# How do I tone up my face? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 14, 2005, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-tone-up-my-face/321516 "2005-09-14T00:14:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-tone-up-my-face/321516/1 "2005-09-14T00:14:49Z")
I’m losing weight. Down to 14 and a half stone (one and a half stone above ideal weight for my height 6’1) but The two places I most want to lose it (or fat deposits) are my face and my stomach. Is there a way of toning up the face or do I have to wait until my body has reached ideal weight before it goes looking there for fat to burn? ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-tone-up-my-face/321516/2 "2005-09-14T02:03:37Z")
Unfortunately, you can’t spot reduce fat. You also can’t tell your body where to take off the fat, either. Some people lose weight in their face first, while others lose fat in their ass, or boobs, or gut first. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-tone-up-my-face/321516/3 "2005-09-14T02:07:26Z")
[Here](http://www.comfortchannel.com/prod.itml/icOid/2713) ya go. note: I don’t really think this thing works at all but it’s pretty funny… ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-tone-up-my-face/321516/4 "2005-09-14T02:38:34Z")
Yes. First do this in private. It calls for some unusual facial contortions. It’s essentially stretching isometrics for the jaw and neck muscles. You want to pull up your neck muscles until you can feel them tugging your pectoral (chest) muscles up. To do this make a face akin to the face astronauts make when undergoing G force training. [Like this](http://www.cylon.org/images/films/dmoon06web.jpg) [or this](http://home.earthlink.net/~bgruenba/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/extrapilot.jpg) or a variant you’re comfortable with Do this as far as you can pull them up without breaking something. Use your neck and jaw muscles to lift up your pecs and let them fall. Do 100 times or until exhaustion. You can do side to side or at the same time. In a few weeks you will feel your neck and jaw muscles firming up and getting noticeably tighter. It’s not a perfect solution, and if your face is loaded with fat these exercises can’t do much to spot reduce or get rid of it, it’s not lipo, and it’s not going to work with older people where the issue more skin elatisticity than unlying muscle tone. In middle aged and younger people it works by firming the neck-jaw muscles and puts some tension on the face and helps to reduce/prevent the appearance of double chins, saggy, jowly cheeks and gives you a firmer jaw line and more muscular neck. I use it and it works. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-tone-up-my-face/321516/5 "2005-09-14T02:42:02Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Yes. First do this in private. It calls for some unusual facial contortions. It’s essentially stretching isometrics for the jaw and neck muscles. > > You want to pull up your neck muscles until you can feel them tugging your pectoral (chest) muscles up. To do this make a face akin to the face astronauts make when undergoing G force training. > > [Like this](http://www.cylon.org/images/films/dmoon06web.jpg) > > [or this](http://home.earthlink.net/~bgruenba/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/extrapilot.jpg) > > or a variant you’re comfortable with > > Do this as far as you can pull them up without breaking something. Use your neck and jaw muscles to lift up your pecs and let them fall. Do 100 times or until exhaustion. You can do side to side or at the same time. In a few weeks you will feel your neck and jaw muscles firming up and getting noticeably tighter. > > It’s not a perfect solution, and if your face is loaded with fat these exercises can’t do much to spot reduce or get rid of it, it’s not lipo, and it’s not going to work with older people where the issue more skin elatisticity than underlying muscle tone. > > In middle aged and younger people it works by firming the neck-jaw muscles and puts some tension on the face and helps to reduce/prevent the appearance of double chins, saggy, jowly cheeks and gives you a firmer jaw line and more muscular neck. I use it and it works. I should note that all the above advice is for men based on personal experience. I don’t know if women have enough developable muscle around their neck/jaw area to really make a difference using these exercises. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-tone-up-my-face/321516/6 "2005-09-14T14:01:15Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > I’m losing weight. Down to 14 and a half stone (one and a half stone above ideal weight for my height 6’1) but The two places I most want to lose it (or fat deposits) are my face and my stomach. > > Is there a way of toning up the face or do I have to wait until my body has reached ideal weight before it goes looking there for fat to burn? As zweisamkeit said, it mostly depends on genetics, I think. Just keep losing weight and hopefully you’ll get there eventually. Good job on the weight loss, btw. