Facial Exercise Books

I just recently started the Flexeffect program by Deborah Crowley which I just love. She encourages us to be inventive and so with this book I've been able to combine some different and extra exercises.
The pictures (in this book) of each exercise are very clear and the explanations concise so that you don't have to wade through heaps of information first.
Diligence and patience is the key and with any facial exercises you definitely see a difference. As with most exercises it's best to cover if not all, then most of the them, as each muscle is connected.
I highly recommend it!

I bought this book for someone who I know has a strong interest in this kind of thing, after reading the good reviews for it here, but I felt bad about giving it once I'd received it and had a chance to look inside.
The text was small and very faint, (if I recall correctly, a light mauve on a white background. - If I'm wrong then hopefully someone will correct me) and the pictures inside were all in black and white and not easy to see what one had to do. The main thing that came across to me though is that most of the models used looked young enough not to have to worry about doing facial yoga (presumably the book is aimed at people over a certain age whose faces have become old-looking in some way) and the older models looked old and not conducive to giving anyone confidence in the techniques being advocated, especially the author herself who looked her age and really one would have expected her to look a lot younger than her years if anyone is expected to have any faith in this technique.
The person I gave the book to, thanked me very much at the time, before looking at it, but has not mentioned it at all since, and this speaks volumes to me, as they normally would mention something they feel pleased with. All I can say to anyone thinking of purchasing this book, is try to get hold of a copy to look inside before you buy as it may not be what you are looking for. Quite apart from the disappointing content, the book was very cumbersome and awkward to hold owing to the shape and size of it.

I am very impressed with Marie's approach, which addresses the concerns I have with most facial exercise programs. Exercise does work, but it has to be the right kind of exercise, and not the sort that causes the skin to wrinkle even more. Since I've begun doing these exercises I have been very happy with the results and changes I see. I have also noticed a marked improvement in my wife's face. Great book to get you thinking about how, if you don't like the way you look, you can become proactive about it.

This book was a big disappointment and I do not recommend it. Get it from the library if you are curious, but don't waste your money. I did!

This otherwise great book fails to get five stars for only 2 reasons: 1) the neck exercises didn't produce noticeable results for me personally (I'm going to try Carole Maggio's book for that reason alone); and 2)the author dismisses the importance of aerobic exercise, and in fact, calls it aging.
That may be true for aerobic enthusiasts who overdo it, but imho, it's a critical component of good health and looking youthful. I'm 47 and still get carded so I vouch for the importance of exercise.
Having said that, I started noticing areas of my face that I wasn't thrilled with. Lip lines that were getting worse rather than better, lines on the side of my nose, and upper lids that could use some lift.
Bam! Immediate improvement. I agree with some of the other reviewers: it's very cool to have full, voluptuous lips. My eye area is tighter, brighter (no crow's feet whatsoever, but in fairness, I didn't have that many to begin with) and my nose lines (from squinting) are gone. My cheeks are full and my jaw line is tighter.
Why my neck didn't reap the same benefits, I'm not sure. I've been doing these exercises since June 2007 and that area is the least improved.
Just my two cents, hope it helps.

I think this book is terrible. These exericises "might" tighten some muscles of your face, but the way they are done would no doubt cause wrinkling. The descriptions of the exercises are vague such as "position your tongue and jaw". Huh? The pictures are not very good at showing you exactly which muscles you are supposed to be working either. In addition, they look ridiculous and not as though they would work the intended area. The pictures look like an out of work actress who enjoys looking at herself make faces in the mirror. I was totally disappointed.

