Face yoga: what the studies show, and how to try it safely

Facial exercise plus massage

Face yoga means making and holding facial movements, sometimes against your fingers, and massaging the face and neck. A yoga researcher points out that it isn't a documented style of yoga, and is closer to massage.

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The best-known study had no comparison group

Of 27 women aged 40 to 65 who started a 20-week programme, 16 finished. Their cheeks were rated fuller and they looked about 3 years younger in photographs, but there was no comparison group, and the programme's founder was one of the authors.

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Reviews: not enough evidence

A 2014 review found 9 studies, none with a comparison group and random allocation. A 2025 review of 12 studies (321 women) found small changes in particular areas and called the evidence insufficient.

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Wrinkles and face fat: no good evidence

In the main study, forehead lines, crow's feet and the folds beside the mouth didn't change, and exercising one part of the body doesn't burn the fat over it.

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What does slow skin ageing

Dermatologists advise sun protection every day, not tanning, not smoking, and avoiding repetitive facial expressions.

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Bell's palsy is different

After Bell's palsy, facial exercises are specialist rehabilitation, and forceful exercises can encourage unwanted linked movements. A face that droops on one side, with weakness in an arm or trouble speaking, is a 999 call.

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Facial exercises and self-massage

Face yoga means repeated facial movements, often held or done against light finger pressure, plus self-massage of the face and neck, practised to change how the face looks. The best-known study taught 32 exercises done against resistance; a 2025 programme ran from slow breathing and neck stretches through lip, cheek, eye, eyebrow and forehead exercises, with massage. A yoga researcher says it is closer to massage than to traditional yoga.

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The claims

Tighter skin, fewer lines, lifted cheeks and jowls, a sharper jawline and a slimmer face are common claims, and some say it works like a natural facelift. The rest of this guide sets each against the studies.

Related practices

Jade rollers and gua sha (scraping the skin with a smooth-edged tool, often stone) are massage tools. Mewing means holding the tongue pressed against the roof of the mouth to try to reshape the jaw. Myofunctional therapy is exercise for the lips, tongue and chewing muscles, used by speech therapists.

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The 2018 studyMixed evidence

Twenty-seven women aged 40 to 65 had two 90-minute training sessions in 32 facial exercises, then practised for 30 minutes a day for 8 weeks and every other day until week 20; 16 finished. Two doctors rating their photographs blind scored the upper cheeks fuller (1.8 to 1.1 on a 0 to 4 scale, where 0 is best) and the lower cheeks fuller (1.6 to 0.9), and their estimated age fell from 50.8 to 48.1 years.

There was no comparison group, neither the women nor the instructor were blinded, 11 women dropped out, and the founder of the exercise programme was one of the authors.

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What didn't changeMixed evidence

Forehead lines, frown lines, crow's feet, the folds from nose to mouth (nasolabial folds), marionette lines, the jawline and the neck didn't change significantly. Lines around the lips when moving tended to get worse, though not significantly.

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A small controlled studyMixed evidence

In 18 people, 7 weeks of daily facial exercises made only the area above the upper lip more often judged younger, and the authors wrote: "It cannot be concluded that facial exercises are effective."

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What reviews concludedStrong evidence

A 2014 review found 9 studies, none with a comparison group and random allocation, mostly with unblinded ratings, and called the evidence insufficient. A 2025 review of 12 studies in 321 women aged 30 to 70, including 5 randomised trials, found improvements "confined to localized regions" such as the cheeks, jawline and around the eyes, measured in many different ways, and said the evidence is still insufficient. A 2024 review of 21 studies of facial exercise and myofunctional therapy reported improvements, but with little agreement on how to measure them.

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The muscles change with trainingMixed evidence

In 12 women, 8 weeks of face yoga (2 supervised and 5 home sessions a week, about 30 minutes each) lowered tone and stiffness in the forehead and eye muscles and raised them in a cheek muscle and a muscle under the chin. In 50 women, a mouth-held exercise device used for 30 seconds twice a day for 8 weeks enlarged a cheek muscle and a muscle under the chin. Neither study had a comparison group, and changes in muscle don't show that people look younger.

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Jaw painEmerging evidence

In 90 people with a jaw joint disorder (temporomandibular disorder, TMD), a 6-week face yoga programme, like dry needling, eased pain and improved jaw movement compared with a control group. We could read only the summary, so the exercises used aren't known.

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"Face yoga makes you look younger"Mixed evidence

One uncontrolled study found fuller cheeks and an estimated age 2.7 years younger after 20 weeks, and a small controlled study found a difference only above the upper lip. Without a comparison group, changes in photographs, make-up, weight or season can't be ruled out (our reading).

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"Face yoga reduces wrinkles"Mixed evidence

Not supported: lines and folds didn't change in the main study. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) advises avoiding repetitive facial expressions, because if you contract the same muscles over many years, the lines "become permanent".

