I once read that you should spend more time smiling rather than frowning because it takes 43 facial muscles to frown, and only 17 to smile. Upon closer research, however, I found certain discrepancies in the numbers and unfortunately, Google didn’t have the answers this time. Now before you run out to get precautionary Botox injections in order to banish all kinds of facial expression from your face, consider this little factoid: The muscles on your face, like the muscles on your body, will atrophy or weaken if you don’t use them.
While muscle atrophy is a listed side effect of Botox, those of us who have never had the procedure done will still experience a loss in muscle mass and volume. As you get older, the muscle volume in your face can decrease by an average of 15.6 percent. Once the muscle volume decreases, the skin will sag and the result is a visage that looks hollow and aged.
Having worked in a women’s magazine for a year, there are a few tricks I’ve learned about anti-aging, such as religious daily SPF application, nightly retinol use, regular exercise and a healthy diet that cuts out sugar, alcohol and fat. However, as feasible as it is for most women to practice these things, I don’t know very many women who think it’s okay to be 40, as long as they look 30 without a little, well, “help.” Apparently, there is a missing link to the youth equation: Facial muscles are key to the appearance of a youthful face as they are the underlying scaffold which the skin drapes over. The greater the muscle volume, the smoother the overlying skin, and the more youthful shape the face takes on.
While most women could make like Madonna and sign up for UK-based facial fitness instructor, 82-year-old Eva Fraser’s facial exercises for 10 to 15 minutes a day, the truth is, maintaining a regular facial regimen is work enough without adding facial exercise to the equation. Also, unlike the muscles on our bodies, which are attached to our bones, facial muscles are attached to the overlying skin. In addition to that, the 21 muscles of facial expression, the mimetic muscles, are very small, therefore, difficult to exercise manually.
Rather than be resigned to the fact of aging at 24 years old, I’ve discovered that getting a little “help” when it comes to anti-aging doesn’t always mean having to go under the knife because medical science now offers more advanced and less invasive options. Developed under a subsidiary of Bio-Medical Research Ltd., which manufactures electrical-stimulation products of medical quality, Slendertone Face is a product that can increase facial muscle volume by an average of 18.6 percent through the use of Electronic Muscle Stimulation (EMS) technology. EMS has been used for more than 40 years in hospitals, clinics and physiotherapy practices worldwide to strengthen and rehabilitate muscles.
Unlike manual facial exercise, Slendertone works on the principles of isometric exercise, which involves the static stimulation of a muscle in order to develop thickness. By boosting muscle volume, which in turn lifts and plumps the skin, it can smooth out the surface and reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles. It also increases blood flow, which can clear toxins and improve skin condition.
In a test conducted by the Neurology Department at the University of Galway, Ireland over a 12-week period, of the 97 participants aged 35 to 55 years old, 94 percent felt their faces were firmer, 90 percent said there was an improvement in their facial tone, 80 percent noticed that their faces looked lifted, and 82 percent reported that they had healthier-looking complexions overall. These lifetime benefits alone are enough to justify the product’s P19,990 price tag — considering the average cost of facials and some luxury face creams, the product basically pays for itself after five to six sessions.
While this is definitely good news, perhaps what truly intrigued me about this product was when Sue Lewis, Slendertone’s business development manager for Asia Pacific, told me that by the “pure logic” of the product, if I were to start using it today, while maintaining a healthy lifestyle, I could possibly maintain my 24-year-old visage. If nobody tells me otherwise, I would say that she gave me a guarantee for younger-looking skin when I reach my golden years. However, if you are already at, or headed toward, the prime of your life, don’t despair. It’s never too late for you to experience the benefit of facial muscle toning. For instance, if you’re already well past 60, like my mother is, you may never return to your face at 40 (which could actually look really off-putting), but you could certainly look much more youthful in comparison to your peers.
I guess I know what to get Mom — and myself — for Christmas.
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Slendertone Face is exclusively distributed by the Primer Group of Companies. The product will be available in limited quantities. For orders and inquiries, e-mail slendertonephilippines@primergrp.com. Upon your request, personal deliveries and demonstrations of the product will be provided. For further information, visit slendertone.com or the Slendertone Philippines Facebook fan page.