With a Master of Science in Dietetics and Exercise Science, 11 years of experience in fitness, and 5 years in nutrition, Hollee Mohni is a professional dedicated to improving individuals' health and confidence through sustainable habits.
Your face is the first thing people notice about you, and the more attractive you look, the more confident you are, which makes a more positive first impression. This is why your face reflecting a healthy and fit lifestyle is important if you want to feel better about yourself.
A masculine, defined jawline is preferred by some. A strong appearance can make you more confident and convey the image of a man who takes care of himself. While this feature comes down to genetics, you can still improve the appearance of your jawline to enhance your image.
This is where face exercises come into play. They can help you tighten muscles, reduce wrinkles, and improve overall facial structure. Let’s look at how you can get that strong jawline with the help of exercises.
Your facial features are determined by your bone structure, which may not change much with age. However, changes in skin and subcutaneous fat can cause some noticeable differences over time.
As you age, your face starts to lose its skin elasticity and firmness. This causes wrinkles around the mouth, cheeks, eyes, and forehead. Your jawline may also become less defined due to sagging skin that hangs loosely from your head (9).
Gaining weight can also affect your appearance. After a certain age, maintaining a low body fat percentage becomes more difficult (4). Fat around the neck and jawline areas will start to accumulate over time if you don’t watch your diet or exercise regularly.
Both sagging skin and excess fat can lead to that “older” look that some people try to avoid. Fortunately, there are some face exercises that can help reduce these effects and improve your overall appearance.
Like all other muscles, facial muscles can be toned with consistent exercises (3).
Here are a few workouts you can do to beat the effects of aging on your jaw:
This workout targets the muscles surrounding the eye region. It can strengthen your cheekbone muscles to improve the overall structure of your face.
This workout targets the saggy skin in your neck region. It activates the neck muscles and helps the skin resume its natural position.
This workout targets the muscles under your chin and tones them for a better jawline appearance.
This workout targets the muscles in the jawline area. You will need a special mouthguard made by your dentist with soft plastic that protects your teeth and joints. Don’t use a sports mouthguard.
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Using loud vowel sounds such as “A” and “O” for this exercise targets the mouth muscles, lips, and the area between the nose and lips.
This workout targets your face and chin muscles. When it’s performed consistently, it can help lift the muscles in these areas.
While these exercises may help, the only way to get clear muscle definition on any part of your body is through a calorie deficit that burns away stored fat. You lose this fat through regular exercise, which you should combine with a healthy diet for the best results.
Here are some diet tips that are worth considering:
A calorie deficit means eating fewer calories than you burn (10). The best way to do this is through portion control, which may mean eating less of what you currently eat (19).
Portion control can be a confusing topic as many of us are unsure about what a proper portion size is.
Therefore, we recommend using visual references that can help you estimate food portions. The hand is a common unit of food measurement.
By using these visual measurements, you can better estimate the right portions for your needs.
Fiber is a nutrient your body does not digest or absorb. You may be wondering why fiber matters in that case, but it provides added health benefits to those on calorie-controlled diets.
Fiber helps you feel full longer (8). A diet that is rich in fiber tends to be lower in calories, which is an excellent way to lose weight.
To see the best results, you should aim for a daily intake of at least 25 grams of fiber from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains (7).
Whole foods are always better for you than processed foods. This is because whole foods provide a healthier balance of nutrients, while processed food often contains extra sugars and unwanted ingredients that add calories to your diet (18).
A good rule of thumb to follow is that if a packaged food contains more than 5 ingredients, you probably shouldn’t eat it.
A calorie deficit means your body is receiving less energy than it requires, so it will burn stored fat for fuel. Another way to stay fuller longer is to eat healthy sources of fats that are required for different processes in the body.
You should aim for monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. These are healthy fats that are found in olive oil, flaxseed oil, canola oil, nuts, and seeds.
Creating a calorie deficit through diet alone can be challenging. You may need to cut back drastically on what you eat to achieve this goal, which can lead to short-term results that are difficult to maintain.
Adding regular exercise is a great way of speeding up the calorie-burning process (17).
When creating your workout plan, make sure you include both resistance training and cardiovascular activities for the best results.
For example, you can lift weights three days a week and follow each session with a 10-minute cardio workout.
Weight-bearing exercises help build muscle mass, which will strengthen your bones and increase your basal metabolic rate (15). For this reason, resistance training is an important part of any exercise plan for weight loss.