This book really works. She explains the exercise by saying which emotion to imitate...i.e. looked surprised, or she might say show skepticism, or prissy, or humorous smile...etc. My face not only looks better (it actually was slightly sore even though I had been doing a different face routine religiously with Judith Olivia's "face aerobics"--I still like that one too, but feel this is more muscles worked in shorter time )
This is a book, which is the only downside for me. If this came out on DVD I would buy it in a heartbeat. Then again having the book is more portable, we just got back from a camping vacation and I could still do the exercises every day even without a dvd and tv. She shows a great pic of her face doing each exercise and gives tips on how to do it, and also tells you what muscle you are using and gives an optional accupressure spot to gently massage (very easy to do and feels great)
It really works. What surprised me most was my face felt less frozen...Iam only 31 and didn't even know my face had become "frozen" but i feel like emotional reactions come easier now for me. Again, Ididn't even know that had become a problem either. It really opened up my palatte of facial expressions! Meaning I feel like an artist with more colors to chose from.
I love how my face looks also!
I usually do this in the mornings, I keep the book on an end table near my favorite chair, and do this while my 4 year old watches sesame street.
At first it took me about an hour to read threw and really do correctly, but now I fly threw it in only 30 minutes....and I still have time to clean the floors before sesame street is over.
...It would also be easy to do at night while watching a favortie show...just do it on the commercials.
Your mirror reflection will thank you! ( I also do the eye bag excercise additonally while brushing my teeth since I want to work on my eyes most)
This is a great book, and I hope I look as great as the beautiful author at her age!!!! it makes old age sound fun if I could look like that!
Stephanie Thiess
Cincinnati, OH

I value the Maggio book for it's precision but find the exercises confusing and tedious and so don't do them often. This book is more easy going but still fully details which muscles are being worked, offers more than one photo of the exercise and, if you're into it, lists the emotions causing those muscles to need to be rehabilitated.

I do wish there was a picture detailing the accupressure point on the pages of instructions accompanying every exercise but a sticky bookmark makes it easy enough to flip to the graphic when necessary. And, the thought she gives to help explain the movements are excellent. For instance, the Expression given for the Eye Crunch is, "I'm not peeking!" and it really helps one 'get' the movement far better than any other explainations I've read.

I've read that stretching the skin is to be avoided but no longer think this is cause for concern unless one is in the habit of wrecklessly distorting the face with one's hands for the mere fun of it. I notice on the instruction sheet for Frownies that one is required to stretch the skin in order to place them and many, many women have sworn by them for decades so it can't be a bad thing to *carefully* move to skin to rehabilitate it.

As an esthetician I have found this book amazingly helpful for my clients. I often reccommend it to those clients worried about losing muscle tone, and unable (or unwilling!) to get a face lift.
Do the exercizes...they're fun (!) and you'll get results! Immediately your skin with look healthier (rosier glow, less sallow) and over time you'll notice a difference. Taking pictures of yourself before and after ( after at least a month) will help you truthfully track your progress. Since we look at our face every day...it can be easy to miss gradual changes.
Pictures don't lie :-)

Timeless Face is an exercise program that goes much deeper than just skin care. The exercises also help emotionally. I suffer from depression and found in the past nine months of regularly doing both the facial and acupressure techniques that I feel better afterwards. I feel less tension in my face.

Just as exercise shapes and contours the body, exercise for the face can shape and contour the face. What happens when specific exercises are used for the face? The muscles become stronger and the skin becomes resilient. The user looks refreshed because the droopy skin has been revitalized.

Resistance exercise has proven to tone and lift the muscles in your body. Facial muscles are no different. They, too, firm and lift with exercise. The nine-week program introduces two easy-to-perform exercises per week that target fifteen areas of the face and neck.

This highly effective program will improve your upper eyelids, your brows, your upper cheeks and double chin, jaw line, turkey neck, wattle, vertical forehead lines and much, much more.

This book is full of fascinating information about reading the lines, bumps, and configurations of the face. It is based on ancient Chinese tradition and will intrigue you enough to get out your mirror. Putting it into practice will require re-reading the book but you will never again look at someone's face the same way. Amazing!

This is an excellent primer in the art of Face Reading. If you are a TCM practitioner, patient or have a passing interest in face reading, Lillian gives great examples and anecdotes throughout the book. The pictures are spot on. A very enjoyable book to read and use.

I have read most books on face reading and this book immediately shows the real wealth of knowledge and sensibility of the author. A lot of people take a seminar and write a book, this is just the opposite. The author shows experience and an open heart, I know she is the teacher to a lot of face readers like Jean Hanner so If you want to know the real source for a lot of what is out there this is a most and Lillian is the best.

I tried to check the information in the book on the people I know and could not find that the information applies to their character. This sure tells that the information cannot be generalized, which puts the book in the "not needed store" as far as I am involved. I did not gain any knowledge from it and I cannot understand how the information was arrived at. It is not applicable to reality at all.

