Looksmaxxing for women often promotes face yoga, cheek lifts and jaw workouts. The evidence supports only a cautious conclusion. Resistance exercises may slightly increase cheek fullness, but reliable trials have not shown lasting wrinkle reduction, facial fat loss or adult bone reshaping. If you want a sharper jaw or slimmer face, facial exercises are a poor bet.
The one positive signal concerns fuller-looking cheeks. Even that finding comes from a small study with no untreated comparison group.
What the research actually found
Seraj and colleagues reviewed the evidence in 2025 for Aesthetic Surgery Journal Open Forum. They found 12 studies involving 321 women aged 30 to 70. Six tested facial exercises, four tested myofunctional therapy and two tested massage.
Some studies reported local changes around the cheeks, jaw or eyes. Yet the exercises, measurements and treatment periods differed widely. Most samples were small, and the review included no men. The authors concluded that the evidence was still too limited to confirm effectiveness.
The best-known positive result came from Alam and colleagues in JAMA Dermatology in 2018. Twenty-seven women enrolled, but only 16 completed the 20-week program. They performed 30 minutes of exercises daily for eight weeks, then every other day.
Blinded physicians rated upper and lower cheek fullness as better after 20 weeks. Their estimated average age fell from 50.8 to 48.1 years. However, jawline, forehead, crow’s-feet and lip-wrinkle ratings did not improve reliably.
That study had no control group. It also lost 11 of its 27 participants. The result shows a possible cheek effect in women willing to complete a demanding routine. It cannot show that the program works for most women or identify which of its 32 exercises caused the change.
A controlled study by De Vos and colleagues gives a less encouraging result. Eighteen women were split into exercise and control groups. Nine performed four isometric exercises daily for seven weeks.
The researchers assessed the forehead, upper lip, nasolabial folds, jawline and area beneath the chin. Only the upper-lip photographs produced a difference between groups. The authors concluded that the study did not establish facial exercises as effective.
Which exercises have any evidence?
| Goal | Closest evidence | Practical decision |
|---|---|---|
| Fuller-looking cheeks | A 20-week uncontrolled program improved cheek-fullness ratings in 16 middle-aged women. | This is the only useful positive signal, but confidence is low. The study cannot identify one proven cheek exercise. |
| Fewer forehead, eye or mouth wrinkles | Most wrinkle measures did not improve in the 20-week study. The small controlled study was also mostly negative. | Do not treat face yoga as a reliable wrinkle treatment. |
| A sharper jaw or less fullness beneath the chin | The controlled study found no dependable jawline or under-chin improvement. The 20-week study’s jawline change was not statistically significant. | Skip intensive chewing and resistance gadgets for this goal. Our guide to jaw exercisers and their safety examines that claim directly. |
| Adult jaw-bone reshaping | The cosmetic exercise studies did not establish skeletal change. | Muscle exercise is not evidence of bone remodeling. The same distinction applies to the claims examined in our guide to mewing. |
| Better swallowing, speech or jaw function | Some reviewed myofunctional programs addressed function alongside appearance. | This is a clinical goal, not a DIY beauty routine. Seek an appropriate clinician if you have functional symptoms. |
Why the viral claims go further than the data
Facial appearance reflects skin, fat, muscle, bone, hair and camera conditions. An exercise can affect muscle activity without producing the visual change promised in a short video.
Cheek fullness illustrates the problem. Alam’s study produced a possible increase in volume, not a slimmer face. Someone seeking hollow-cheek correction might welcome that direction. Someone seeking narrower cheeks probably would not.
The trials also did not establish facial fat loss. Calling an exercise a “double-chin burner” adds a result that researchers did not measure or confirm.
Wrinkle claims have the same mismatch. The 2018 study measured several lines with established photo scales. Cheek ratings changed, but forehead lines, crow’s-feet and lip wrinkles did not. A before-and-after smile on social media cannot replace a controlled comparison.
Jaw pain is a reason to stop
Seraj’s review reported no adverse events in the included studies. That sounds reassuring, but the studies were too small and inconsistent to establish safety across every routine or device.
The US National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research reviewed its jaw-disorder guidance in September 2026. It lists jaw pain, stiffness, locking, limited movement and painful clicking as possible temporomandibular-disorder symptoms. It also advises reducing habits such as clenching and frequent gum chewing when jaw discomfort begins.
That makes high-resistance chewing a poor cosmetic experiment, especially if your jaw already hurts. Stop if an exercise causes pain, stiffness, locking, painful clicks or a change in your bite. A dentist or doctor can assess symptoms that persist.
A painless click by itself is common and does not automatically mean you have a disorder. Pain or loss of normal movement changes the decision.
How to test the only plausible benefit
This is an editorial self-check, not a validated research protocol. Its purpose is to prevent a vague mirror impression from becoming “proof.”
- Write down one visual goal. “Fuller upper cheeks” is measurable enough. “Improve my whole face” is not.
- Check whether the studies measured that outcome. If your goal is bone change, facial fat loss or a narrower jaw, stop here.
- If you still try a gentle cheek routine, keep the camera, distance, lighting, head position and expression consistent in comparison photographs.
- Choose the review date before starting. Published programs lasted seven to 20 weeks, but that range does not establish a minimum effective period.
- Stop for jaw pain, stiffness, locking or painful clicking. Do not add chewing gadgets to make the routine feel more intense.
Standard photographs can reduce obvious comparison errors. They still cannot prove that an exercise caused a change. Weight shifts, dental work, sleep, makeup and natural variation can all alter how your face looks.
Illustrative example
Maya wants a sharper jaw and plans to chew resistant silicone for 30 minutes daily. The evidence table shows that cosmetic jawline improvement remains unproven. Chewing also loads the area where she sometimes feels pain. The sensible decision is to skip the experiment rather than increase the resistance.
Elena wants slightly fuller cheeks. That goal matches the one positive study signal. She also knows that the researchers tested a complete 32-exercise program, not one proven movement. If she experiments, consistent photographs and firm stop rules are more useful than checking the mirror each day.
Where your effort has better odds
Separate the target before choosing a tactic. Skin texture, hairstyle framing, makeup, dental concerns and jaw function require different decisions. A broad evidence-based glow-up plan can help you rank those areas instead of assigning every concern to face yoga.
If you want an app or checklist to organize that process, our comparison of looksmaxxing apps separates practical photo tools from appearance-rating products. No app can turn weak facial-exercise evidence into a guaranteed result.
FAQ
How long do facial exercises take to work?
There is no established timeline. The controlled seven-week study was mostly negative. The positive cheek result appeared after a demanding 20-week program, but that study had no control group.
Can facial exercises make your face slimmer?
Current trials do not establish facial fat loss or a slimmer face. The clearest positive result was greater cheek fullness, which points in a different direction.
Are there special facial exercises for women?
The evidence does not support a female-specific routine. Most participants happened to be women, including all 321 people in the 2025 review. That describes the research sample, not proof that women need different exercises.
Can face yoga replace skincare?
No. The studies tested muscle-based routines and local appearance ratings. They did not show that exercise treats acne, pigmentation, sun damage or other skin concerns.
Oscar Nascimento
Editorial writer, GlowUp Face
Oscar writes about evidence-based skin care, healthcare, looksmaxxing, and the social and economic research surrounding appearance.
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