This *One* Facial Exercise Can Chisel Your Cheeks, Jawline & Plump Your Lips

Many swear by a daily face yoga practice, and given the skin care benefits (and striking before-and-after photos), it’s not hard to see why: Intentional facial exercises can tighten an area, similar to how a regular gym session can strengthen your muscles. Plus, the movements can stimulate blood flow in your face, which delivers nutrients to the skin cells and spurs the production of collagen—which, as we know, keeps your skin firm and taut. One 2018 study even found that the daily exercise could reduce signs of facial aging. 

We’ve covered a few beginner-friendly face yoga exercises (check them out here if you haven’t already), but we recently came across a simple exercise to simultaneously carve the cheekbones, plump the lips, and tone the jawline. In other words: Sign us up. 

Below, find the one-move demonstration. 

For an exercise that targets quite a few regions of your face, it’s surprisingly simple: All you need to do, says face yoga expert Parmita Katkar in a TikTok video, is puff some air in your cheeks, then smile and lift your cheeks 50 times. That’s it! You’ll just want to “avoid squinting and contorting other facial muscles,” says Katkar, as this unintentional movement can demolish your progress. (Face yoga is about intentionally isolating the movement, remember?)

Don’t be fooled by its simplicity, though: This exercise can be hard, especially once you hit 30 or so pulses. Because your facial muscles are so small and delicate, it’s difficult to isolate and activate the exact muscle you’re trying to target, particularly more fragile areas like the eyes and mouth. That’s why it’s pretty common to unintentionally hold your breath or tense up (or in this case, squint) as you hold a pose during face yoga. 

As for when to practice, many experts suggest once in the morning to wake up your facial muscles and once again before bed to release all the tension you’ve accumulated during the day. You don’t need to practice for very long—just a few minutes will do; again, your facial muscles are much tinier and more delicate than, say, your biceps—so they don’t need as much time and effort to tone.