Read more: Intermittent Fasting for Men Over 50: Benefits, Potential Risks, and 10 Tips to Boost the Advantages
As we mentioned earlier, being overweight is not the only reason why you may lose facial definition and develop sagging skin. Aging can also lead to a loss in facial volume, which is one of the main causes of wrinkles.
As we age, our skin loses its natural elasticity as it becomes more difficult for it to retain moisture (11).
This leads to thinner, more delicate skin that is susceptible to developing fine lines and wrinkles.
Wrinkles and sagging skin can also be exacerbated by excessive exposure to the sun without proper use of sunscreen.
As we grow older, our fat pads shrink and cheekbones recede. The thinning of our skin becomes more apparent in these areas, which is why you may notice your face starting to become flat or look gaunt as time goes on.
Our Why Am I Losing Weight In The Face post will help you understand the process further and learn how to safely get rid of fat in your face.
Here are a few tips for preventing and improving saggy facial skin:
Men may overlook their skincare routine, but keeping it simple is essential.
A moisturizer will help your skin retain its natural moisture, which can reduce wrinkles and sag in the long term.
Choose those with special ingredients that target aging skin, such as:
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Smoking is one of the most harmful habits you can develop for your health.
It affects your internal organs and the appearance of your skin. Studies have shown that smoking contributes to increased facial wrinkling by reducing blood flow to the skin and causing it to thin (6).
Sun damage is a major cause of premature aging in men. It can lead to increased wrinkling and sagging, in addition to the development of brown spots (12).
If you must be outdoors, make sure you protect yourself with sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30. You should also wear sunglasses that filter out UVA and UVB rays to reduce the risk of long-term damage.
The consumption of alcohol has been linked to an increased risk of premature aging and a variety of health conditions, such as heart disease and liver damage (5).
In addition to cutting back on your alcohol intake, you should swap your drinks for green tea. Green tea has been shown to delay skin aging in both animal studies and human clinical trials. It can even help reduce the appearance of wrinkles (2).
Fish is an excellent source of anti-aging nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids. Studies have shown that omega-3 fatty acids play an important role in the prevention and treatment of skin conditions, such as psoriasis and eczema (13).
They can also reduce facial redness and irritation by controlling the production of inflammatory compounds in the body. Omega-3 fatty acids can also help keep your skin hydrated and moisturized.
Read more: 11 Surprising Benefits of Squats for Men That You Didn’t Know About
When they are performed correctly and consistently, face exercises can make a noticeable difference in the appearance of both men’s and women’s faces. While many people are skeptical about the effectiveness of face exercises, there is evidence that they can provide real results.
Face exercises involve targeted movements and stretches to help tone and strengthen the muscles in your face. These exercises are often done by using your fingers or hands to apply pressure to specific areas of your face while making certain movements. Some popular examples include cheekbone lifts, forehead smoothers, and jawline exercises.
Face exercises are based on the idea that the facial muscles can be exercised and toned to improve their appearance in the same way as other muscles in the body. By exercising these muscles, you can help reduce sagging skin, wrinkles, and other signs of aging.
In our previous blog post, How to Tighten Neck Skin After Weight Loss, we discussed how facial exercises can be used to tighten and tone the skin on your neck after significant weight loss. This is just one example of how face exercises can target specific areas of the face and provide noticeable improvements.
Our How To Tighten Neck Skin After Weight Loss post provides further insight into how to get rid of sagging skin.
Face exercises are beneficial for improving facial definition, reducing wrinkles and fine lines, and improving skin elasticity.
Check out our blog post Why Am I Losing Weight In The Face? to learn more about how face exercises can help improve your facial appearance.
Although there is no scientific evidence to support this claim, chewing gum involves repetitive movements of the jaw muscles, which could potentially contribute to toning and strengthening them. The muscles in the jawline are responsible for chewing and controlling facial expressions, so it makes sense that exercising them could have a positive effect on the appearance of the jawline.
However, chewing gum alone may not be enough to achieve significant results. Incorporate other face exercises that specifically target the jawline for optimal results.
In addition, excessive gum chewing can lead to temporomandibular joint (TMJ) issues, which can cause pain and discomfort in the jaw.
Having a muscular and defined jawline is not only down to genetics. As men age, their facial muscles tend to shrink and recede, which creates a more gaunt appearance.
Aging skin also becomes thinner and less able to protect the body’s soft tissues, which leads to sagging skin in these areas. Luckily, there are several simple anti-aging skincare steps men can take to improve the quality of their facial skin and prevent sagging.
Furthermore, as weight gain can worsen facial appearance, doing facial exercises and eating a healthy diet can go a long way to maintaining a youthful appearance.
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