Facial exercises can produce modest but measurable results. The best clinical evidence comes from a study published in JAMA Dermatology, where women aged 40 to 65 who followed a 20-week facial exercise program looked about 2.7 years younger by the end, based on independent raters who didn’t know which photos were taken before or after. The changes were most noticeable in the upper and lower cheeks, which appeared fuller and firmer.
That said, “modest” is the key word. You won’t see dramatic transformations like the exaggerated before-and-after photos circulating on social media. Here’s what the science actually supports, how long it takes, and what to realistically expect.
What the Clinical Evidence Shows
The most cited study on facial exercises followed middle-aged women through a structured 20-week program of 32 distinct exercises. Dermatologists rated photos taken at baseline, 8 weeks, and 20 weeks. The results showed a steady, gradual improvement: average estimated age dropped from 50.8 years at the start to 49.6 years at 8 weeks, then to 48.1 years at 20 weeks. Upper cheek fullness and lower cheek fullness both increased significantly.
A separate clinical trial measured the physical properties of facial muscles in women aged 40 to 65 after 8 weeks of intensive face yoga. Using a device that objectively measures muscle tone, stiffness, and elasticity, researchers found measurable changes in all three. This matters because it confirms that the visible improvements aren’t just perception. The muscles themselves are responding to the exercise, much like any other muscle in the body would.
How Facial Exercises Change Your Face
The logic behind facial exercises is straightforward. As you age, facial muscles lose tone and volume. When muscles shrink or slacken, the skin draped over them sags, deepens the folds around your nose and mouth, and softens your jawline. Gravity gets blamed for a lot of this, but muscle disuse plays a significant role too.
When you consistently work facial muscles, they grow slightly larger and firmer, just like biceps respond to curls. Bigger, more toned muscles fill out the space beneath your skin, creating a lifting effect. This is especially noticeable in the cheeks, where increased muscle volume can make the face look rounder and more youthful. The exercises also increase blood flow to the face, which can improve skin color and give a more vibrant appearance. They help soften vertical lines and folds, though they won’t eliminate deep wrinkles entirely.
The Time Commitment Required
The results from clinical studies came with a real time investment. In the JAMA Dermatology study, participants did 30 minutes of exercises every day for the first 8 weeks. After that, they scaled back to every other day (3 to 4 sessions per week) for the remaining 12 weeks. That’s roughly 5 months of consistent practice before reaching the full 2.7-year age reduction.
The face yoga trial used a slightly different approach: guided sessions twice a week with an instructor plus daily home practice for 8 weeks. Measurable muscle changes appeared within that timeframe, suggesting you can see early physical improvements in about 2 months. But the visible, photograph-level difference in facial appearance took closer to 20 weeks.
If you’re comparing this to the effort required for, say, a filler appointment that takes 15 minutes, facial exercises demand significantly more patience and discipline. The tradeoff is zero cost, no needles, and no risk of an adverse reaction.
Which Areas Respond Best
The cheeks show the most consistent improvement. Both upper and lower cheek fullness increased in clinical measurements, and this is the change most responsible for the younger appearance ratings. Fuller cheeks are one of the strongest visual cues of a youthful face, which is why cheek fillers are so popular. Facial exercises achieve a milder version of the same effect through muscle growth rather than injected volume.
Exercises targeting the mouth area can help maintain lip contour and reduce the deepening of nasolabial folds (the lines running from your nose to the corners of your mouth). Movements that engage the muscles around the jaw and chin can work against early jowling and the soft tissue looseness that creates a double chin. These lower-face exercises recruit a chain of muscles from the temples down through the neck, so they tend to have a broader toning effect.
What About Mewing for the Jawline?
Mewing, the viral technique of pressing your tongue flat against the roof of your mouth to reshape your jawline, is a different category entirely. Unlike facial exercises that work muscles through repetitive movement, mewing claims to remodel bone structure through sustained pressure. The American Association of Orthodontists has raised concerns about this practice. While tongue posture does play a role in facial development, mewing can apply uneven pressure to teeth and the jaw, potentially causing bite problems, jaw joint pain, and speech difficulties. There’s no clinical trial evidence supporting the dramatic jawline transformations shown in online before-and-after posts.
Realistic Before-and-After Expectations
If you start a consistent facial exercise routine, here’s a realistic timeline. During the first few weeks, you’ll likely notice your face feels more “awake” after sessions, partly from increased blood flow. Around weeks 6 to 8, muscle tone changes become measurable, though they may not be obvious in photos yet. By 4 to 5 months of regular practice, the cumulative effect of firmer, slightly larger facial muscles produces visible fullness in the cheeks and a subtle lifting effect that other people can perceive.
The difference is real but subtle. Think of it as looking well-rested and healthy rather than looking like you’ve had work done. Independent raters in the clinical study estimated participants looked about 3 years younger, not 10. If you’re expecting the kind of transformation you’d get from a surgical facelift, facial exercises won’t deliver that. If you’re looking for a natural, gradual improvement that you maintain through ongoing practice, the evidence supports that outcome.
Who Should Be Cautious
If you have jaw pain, clicking or popping when you open your mouth, headaches centered around your jaw, or difficulty chewing, you may have a temporomandibular joint issue. Facial exercises that involve wide mouth opening, jaw clenching, or resistance movements can make these symptoms worse. Stretching and strengthening exercises for the jaw can be helpful for some TMJ problems, but only when pain is well-controlled and ideally under guidance from a professional who can evaluate your specific situation.
For everyone else, facial exercises carry essentially no risk. The worst outcome is spending time on a routine that produces less change than you hoped for. Starting with the cheek-focused exercises that have the strongest evidence behind them is a reasonable approach if you want to test whether the results are worth the daily commitment.