If you’re seeing people making strange faces at themselves in the mirror, there’s a good reason. A quick search for #faceyoga on TikTok or Instagram yields thousands of results.
There are influencers touting the benefits of the practice and how it eliminates the need for expensive, invasive cosmetic procedures. And, of course, there’s no shortage of full facial exercise routines you can try on your own.
The question remains, can doing face yoga help smooth out wrinkled skin — or can it actually cause more lines to appear?
What is face yoga?
It may be trending now, but face yoga is nothing new. Just as yoga has been around for thousands of years, so has the idea of yoga for the face. Traditional Chinese Medicine and other ancient practices have incorporated these types of moves for centuries.
In its modern, social-media-fueled incarnation, face yoga is touted mostly for its cosmetic benefits. The most popular moves are designed to firm and smooth skin on the face and neck.
Possible benefits of face yoga
The idea behind face yoga is similar to the rationale for any type of physical exercise. When it comes to muscle strength and function, you’ve got to use it or lose it.
Proponents of face yoga swear by the moves to help firm up saggy jowls and reduce wrinkles. Most routines include doing a series of facial exercises for up to 30 minutes at a time and repeating them at least two or three times a week.
While there’s no shortage of anecdotal evidence of its effectiveness, real research is lacking. A 2018 study published in the journal JAMA Dermatology used a small group of middle-aged women who performed face yoga for 30 minutes daily or every other day for 20 weeks. The program yielded improvements in both upper and lower cheek fullness, as rated by physicians unaffiliated with the study design.
Another very small study (just 12 participants), published in 2025 in the journal Medicina, found that an eight-week program of daily face yoga improved tone and elasticity of facial muscles. Those improvements could, in theory, translate into a more toned, less saggy appearance.
Won’t making those faces give you wrinkles?
There’s a flip side to face yoga’s possible benefits, and it’s one that its proponents rarely mention. Making all those exaggerated facial expressions has the potential to cause new wrinkles.
The whole rationale for using neuromodulators, such as Botox, is that they prevent you from making certain expressions that lead to lines. This includes furrowing your brow, frowning or squinting your eyes. By freezing the muscles and not making those expressions, it helps soften forehead lines and crow’s feet.
The best ways to keep your face looking younger
Deciding that the potential benefits of face yoga outweigh the time spent making crazy faces and the risk of creating new wrinkles is up to you. But whether you choose to try face yoga or not, there are other ways to slow down skin aging.
The number one anti-aging skin trick is to protect yourself from the sun. Nothing makes skin wrinkle and age faster than exposure to UV rays.
Shielding your skin means slathering on SPF 30 or higher sunscreen every day, year-round. You can also wear a hat and seek out shade during times of day when the sun’s rays are at their peak.
Face yoga moves may relax your forehead or help sculpt your cheeks, but whatever you do, don’t neglect your sunscreen.
