Exercise Three - Chin Muscle

Don't let my ridiculous expression scare you. I don't advise doing this exercise in public because you'll look like an idiot. The exercise is an effective one, though, because it really does tone up the chin and the front of the neck.

You don't have to look this grim while you're doing the exercise. Still it is not wise to do it in front of your significant other. One does have to keep some semblance of dignity.

Splash some water on your face or apply some lubricant to the skin around the chin and mouth. Now you're ready:

• Elevate the lower lip. This will wrinkle the skin of the chin. If you place your finger firmly on the mentalis muscle you will feel that it is contracted. Hold this contraction for a second.
• Now strongly lower the chin to the position you see in the photo. Hold this contraction for a second. Do not move the head though. The head remains stationary throughout the exercise.
• Do this exercise maintaining good form for ten or twelve repetitions. I usually do two or three sets of ten reps.

While you're doing this exercise, you'll feel the muscles at the front of the neck (the platysma) working hard along with the chin muscle. Keeping these two muscle groups in good shape is important to ward off the dreaded turkey-neck syndrome and platysmal banding.

Men like to have strong chins. They think it projects power and forcefulness. Action heroes in the movies and in comic books all have strong chins. I can't even imagine an action hero with a weak chin. But strong chins in women look good too. It adds to a woman's facial expression. Many film actresses have well-developed chin muscles. It's like a statement of equality with men.

Continue to - Exercise Four

The Aging Process

There are several ways that faces age. Some of these you can slow down greatly; others you can actually prevent.

Intrinsic aging is the natural aging that the years bring on. The skin loses the underlying layer of fat that gives younger people a radiant appearance. Facial exercises along with good dietary habits can slow down intrinsic aging but certainly can't stop it.

Extrinsic aging is the process of aging that you can slow down a lot. You can do this by protecting yourself from the sun, eating nutritious foods, drinking enough clean water, staying away from smoke and smoking, keeping the proper weight for your bone structure, getting enough sleep, and exercising - facial exercise included.

Sleep lines develop when we sleep with our face in the same position in the pillow night after night. The simple, but maybe not so simple, suggestion, is to change you position regularly.

Expression lines develop in all faces but in some faces these lines are more deeply etched. I'm going to talk about this type of aging and expression-line development later in a special section.

Gravity is the big determinant of facial aging especially for people who are overweight. (But people who are severely underweight experience another form of facial aging.) The more flesh you have on your face, the more gravity has to work with. Gravity is not kind to heavy faces. Even facial exercises will not combat the effects of too much facial fat.

And finally, sun damage. The obvious "treatment" for this powerful aging accelerator is to stay out of the sun or to take massive precautions when in its harmful rays. I'll have much more to say on this later. Photodamage to the skin can add years to a person's appearance.

Facial Preferences

Men generally prefer women with small jaws, small chins, small noses, large eyes, and full lips. But women, too, often prefer men with a "feminine" look as opposed to a more rugged look. Women perceive these men with slightly feminine features as gentler and more warmhearted than the men with a faintly Neanderthal look. It has something to do with evolution.