Workouts to get a chiseled jawline — from face yoga to electric shock: Experts weigh in if they work
Fitness fanatics are all about rotating between leg and arm day.
But what about face day?
Inspired by the incredibly angular jawlines of celebrities like Bella Hadid and Henry Cavill, hordes of people are turning to cosmetic surgeries from chin liposuction to buccal fat removal for a more chiseled jawline.
However, some claim facial workouts from face yoga to electric shock therapy will give you a snatched jawline — without going under the knife.
“Many do exercises for the body, so it does make sense to work out your facial muscles,” Koko Hayashi, a celebrity face yoga instructor — his famous client list includes Kim Kardashian — and founder of Koko Face Yoga, told The Post.
As with working out the rest of the body, everyone has different areas they want to focus on and accentuate, whether it be for health or aesthetic reasons.
“The jawline may just be the new waistline,” New York City board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Ryan Neinstein told Real Self.
We asked some experts to weigh in on several facial workouts being touted as tried and true methods.
Face yoga
Face yoga is a series of simple exercises that can help firm up skin, reduce wrinkles, get rid of a double chin and chisel your jawline, some gurus say.
“Face Yoga is the natural solution to regain your youthful appearance,” Hayashi said. “It wakes up sleeping muscles in the face to lift up the skin, and relax overworking muscles for wrinkle reduction.”
A 2018 study that surveyed a group of women aged 40 and older, who did facial exercises for 30 minutes each day found that patients looked about three years younger.
While most people don’t have 30 minutes a day to make funny faces, Hayashi insists a few minutes a day will suffice, but as with other exercises, it is important to be consistent to see results.
Mewing
Mewing is a facial exercise that involves keeping your tongue on the roof of your mouth to change the shape of your jawline.
“One of the major reasons for an undefined jawline is that your tongue is down when your face is resting, and the tongue muscles are pulling the skin down,” Hayashi claimed.
First popularized by British orthodontist Dr. John Mew in the 1970s, mewing has since become a fixture on TikTok and YouTube with the help of his son and fellow orthodontist Mike Mew — who, by the way, was stripped of his dental license in 2017 — and the looksmaxxing community.
Mew and other proponents claim that it can help the jawline appear larger, stronger and realigned.
However, some experts say that there is no scientific evidence to support that claim.
“This is one of those areas where there really isn’t a lot of evidence, good clinical evidence, to support it. It’s based almost entirely on that intuitive appeal and anecdotes and testimonials,” Timothy Caulfield, Canada research chair in health law and policy, told Men’s Health.
Jaw training
Jaw training involves chewing on a silicone ball to provide resistance, reportedly strengthening and shaping the facial and jaw muscles.
The technique has been promoted by celebrities including Cristiano Ronaldo, but experts are still chewing over the benefits.
“You shouldn’t really be using these things, because the masseter muscles are really strong, but the reality is that if you overdo it, you can create problems in the TMJ area that literally, literally causes you to have a pain in the head,” YouTube’s Doctor Mike told Men’s Health.
“And then at night, if you overtrain these muscles, you can start doing teeth clenching and teeth grinding, wearing down your molars,” he continued. “You do not want these problems, trust me on this, I’ve seen patients who suffer with it, it’s a big big problem.”
Some studies have found that jaw training can help those recovering from specific jaw issues, but the results quickly disappear when the exercises are stopped.
Experts claim that the jaw and facial muscles get plenty of exercise from everyday chewing, talking or making expressions.
Maybe just stick to chewing gum, which has been shown to strengthen the jaw and used to sharpen the jawline by beauty icons — like Hollywood legend Joan Crawford — for decades.
Electric facials
There can be some benefits to regular facial massages, as they can help to release fluids and get some blood flow in the area, The Cleveland Clinic reported, but some are taking it shocking new level.
Electric facials use electric currents to promote firm skin, circulation, hydration, muscle function and wound healing.
Galvanic facials — nicknamed “Hannibal Lecter” facials — send electric currents through the skin by way of a terrifying beige mask, promising firm skin, better circulation and smaller pores while promoting hydration and reducing breakouts.
“If anything, one of the main things that galvanic energy has been shown to do is increase blood flow,” New York dermatologist Dr. Muneeb Shah explained to The Post, while adding that it could exacerbate the appearance of prominent veins in the face or redness in those who are prone to it.
And, worse, the “devices aren’t well-regulated” and could pose a burn threat if the technology goes awry. “It’s gonna give you, like, a temporarily lifted appearance but probably nothing long-term,” he said.
For a less shocking method, many have turned to microcurrent facials that use low-level electrical impulses to stimulate the muscles in the face and may provide more lasting results with consistent use.
“High-intensity muscle stimulation improves skin tone and facilitates increased blood circulation to bring more oxygen and nutrients to epidermal cells, resulting in collagen restoration via fibroblast stimulation which minimizes fine lines and improves skin texture and integrity, defined contours sculpted and lifted features that may be seen instantly,” Glenise Gomez, the national education manager at FaceGym, told The Post.
Certain techniques “also aid in lymphatic drainage to reduce swelling, puffiness and ease of muscle tension,” Gomez said, noting all of that works together to strengthen the muscles and tighten the skin for a snatched jawline and overall more youthful appearance.