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-tone-up-my-face/321516/7 "2005-09-14T15:04:30Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Do this as far as you can pull them up without breaking something. Use your neck and jaw muscles to lift up your pecs and let them fall. Do 100 times or until exhaustion. You can do side to side or at the same time. In a few weeks you will feel your neck and jaw muscles firming up and getting noticeably tighter. > > It’s not a perfect solution, and if your face is loaded with fat these exercises can’t do much to spot reduce or get rid of it, it’s not lipo, and it’s not going to work with older people where the issue more skin elatisticity than unlying muscle tone. > > In middle aged and younger people it works by firming the neck-jaw muscles and puts some tension on the face and helps to reduce/prevent the appearance of double chins, saggy, jowly cheeks and gives you a firmer jaw line and more muscular neck. I use it and it works. **astro** has good advice for strengthening the muscles in the areas you want to have look better. Like he and I have said, though, you can’t spot reduce the _fat_. What you’re doing here is toning the muscles so they look better underneath the fat. That’ll probably help at least a little now, and then if you do lose the fat, they’ll look fab. 😉 Same principle as working out your triceps when you still have jiggly lunch lady arms. You’re toning the muscle so when the fat is gone, you have nice firm arms instead of very soft muscle. ---
**Author:** ![Sarah\_Woodruff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sarah\_Woodruff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarah_Woodruff)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-tone-up-my-face/321516/8 "2005-09-15T08:24:51Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > I’m losing weight. Down to 14 and a half stone (one and a half stone above ideal weight for my height 6’1) but The two places I most want to lose it (or fat deposits) are my face and my stomach. > > Is there a way of toning up the face or do I have to wait until my body has reached ideal weight before it goes looking there for fat to burn? I dunno **Lobbie** , but I can only echo the ‘genetics’ statements. If you peoplewatch for this kind of thing, you’ll soon notice that some people who are very slim still have [plump faces](http://www.filmrecensiepagina.nl/img/renee_portrait.jpg), whereas others who are fat still have slim faces with prominent cheekbones. The _first places_ where any weight-loss shows up on me are my face, neck and waist - which are the thinnest bits of me anyway. But if you lose enough weight, the face-fat will eventually disappear. I wouldn’t worry about it - boys with baby-faces are cute! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![d1a1s1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@d1a1s1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/d1a1s1)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-tone-up-my-face/321516/9 "2005-09-15T09:21:05Z")
This topic got me to thinking. I wonder how much you can change your appearence by working the muscles in your face. I mean could you lift mini weights with your lips to stimulate muscle growth and achieve bigger lips? ---
**Author:** ![Sarah\_Woodruff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sarah\_Woodruff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarah_Woodruff)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-tone-up-my-face/321516/10 "2005-09-15T10:03:22Z")
Mick Jagger, Personal Trainer! ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-tone-up-my-face/321516/11 "2005-09-15T11:24:16Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Yes. First do this in private. It calls for some unusual facial contortions. It’s essentially stretching isometrics for the jaw and neck muscles. > > You want to pull up your neck muscles until you can feel them tugging your pectoral (chest) muscles up. To do this make a face akin to the face astronauts make when undergoing G force training. > > [Like this](http://www.cylon.org/images/films/dmoon06web.jpg) > > [or this](http://home.earthlink.net/~bgruenba/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/extrapilot.jpg) > > or a variant you’re comfortable with > > . This is similar to the “Lion Pose” in Yoga. You basically stick out your tongue as far as possible and hold it. You’ll feel the area around your chin tightening up as you do so. Supposedly that works too. In addition, the humor value is potentially great. I’m surprised I haven’t seen it used as a gag in a screwball comedy movie. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2005, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-tone-up-my-face/321516/12 "2005-11-14T18:56:40Z")
I am resurrecting this thread because I am facing a similar problem as the OP. I have lost (as of today) 100 pounds, and where before I had a full round double chin, now I have turkey neck, just skin hanging down under the center of my chin. I have researched this some, and found that there are entire books available on the subject of neck exercises to tighten loose skin, and schools of thought. Some of these sources say that if you do the wrong exercises, or if you do the right exercises incorrectly, you run the risk of making the condition worse. So I would like to pose two questions: 1. Does anyone have any experience with neck exercises that successfully tighten loose skin (more than to lose fat)? 2. Has anyone had any experience with such exercises that have been detrimental rather than helpful?