Fighting the signs of aging, such as increased facial wrinkles including forehead lines, crow’s feet, and nasolabial folds, can be a challenge. Wrinkles coupled with facial sagging not only create a harsh appearance but also make one look significantly older than their actual age. Is combating skin aging and facial sagging, which seem inevitable, just a matter of using anti-aging skincare products and beauty treatments to delay the process?
In recent years, ‘Face Yoga’, a trend highly acclaimed in the United States, South Korea, and Japan, claims to activate facial muscles and stimulate facial blood circulation with simple movements. This, they say, results in firmer, wrinkle-free skin. But does Face Yoga really work? Let’s consider the advice of the Taiwanese Traditional Chinese Medicine YouTuber ‘Master A-Ming.’
Are Facial Aging Symptoms a Sign of Middle Age or Old Age?
According to Master A-Ming, this isn’t necessarily the case. He points out that lifestyle habits and daily routines could lead to aging signs regardless of one’s actual age. If the following signs appear, you should pay more attention to them:
- With your hands close to your face, feel the temporomandibular joint near the lower jawline, then open your mouth and make an “ah” sound. You can feel the more prominent temporomandibular joint. If one side is flatter, that side is unbalanced and weaker.
- With your mouth closed, start from the left side and let air leak from the corner of your mouth. If air leaks, it signifies that side’s facial muscle weakness.
The Real Culprit of Facial Aging? TCM Analysis Points to Bone Atrophy and Muscle Loss
If there is an imbalance in the temporomandibular joint and weak facial muscle strength, the risk of facial aging is higher. Most people think aging is caused by growing older, which is just a superficial cause. The root of facial aging starts with the bones. As facial bones begin to atrophy, common atrophy locations include the inner upper edge of the orbital bone, the outer lower edge of the cheekbone, and the edge of the maxillary bone.
When facial bones atrophy, combined with the deteriorating support of the skin, issues such as muscle loss, osteoporosis, oral structure, or masticatory muscle weakness can cause sagging and result in common female problems such as drooping apple muscles, glabelar lines, marionette lines, and nasolabial folds.
The growth of human bones requires appropriate stress, and facial bones correspond to daily teeth collision and masticatory muscle pressure from daily chewing. Problems such as bad teeth, tooth loss, or jaw malformation can affect facial bones.
How to Deal with Facial Aging?
From a TCM perspective, the human body is related to Yin and Yang and the five elements. When the body’s energy is unbalanced and weak, and there is a lack of energy, it will rob energy from each other. If the energy is insufficient, compensation will occur. The stronger side will overcompensate, producing wrinkles, while the weaker side will become inactive, atrophy, and sag due to a loss of support and elasticity. At this point, we need to balance and relax both.
Master A-Ming points out that women should first deal with the bones and balance the temporomandibular joint before dealing with the face for more effective results. If your temporomandibular joint doesn’t have major issues, consider these three simple treatments shared by Master A-Ming, in addition to timely Face Yoga training for facial muscles. Subsequent beauty treatments and home beauty equipment will be more effective.
To better improve facial issues, you can gently push the skin to increase the space between the skin and the muscle. When the movable space increases, the elasticity and performance of the muscles will be better. You can do a simple “O” movement to stretch the face and improve the nasolabial folds, and train the lifting muscle group, small cheekbone muscle, and the muscle that lifts the upper lip.
If you feel that your face is tight while doing exercises or Face Yoga, you can push and pull the skin horizontally in a gentle manner.
Finally, if your face is very tight and the hands can’t affect the push and pull, it’s likely that the circulation of blood and lymph is obstructed, causing edema. In this case, you can use physical and hand massage to unblock the meridian acupoints and fascia. By loosening the fascia with acupuncture, you can freeze the age and remove wrinkles.