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Skin treatments and ‘tweakments’ are certainly an option when it comes to looking younger, but what if you want to do it the natural – and free – way? Facial yoga expert and health coach Victoria Adams shared her top anti-ageing techniques with Express.co.uk.
Facial yoga is the practice of using the hands or specialised tools to massage the skin, leading to a more chiseled, contoured complexion and increased production of collagen and elastin.
It doesn’t require much time at all, with Victoria suggesting it can be incorporated into your morning routine, taking just two minutes.
The expert promised almost instant anti-ageing results but super natural ones – “you’ll still look like you but better”.
“Facial exercise or facial yoga is a fantastic tool to help literally change the shape of your face,” she added.
READ MORE: 66-year-old woman shares youthful transformation but gives warning
Facial yoga isn’t a quick fix, however, despite sometimes fast results, and Victoria urged people practising it to still keep up their hydration and be aware of environmental factors that can contribute to skin health, such as sun damage or pollution.
Think of facial yoga as flawless foundation that goes on beneath all of that make up, the first part of your skincare routine.
The fingers should glide across the skin relatively easily, so a bit of slip is necessary.
For Victoria’s exercises you can grab your skin cleanser, moisturiser or suncream, incorporating facial yoga into your chosen skincare step.
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The facial yogi advised those practising to start off with some deep breathing – something many of us do not do enough of.
She explained that positive breathing is great for the nervous system and in turn all of the body’s functions.
Next, the exercises will “sculpt and lift the face to deepen and tone the muscles lying underneath the skin”.
Take four deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling, before taking your index fingers and bending the knuckles.
READ MORE: Woman in late 60s shares how she looks 20 years younger
Place your thumbs on the temples and use the inside edge of the index fingers to “smooth” in between the eyebrows to get rid of those worry lines. Repeat four times.
Next, take your index fingers and rest them on the nasal bone, just underneath the eyes but making sure to avoid the delicate skin of the eye area.
Follow your index fingers down along your nose, under the cheekbones and back up to the temples. Repeat four times.
Finally, the expert told women to bend both index fingers and bring your knuckles below your nostrils.
Bring the knuckles up along the cheekbones, back towards the temples for a contouring effect.
According to the expert, practising facial massage regularly can be pretty transformative: “If you’ve practised for long enough, a lot of people don’t wear any makeup at all.”
Facial massage also has some great psychological benefits – it allows you to take a breath and start your day calmly as opposed to hearing your alarm and rushing out the door in an instant.
But Victoria added a final warning: “It should never be painful, it shouldn’t feel like you’re dragging the skin.
“But equally if you’re just very lightly stroking the skin for these exercises, it’s not really going to be doing a lot.”
Don’t be alarmed if you see a gentle flush of blood to the face – “this is helping to promote circulation, promoting circulation, collagen and elastin”.
Victoria Adams is a facial yoga, Gua Sha expert and health coach.
