This post is all about how to reduce jowls without surgery. I’m going to run through a quick and easy Face Yoga routine that concentrates on the area under the chin and jaw. It should take around 10 minutes to complete, so it is hopefully easy to slot into your busy day.
If you prefer to watch a video version of this routine, you can find one onmy YouTube channel. Don’t forget to subscribe while you are there. I share regular videos with Face Yoga routines, facial massage techniques, and other wellness tips and advice.
WHAT ARE JOWLS AND WHAT CAUSES THEM?
Jowls are those little areas of loose skin, swelling, or fat accumulation that appear just under the jaw. You can get them at any age and there are lots of different factors that affect whether you’ll experience sagging in this area.
Genetics definitely do play a part. But a larger factor is lifestyle. Your stress levels, sleep patterns, whether you drink or smoke – all these affect the skin. And a huge one is sun damage. It is estimated that up to 80% of skin ageing is due to sun damage, so if you take nothing else away from this post, please make applying your SPF a daily habit! That includes if you have darker skin and on cloudy days too.
Another factor that affects whether we develop loose jowls is our modern digital lifestyle. Many of us spend a lot of time looking down at our phones or computer screens. Being aware of our posture can make a big difference.
POSTURE
Before you start this jowl-busting Face Yoga routine, take a moment to focus on your posture. Lengthen your spine and relax your shoulders down away from your ears. Visualise a string coming from the crown of your head and up to the ceiling (or sky if you are outside). Feel it pull you upwards, lengthening everything out.
Lift your chin slightly to give yourself space to work. Then take a moment to connect to your breath. Allow your abdomen to rise and fall as you take long, calming breaths in and out through your nose.
Make sure you have clean hands and a clean face. Apply a few drops ofthe Fusion by Danielle Collins Serumto help your hands move easily over your skin.
This serum is beautiful for Face Yoga. It has been specially developed to have small enough molecules to penetrate deep into your skin, bringing all the nourishing benefits of the botanical seed oils into that middle layer of skin.
You can leave it on all day/night – no need to wash it off when you finish this face yoga routine.
START WITH GRATITUDE
So often, we come to Face Yoga because we are unhappy with something about our faces, or we don’t like how we are ageing. So, it might sound counterintuitive that I’m encouraging you to feel a sense of gratitude for your face just as it is right now.
In my experience, coming from a place of gratitude doesn’t stop us from seeing a positive effect from Face Yoga. When we combine gratitude with positive action, it turns Face Yoga into an affirming and nurturing self-care practice.
As you move through this Face Yoga sequence, try to approach your face with gratitude and love. Say “thank you” to the parts of your face you normally ignore or dislike. Take this as an opportunity to nourish these areas with your loving touch.
1. JAW MASSAGE
Form your index and middle fingers into a ‘V’ shape. Using your middle finger on top of your jawbone and your index finger underneath, smooth along your jaw. Start from your chin and move outwards. Alternate hands to go over one side and then the other.
Continue to repeat this move for around a minute.
This helps to boost the blood circulation to the jaw and chin area. It also sculpts the area and encourages the release of any fluid that has built up here.
2. TAPPING
Using the tops of your fingers, flick upwards beneath your chin and jaw to tap all over the skin.
This simple massage helps to boost collagen and elastin production, tightening and lifting the skin and reducing jowls.
It can be difficult to coordinate using both hands, so feel free to switch to using one at a time if you prefer.
Continue to tap for about a minute, making sure to cover the full area.
Don’t forget your breath. Feel your abdomen rise and fall as you continue to breathe through your nose.
3. TILT HEAD BACK
For this move and the next one, we’re doing some facial exercises that target the muscles of the neck. When we lift and tone these muscles, we also tighten and tauten the skin attached to them, firming the whole area, and reducing the appearance of jowls.
Tilt your head back, being very careful if you have any neck issues. Roll your shoulders down and back. You should already feel this in the area underneath your chin.
Stick your tongue out towards the tip of your nose. Then, turn the corners of your mouth upwards. You might notice that this causes some lines to appear around your mouth. Use your index fingers to smooth out those lines – we never want to create new lines in Face Yoga.
Hold this pose for thirty seconds. Release for a moment, then take it again.
Come back to centre. Using your middle and index fingers together, tap all over the skin around your mouth to release any tension or lines created by this move.
4. SIDE NECK
Turn your head to one side. Tilt your chin up and slightly back. At the same time, take your arms behind you, squeezing your shoulder blades towards each other and lifting your chest up a little.
You can just stay here if you like. Another variation is to stick your tongue out towards the tip of your nose.
Hold the pose for a count of twenty and release. Repeat on the other side.
Give your arms a little shake out to get rid of any stiffness. Take a few shoulder rolls too. Then repeat the pose for twenty seconds on each side.
5. PINCHING
Using two fingers and your thumb, pinch along your jaw. Start at your chin and work out towards your ear.
The key here is to pinch down into the muscle instead of lifting and dragging at the skin.
When you reach the outside edge of your jaw, lift off and replace your fingers at your chin. Repeat the move four times in total.
Release your hands down.
DONE!
And we’re all finished. Like any Face Yoga or facial exercise, this sequence will be most effective if you do it regularly. Perhaps make it a part of your morning or evening skincare routine. You could even run through it in the shower or in front of the TV.
If you’d like some support in making Face Yoga a daily practice, I have plenty of resources to help you on your journey.My ten-day courseis perfect for beginners, with ten different short routines to get you in the habit of doing Face Yoga every day.
For those who are ready to dive deeper and start teaching these amazing skills to others,my teacher training coursesoffer everything you need. Fully distance-learning, they are designed to fit with your life, so you can become a certified Face Yoga teacher in a way that is convenient for you.
