Face Exercises for the Cheekbones

Exercise your face to stimulate blood flow and circulation, reduce sagging skin and tone your face muscles for a more youthful appearance. Cheekbone exercises can help tone loose cheek skin and give you prominent cheekbones, serving as an alternative to injectable fillers or surgery.

We all experience the downward sag of facial skin, just to different degrees depending on lifestyle, genetics and age. Much of the reason your skin wrinkles and sags is because of a loss of firmness in the fat pads and muscles of the cheeks. Excessive exposure to ultraviolet light and smoking can increase these effects, according to Mayo Clinic. Exercise can help restore the contours of your face by perking up the muscles that support this fat, delaying the effects of aging.

Read more: How to Firm a Sagging Face With Simple Exercises

While cheekbone exercises aren't the equivalent of a face-lift, they can help reduce the appearance of aging. A March 2018 article published by_ JAMA Dermatology_ studied the effects of 32 facial exercises performed over 20 weeks on the appearance of 16 middle-aged women. Results demonstrated improvements in both upper and lower cheek fullness.

Perform cheek exercises in front of a mirror for feedback.

Move 1: Lip Support

1. Perform this exercise daily to help promote smooth skin and toned cheek muscles.
2. Extend your lips out, making a round shape with them.
3. Keep your mouth stretching outward, then smile as wide as you can.
4. Pause for one second, then return to the round shape.
5. Repeat 10 times.

Move 2: Mouth Movement

This exercise helps tighten the skin on your cheeks in order to make your cheekbones appear more prominent.

1. Sit straight up with your mouth lightly closed, but not pursed.
2. Pucker your lips, using your cheek muscles to pout.
3. Keep puckering for 10 seconds, then relax. You can hold your fingers on your cheeks so you feel the cheek muscles contracting.
4. Repeat 10 times.

Move 3: Cheek Contractions

Hanging skin will age your face. Using this exercise to tense and contract your cheek muscles will help your cheekbones look stronger.

1. Close your mouth and smile slightly.
2. Suck your cheeks deep in your mouth toward your teeth.
3. Hold for 10 seconds, then relax.
4. Repeat 10 times.

Move 4: Smile Strong

This exercise helps lift and firm your cheeks so you look younger. You should look in the mirror while doing the exercise in order to make sure you are doing it correctly.

1. Smile as hard as you can, keeping your mouth closed and the corners of your mouth contracting as you hold.
2. Wrinkle your nose as you look in the mirror. You should be able to see your cheek muscles moving up as the muscles work.
3. Hold for 5 seconds, then relax.
4. Repeat 10 times.

Read more: 4 Face Exercises to Sharpen Your Jawline for a Toned Look

Move 5: Cheekbone Circulation

Perform this exercise to stimulate blood flow and circulation and tighten slack cheek muscles.

1. Tilt your head up to the ceiling.
2. Place your three center fingers on your cheeks and push down, simultaneously lifting your cheeks by smiling as hard as possible.
3. You should be able to feel your mouth pressing against your fingers.