis - a tiny muscle in the front of the chin which raises the chin and makes the lower lip protrude in a pout.  Keeping this muscle toned results in firmer, fuller lips without the need for collagen filler
• risorius - muscle at the corners of the mouth involved in retracting the corners of the when you smile - toning this muscle helps to create an upward turning mouth and a happier expression
• zygomaticus major and minor - used to draw the angle of the lips backwards and upwards in a smiling expression - loss of tone creates a downward slope to the mouth

Eye muscles

• orbicularis oculi - a powerful muscle surrounding the eye which acts to close the eyelids in sleeping and blinking.  Using the whole muscle at once causes the skin to create folds from the outer corner of the eyelids - the infamous 'crow's feet'

• levator palpebrae superioris - a thin muscle which maintains the firmness of the upper eyelid and keeps it from drooping.  Toning this muscle helps to maintain a wide-eyed youthful look and stops the hooding of the eye which is so often a part of the aging face
• epicranius - the muscle that raises the eyebrows.  Exercising and toning this muscle softens the brows and gives a more relaxed appearance to the face

Nose muscles

• procerus - muscle across the bridge of the nose that pulls down the eyebrows and creates wrinkling across the bridge of the nose
• dilator naris posterior - lies near to the nostril and increases the size of the nasal opening to allow more air into the lungs.  Increasing the size of this muscle can change the shape of the nose

There are many more facial muscles - for instance those involved in face and neck movement.  All your facial muscles interact with one another to create the range of facial expressions that you use every day. 

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