Face Yoga fundamentals
Original Body Care resourceWritten and reviewed by Mallika Some, instructor at Body Care by Mallika. Open her profile.Does Face Yoga work?
There is early scientific support that regular facial exercise can modestly improve cheek fullness in middle-aged women, and a large body of classroom observation that consistent Face Yoga can change how tired, puffy or slack a face looks. Results are not instant, not identical for every woman, and they are not a medical guarantee. Technique and patience matter more than copying a 30-second reel.
Written and reviewed by Mallika Some. Last reviewed 2026-09-08. All FAQs.
What the research actually says
A 2018 study in JAMA Dermatology (Alam and colleagues at Northwestern University) followed middle-aged women through a 20-week facial-exercise programme taught live, then practised at home. Blinded dermatologists rated fuller upper and lower cheeks, and estimated appearance as a few years younger by the end. The study was small, had no control group, and is not proof that every Face Yoga video on the internet works. It is evidence that structured facial exercise, taught in person, can change appearance modestly.
A 2014 review in Aesthetic Surgery Journal found that older facial-exercise studies were too weak to settle the question. Honest teaching holds both facts at once: there is a signal, and the evidence base is still thin.
What Mallika has seen in class
When Mallika first added Face Yoga, many students invented an errand for those 15–20 minutes. She kept teaching whoever stayed. Over time, classmates noticed: more glow (from circulation), less puffiness under the eyes after massage, fewer held forehead lines in the people who had actually done the work. The skippers started staying. That social proof is how a practice spreads in a real room — not because a caption promised a miracle.
I have quite a few students like this: within two months their facial transformation is quite significant — a visible transformation.
Questions students actually ask
How soon might someone notice a change?
Mallika has seen visible change in some students around the two-month mark with regular practice, especially around menopause. Research on a 20-week facial-exercise programme found modest improvements later still. Anyone promising a transformation in a weekend is selling something else.
Why did some of Mallika's students skip Face Yoga at first?
They treated the last 15–20 minutes as optional and logged off or left. Those who stayed often looked fresher; once classmates noticed the glow and the reduced puffiness, more of the room began to stay. That is classroom evidence, not a lab trial.
Related Body Care resources
- What is Face Yoga?
Face Yoga is a short, guided practice of facial exercises, relaxation and massage. Mallika Some explains how Body Care teaches it in live classes.
- How often should I practise Face Yoga?
Mallika Some's classroom rule: a short Face Yoga block, regularly, beats an occasional long session. How often to practise if you are starting out.
- Face Yoga after 40 and 50
Skin thins, muscle tone changes, and menopause often arrives in the same decade. How Mallika Some teaches Face Yoga for women over 40 and 50.
Want this checked live?
If you want Mallika to check your technique live, sit in on a demo class. It is the same teaching, without a commitment.