This book answers questions about my self, my health, about others and their health with a breathtaking generosity of goodness. The goodness of everyone conveyed by the author is not to be confused with a sugar coated sweetness but an honest look at the options we have in perceptions. The gentle teachings conveyed pictorially via facial markings gives the questioning readers a bright ray of enlightenment.

It is a good book with lots of exercises. I thought that there would be more face specific exercises, but there are many standard yoga positions throughout the book. My understanding of yoga is limited, so I thought that the whole book would be just the face. Many of the body exercises also exercise the face or get blood flow to the skin of the face. I rated it a three mostly because of my expectations. I think she really explains the reasons and hows of the positions and exercises.

I bought this book for a friend (she selected it) and we both looked at it. It has fewer exercises specifically for the face than expected, but seems more sound for tying many other yoga positions to positive benefits for the face's muscles and condition in what appears to be a very competent manner. The author's (self described) credentials and experience with the program sound quite credible and good.

John

This is an easy to follow, quick routine for strengthening your facial muscles. I have done the routine several times a week for the past two weeks and can actually feel a difference.

This book had some useful new facial exercises, but a large part of it was a review of basic asanas and paranyama. The new, useful content that pertained directly to facial health was a just a chapter.

For the last three or four years, I had been successfully using a facial exercise DVD and accompanying CD's to help me tone and tighten up my face. I read an article in Time Magazine about Yoga Face, where they made a reference to facercise, which I was presently using. I figured that Yoga Face would be an upgraded version of facercise and was willing to give it a try. I followed the exercises in Yoga Face religiously, but after three+ months, the results I had already achieved started to reverse. It was a real disappointment because I thought Yoga Face was an improvement in the facercise exercise program. I'm back to where I started so I'm going back to the original facercise exercise program, because that really did work.

Jeez. Are we talking about the same book here? I bought this for my mother who swears that not only has it helped her take off ten years, but it's made her feel like she's added 4 and ten to what's left! I thought that the balance between exercises and background info was just about right. Who knows maybe some readers want (and need) a heavy duty anatomy book. But if you want a book that's easy to read and follow and gets you results quick, look no further.

This book does not describe targeted area exercises very well. The book has less than 80 pages and spends very many of them just talking about faces, general face massages, and make-up. If you're looking for a book to specifically work facial muscles to tone and 'lift' your face this is not it.

This book was ok to read, but I don't feel it covered this subject in depth. For one the book is very short, it concentrates most on facial massages which is ok, but it does nothing to target facial excercies. I have found that through good and consistent facial excercises you can prevent forehead wrinkles, laugh lines and baggy eyelids. Some people might find this book interesting or helpful, but I was not impressed. Good infromational books that I can highly recommend are-"Timeless Face", this is a great book that thoroughly covers fingertip facial massages, facial excercises and general facial care tips. It has wonderful color pictures and in-depth useful explanations that are easy to follow. Another great book is "Facelift", this book offers great tips on how just a few minutes a day can erase years off a women's face. Facial massages are beneficial to every women's face, but like our bodies, we need excercise to keep everything toned, that includes our facial muscles.

I received this book as a gift. Since I had never heard about doing facial exercises, I decided to give it a try. The book was interesting to read and the exercises were simple to learn. I have made them a part of my morning routine and can see a difference in my face. I would recommend this book for anyone who is looking for a way to look better without having to spend a lot of time and money.

- The whole book is printed in all caps
- It mostly uses 36 pounds letter (if you don't know what's 36p means, use your thumb. If you are not WWF warrior, that's about the size of each letter)
- The space between lines are about the width of your finger
- The space between paragraph is about the size of your arm
- 1/2 of the books contains pure sales pitch, like "Facial Workout is Great!" (Turn to next page) "You need to workout your face!" (Next) ... If you go to their website and click through all the pages before "Order Now" ... They diluted those words into 40 pages and printed in the "book"
- 1/3 of the books teach man how to shave (???) and things similar
- The rest are some exercises, but I had abosolutely no interest to continue.

I thought the book is good but i want more the illustrations were very poor. Real photographs or an additional video required to make a success