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"Face yoga lifts sagging cheeks and jowls"Mixed evidence

Cheek fullness improved in the uncontrolled study, but the jawline and the neck didn't change significantly.

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"Face yoga slims your face and gets rid of a double chin"Mixed evidence

Not supported. No study has measured face fat after face yoga; a device study found smaller lower-face measurements but had no comparison group; and across 13 studies (1,158 people), training one part of the body didn't reduce the fat over it. The main face yoga study found fuller cheeks, not thinner ones.

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"Face yoga tones the facial muscles"Mixed evidence

The muscles do change with training, in small studies without comparison groups, but whether that changes how you look hasn't been tested.

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Rollers and gua shaMixed evidence

Five minutes with a roller raised blood flow in the cheek for at least 10 minutes, in 12 people. In 34 women, 10 minutes of roller or gua sha massage 5 times a week for 8 weeks changed facial contour measurements by 2 to 3 millimetres, but there was no group without massage. A 2025 review says "Claims of significant long-term structural changes remain unproven".

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Self-massage with your fingersMixed evidence

In a CT (computed tomography) scan study of 5 adults, twice-daily self-massage for 2 weeks shifted cheek tissue by a few millimetres. Facial Palsy UK describes gentle massage with the pads of the fingers over the brow, temples, cheek, chin and neck for people recovering from Bell's palsy.

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Hard tools and forceMixed evidence

One woman tore a neck muscle (the platysma) after long-term, vigorous facial massage with a hard wooden block. Use light pressure, and don't press hard tools into your neck.

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The dermatologists' list

The American Academy of Dermatology lists these ways to reduce premature skin ageing:

• protect your skin from the sun every day
• use self-tanner rather than getting a tan
• if you smoke, stop
• avoid repetitive facial expressions
• eat a healthy, well-balanced diet, and drink less alcohol
• exercise most days of the week
• cleanse your skin gently, and wash your face twice a day and after sweating heavily
• apply a facial moisturiser every day
• stop using skin care products that sting or burn

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Cosmetic treatments

The AAD says cosmetic treatments such as botulinum toxin injections and fillers can reduce the appearance of wrinkles, and that a board-certified dermatologist can tell you what results to expect. No study has compared them with face yoga.

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The routine, step by step

The exercise names and repetitions come from the 2025 face yoga study's programme, which rested 6 seconds between repetitions. The wording of each step is ours, written to keep your jaw relaxed and nothing forced. Do the neck warm-up above first.

• Relaxed jaw: lips together, teeth slightly apart, tongue resting in the floor of your mouth, shoulders down. The NHS advice for jaw problems is not to clench your teeth: apart from when eating, they should be apart.
• Forehead smoother (3 times): rest the fingertips of both hands in the middle of your forehead, slide them slowly out to your temples with light pressure, then lift them away. Keep your eyebrows relaxed.
• Brow release (3 times): with two fingertips, make small, slow circles between your eyebrows for about 5 seconds, then rest for 6 seconds.
• Soft eye closure (3 times): close your eyes gently for 3 seconds without squeezing, then open them without raising your eyebrows. Rest for 6 seconds.
• Cheek puff (3 times): fill your cheeks with air with your lips closed, hold for 3 to 5 seconds, then let the air out slowly.
• Vowel shapes (twice through): say "a", "o", "i" and "u" slowly, making each mouth shape clearly but without opening your jaw wide.
• Kiss and release (3 times): push your lips gently forward, hold for 3 seconds, then relax.
• Lip open and close (10 times, up to 3 rounds): open your mouth only as far as is easy, without your jaw clicking or shifting to one side, then close it gently. Stop if your jaw aches or clicks.
• Fingertip massage (3 times): with the pads of your fingers and light pressure, glide from your chin out along your jaw to your ears, from beside your nose out across your cheeks to your temples, and across your brow. A little moisturiser helps your fingers glide.
• Finish with the relaxed jaw position and 3 slow breaths.

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How much

The routine takes 5 to 10 minutes. Once a day for 8 to 12 weeks is our editorial starting point; the studies used about 30 minutes a day. If you want to judge it, take photographs in the same light at the start and the end.

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Leave these out

• Opening your mouth as wide as you can, lion's breath with your tongue out, and big yawning stretches: the NHS advises people with jaw problems not to yawn too wide, and in a large study, jaw injuries (mostly from yawning or keeping the mouth open for a long time) nearly quadrupled the risk of a jaw joint disorder.
• Chewing gum or chewing exercises to build up the jaw: the NHS advises against chewing gum with jaw problems, and Facial Palsy UK says it can increase muscle tightness.
• Tipping your head back to lift your neck: poses that bend the neck far back reduced blood flow to the back of the brain in one case report, and the neck didn't change in the main face yoga study.
• Pressing hard tools into your face or neck: a woman tore a neck muscle after vigorous massage with a hard wooden block.
• Forcing your tongue against the roof of your mouth (mewing) to reshape your jaw: the claims rest on anecdote and low-level evidence.

