Laurie's Corner: Healthy Skin

Here are some thoughts from my wife, Laurie, on healthy skin. — Dr. T

Laurie

I'd like to introduce Carole Maggio, the creator of the Facercise Facial Exercise DVD's and books. I adore her DVD, "Ulimate Facercise," and her skin care products! Carole developed her Facercise program over 30 years ago and today it is widely accepted as an excellent alternative to plastic surgery. Her philosophy is that you should address the underlying cause of facial aging, rather than simply treat the symptoms. Carole created a series of fourteen synergistic exercises to develop the facial muscles and improve appearance. "Just as a body builder can develop particular muscles in his or her body, a particular facial feature can also be developed and accentuated by performing a specific facial exercise." She found that when the underlying muscles are toned and developed, the facial skin will lift, fine lines and wrinkles will diminish, the complexion will become vibrant and alive, and the face will be restored to a more youthful shape. At 67 years old she is a walking testament to the program. — Laurie

Maintaining Smooth, Youthful Skin

By Carole Maggio

Carole

Some people are blessed with good genes and age well. Others are not so lucky. It's one thing to be disadvantaged by our genes; however, It's quite another when those fortunate to have good genes effectively sabotage that good fortune and accelerate the aging process through overexposure to the sun, smoking, excessive drinking, poor diet, lack of exercise and all sorts of other unhealthy lifestyle factors.

The good news is that some of the damage can be reversed by using facial exercises alongside quality skincare products. Facial exercises will work to build up the underlying muscles of your face, and building muscles underneath the skin should help replace some of the lost fat and collagen and make up for the lost volume. This is a process that can be built upon over weeks, months and years, as you continue to exercise your face. Toning muscles will lift the skin because the muscles of the face are attached to the skin, and don't forget that plumping the muscles under the skin can help erase fine lines and wrinkles as well.

Benefits of exercising your face daily are numerous for anyone simply dealing with the natural aging process, but it can help others, too. Even young people can have a face that is flatter than it should be, as a result of poor muscle tone,or a nose that is larger or longer than they would wish for. A face can be made wider or more narrow. You can plump your lips, tone your jawline and make your cheek higher and fuller.

Facial exercises can help TMJ symptoms by strengthening the jaw muscles to alleviate the pain and soreness from this condition. For others who have dealt with issues such as Bell's palsy, sagging facial muscles due to facial paralysis from a stroke, disfigured faces from car accidents, botched plastic surgery and scar tissue from fillers, facial exercises can be a blessing.

Treatment

Facial exercises will help you create some truly positive changes in your face. You need to set a course of action, create a goal for yourself, be consistent and stick to the plan. However, in order to be successful with my program, you also need to consider some of the things you may be doing that could actually be aging your face more quickly. More and more studies have shown how poor nutrition, lack of sleep, leading a sedentary lifestyle and excess stress can all wreak havoc on your body. we need to address those issues and fully understand how poor choices can affect our skin and cause it to age prematurely.

In order to get the most from facial exercises, it's important to adopt some healthy lifestyle changes that will nourish and protect your skin from the inside and out.

• GETTING THE RIGHT DIET: As the saying goes, "you are what you eat," and nothing could be closer to the truth.
• Avoid refined foods. For many people, refined foods are a staple in their diet, but it's been established that excessive amounts of refined foods can actually prematurely age the skin.
• Eat protein because all muscles need protein to build and repair. Limit salt because it causes our body to retain water.
• Drink water to keep your skin radiant and wrinkle-free.

Consistency with all exercise is key to your success. Repeat your face exercises twice daily for maximum benefit. You can spread them out through the day. Have fun with them. They will not only make you look more youthful, but will also relieve stress.

Facial exercise books and DVD's are available at Facercise.com.