How To Train Your Face The Way It Should Go

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 201, 22 May 1936, Page 4

How To Train Your Face The Way It Should Go

(By

Lorelel. )

We all know that we cannot be healthy without a free and healthy blood How to the bodily organs, but few of us realise that a free circulation in the facial muscles is equally neeess.ll y, and is. indeed, the only way, as the years go on, of maintaining a fresh co in the cheeks and youthful contour of cheek and chin.

Why does the skin on the face of an elderly woman droop downward? Because the underlying muscles have been allowed to get flabby so that they no longer support the flesh and skin. Psychologists say that depressed or “sagging” thoughts also make faces sag, and this is undoubtedly true. Well, w.e cannot always guard against the cares and worries of life, but we can keep our faces looking carefree and youthful. Just think how few of all the complex muscles of our faces and necks are ever called into activity in our daily life. We speak and eat and smile and turn our heads to left and right—that is about the extent of our normal facial movements, and so disused muscles in cheeks and chins get flabby, and the face soon becomes middle-aged.

How very depressing that sounds. But, now let us see how to banish dull skin, hollows and lines, by means of fresh, healthy circulation. The only difficult thing about facial exercises is the first making up of one’s mind to do them. After performing them" regularly for a month or so, the improvement is so marked that no woman will ever again forgo them for one day.

Imagine that you are dividing your face into three areas. The first area consists of the chin, the jaw and around the mouth. The second area is from the mouth to the eyes, and the third is the eyes themselves, the lids and forehead.

Each day these three areas must be given deep stimulation to increase the blood flow and build up the muscular tissue. Chin and jaw first, then: Close the mouth and clench the jaw. Now place the palms of the hands on the jawbone, on either side, the fingers spread over the ears. Press deeply with the palms, and, at the same time, without stretching the skin, work the flesh and muscles of the jaw slightly upward with the hands. That sounds complicated, but try it and see how easy it is to do. Do it only ten times every morning, and feel

the blood rushing to the muscles of your face there, keeping it fresh and pure of outline. Here is another exercise—rather a funny one—but wonderful for banishing and keeping away those ugly little hollows at corners of the lips: Push out your mouth as far. as it will go as though you were trying to push it right, off your face. Keep it pushed out while you mentally count five, then back to normal, and repeat the exercise ten times. Now for area number two. And there we must build up so as to prevent depressions between nose and mouth, and also keep the cheek muscles firm and rounded. Fill the mouth with air, and puff out the cheeks, forcing the air into them and against the inside of the lips with the mouth tightly closed. This (should be done 20 times quickly, without pausing. The cheeks must be kneaded firmly with the clenched fists until they feel pleasantly warm. Press until you can just feel the cheekbones underneath. Hold the pressure a moment and then relax and repeat. Area number three, that of the eyes and brow, islmportant. Eyes of youth give youth to the whole face. So keep the under-eye skin fresh by eye-rolling exercises which have an extraordinary effect on surface lines and crow tracks. As the tiny eye muscles get stronger and larger, the flesh beneath the eyes builds up and supports the delicate skin there. This eye-rolling also gives smooth upper lids and brows. All this need only take ten minutes every morning, but it must be every morning, and not just now and then. You can do the exercises sitting up comfortably in bed, and you will find even the temporary effect stimulating and cheering.

Finish by patting in a feeding oil or cream. You may use a rubber patter for this or your finger tips. Wipe off all the cream before your bath, and however liot that may be, dash plenty of cold water on your face so as to tone the skin and close the pores.