I have always believed in exercise, but mostly for body parts that can hold a dumbbell. So when I found myself reclining at FaceGym, preparing to have my face “worked out” for 60 minutes, I had questions. Could cheekbones be trained? Could a jawline be coaxed into sharper behaviour? Was my face now considered lazy?
Founded by beauty and wellness entrepreneur Inge Theron, FaceGym was built on the idea that the face deserves the same attention as the body. Angelo Castello, CEO of FaceGym, explains the premise simply: “We have 40 muscles in our face and we train all the muscles that are in our body, but we don’t pay a lot of attention to the muscles in our face. At the same time, we combine lymphatic drainage techniques and skincare.” Their product line spans cleansers, serums, moisturisers and SPF, with ingredients like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and vitamin C combined in formulas to give enough slip and “play time” for all that kneading.
Wellness has migrated from the gym floor to the lymph nodes. We want circulation, contour, fascia release and, ideally, cheekbones that look like they have just returned from reformer Pilates. My own expectations were cautiously optimistic. I did not expect to leave with a new bone structure. I did, however, walk in with a jaw that had been clenching its way through deadlines, stress and several unanswered emails. If my face was not going to be transformed, I hoped it might at least unclench.
The session began less like a spa treatment and more like a warm-up. There was cleansing, yes, but then came the real work: firm, rhythmic movements across the cheeks, jaw and forehead with enough pressure to remind me that the face is not just skin but a map of tiny muscles, tension points and emotional baggage. My therapist worked along my jawline in a way that felt both oddly athletic and deeply therapeutic. At certain points, especially around the mouth and jaw, I realised how much tension I had been carrying. The release felt like a slow loosening along the hinges of the face, like a knot being worked out from a muscle I had forgotten could ache.
According to Dr Geetika Srivastava, dermatologist and founder of Influennz Clinic, the idea is not entirely fanciful, but it does need perspective. “Facial exercises and massage cannot permanently change the structure of the face,” she says. “They may help reduce fluid retention, facial bloating and muscle tension, which can create a more defined appearance temporarily.” Immediately after the session, my skin looked brighter, fresher and more awake, as if it had been put through a low-impact class and emerged annoyingly pleased with itself. My face did look slightly lifted, particularly around the cheeks and there was a definite post-workout glow (not the sweaty, red-faced kind I get after leg day).
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