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Jaw joint disorder (TMD)Emerging evidence

Temporomandibular disorder causes pain around the jaw, ear and temple, clicking, and difficulty opening the mouth. For jaw pain, the NHS advises soft food, not chewing gum, not yawning too wide, not clenching your teeth, and massaging the painful jaw muscles. One trial found a face yoga programme eased jaw pain, but its exercises aren't described in the summary we could read, so follow our jaw pain guide for jaw exercises.

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Facial exercises after facial palsy are specialist treatment

Bell's palsy is temporary weakness or lack of movement that usually affects one side of the face. Facial Palsy UK says "it is important not to try to make your face move by doing forceful facial exercises", because they can encourage synkinesis (miswiring of the nerves, so parts of the face move together), and "Never attempt to carry out exercises without professional help". It advises avoiding chewing gum and generic facial-strengthening exercises, and to "Be cautious about movement exercises advocated online".

Gentle fingertip massage is preferable to forceful exercise, and movement exercises should come from a specialist facial therapist. Our exercise for Bell's palsy guide covers what helps.

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When symptoms startStrong evidence

The NHS says to ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if you have symptoms of Bell's palsy, because "treatment for Bell's palsy is more effective if started early (within 72 hours)".

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Call 999

The NHS says to call 999 (911 in the US) if:

• somebody's face droops on 1 side (the mouth or eye may have drooped)
• a person cannot lift up both arms and keep them there
• a person has difficulty speaking (speech may be slurred or garbled)

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Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111

If you have symptoms of Bell's palsy, such as weakness on 1 side of your face or not being able to move 1 side of your face, a drooping eyelid or corner of your mouth, drooling, a dry mouth, loss of taste, or a dry or watering eye. Treatment works best if it starts within 72 hours.

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Jaw and head pain: same day

These are the same signs as our jaw pain guide:

• Same day (urgent GP appointment or NHS 111): you can't eat or drink, you have difficulty opening your mouth fully or your jaw is locking, or you have frequent, severe headaches, pain or tenderness at the side of your head or on the scalp, or vision problems such as double vision or loss of vision.
• Same day (urgent GP appointment or NHS 111): a headache with jaw pain when eating or talking, a sore, tender scalp or temples, or problems with your vision. In people over 50 especially, this can be giant cell arteritis, which can lead to a stroke or blindness if not treated quickly. If you suddenly can't see from 1 or both eyes, call 999 or go to A&E.

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See a GP or dentist

Jaw pain, clicking or stiffness that hasn't settled after a few weeks of self-care, or is affecting your eating, sleep or work: see a GP or dentist.

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Stop the exercise

Stop any face exercise that makes your jaw ache, click, lock or feel tired, any massage that leaves your skin red, sore or broken, and any tool that bruises (our suggestion).

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Who should skip it or ask first

If you're recovering from Bell's palsy or another facial palsy, get exercises from a specialist facial therapist: Facial Palsy UK says its own self-help stretches "should not be done by anyone who has had their facial palsy less than three months". With a jaw joint disorder, wait until your jaw has settled, and ask a dentist or physiotherapist. After cosmetic injections or facial surgery, ask the practitioner first, and skip massage over broken or inflamed skin (our suggestion).

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"Face yoga is a natural facelift"Mixed evidence

One uncontrolled study found fuller cheeks and an estimated age 2.7 years younger after 20 weeks. Reviews call the evidence insufficient.

Sources 3, 4, 2

"Face yoga gets rid of wrinkles"Mixed evidence

Lines and folds didn't change in the main study, and lip lines when moving tended to get worse. Dermatologists advise avoiding repetitive facial expressions.

Sources 3, 6

"Face exercises burn face fat and remove a double chin"Mixed evidence

Exercising one area doesn't burn the fat over it, no study has measured face fat after face yoga, and the jawline and neck didn't change significantly in the main study.

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"Face yoga can fix a lopsided face"Mixed evidence

No study has tested it. After facial palsy, forceful or generic facial exercises can make unwanted linked movements worse, so see a specialist facial therapist.

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"Gua sha and jade rollers lift the face for good"Mixed evidence

Small, short studies show more blood flow and changes of a few millimetres, and "Claims of significant long-term structural changes remain unproven".

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"Mewing reshapes your jaw"Mixed evidence

A 2025 review found the claims rest on anecdote or low-level evidence.

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"Face yoga has no risks"Mixed evidence

The reviewed studies reported no side effects, and a news feature on face yoga said there seem to be "no negative health consequences". But wide mouth opening and chewing exercises go against NHS jaw advice, jaw injuries raise the risk of a jaw joint disorder, and forceful massage with a hard tool tore a neck muscle in one case.

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"Face yoga is a kind of yoga"Mixed evidence

A yoga researcher says it isn't a documented style of yoga and is closer to massage, though some programmes add breathing and relaxation.

Sources 1, 9