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Vogue India

This facial workout could be the secret to young, firm, glowing skin

No anti-ageing cream required

“Lift and hold!” I hear as I raise my eyebrows. An aesthetician stands over me, counting reps and pressing on my forehead to create resistance. I feel like I'm in Pilates class, but instead I'm at FaceLove Fitness, a spa in Greenwich Village, New York City. Forget reclining with cucumber slices on your eyes. The latest treatment that leaves you refreshed and glowing is the workout facial, a combination of targeted movements and sculpting exercises designed to keep your face lifted and taut. The big idea: Moving muscles a certain way strengthens them, which can tone your face and pump blood and oxygen to the surface (the secret to looking radiant). “It's possible that facial exercise may help make muscles tighter, firmer and more youthful appearing,” says Murad Alam, MD, professor of dermatology and the head of cosmetic dermatology and dermatologic surgery at Northwestern University, “Toning can improve contours and reduce flab on the body, so why not on the face?”

My session begins with a warm-up: a firm but pleasant cranial and neck massage to stimulate blood flow. My workout focuses on my entire face, starting at the forehead, with eyebrow raises, squints and reps of furrowing my brow. Next I move on to a series of exaggerated smiles. (Exercises are typically done in sets, like you do for sit-ups or leg lifts.) Then I press my chin to my chest while pushing against a tiny resistance hoop—the same type used for tightening your abs. In the last stretch, my aesthetician massages and moulds my muscles to energise my skin, reduce puffiness and get rid of tension. To further rev up circulation, she briskly runs semiprecious jade stone rollers over my face. No products are used, save for orange-blossom mist (sprayed between each phase of the facial to calm my skin). The whole treatment lasts 30 minutes. Afterward, I have a light-pink glow, as if I've actually just finished a workout.

Most experts say the workout facial results can last anywhere from a couple of days to a week; my eyes and cheeks looked noticeably lifted for at least three days.

DO IT YOURSELF Try this mini-workout two to three times a week. Do 10 reps per exercise:

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