Gluvy
If you want face yoga to become a habit you actually keep, a guided app like Gluvy is our top recommendation; free YouTube videos are a fine way to try it out first. Gluvy gives every day a short, timed, follow-along session, so you press play instead of searching. Free videos cost nothing and suit people who already practise on their own. Gluvy is our app, so read this with that in mind.
The short answer
Choose by what you struggle with, not by price alone. The exercises in a good free face yoga video and in a guided app are often similar: gentle stretches, holds and self-massage strokes for the forehead, eyes, cheeks, mouth, jaw and neck. What differs is everything around the exercises:
- A guided app like Gluvy decides for you. It sets a plan, times each step with a countdown, reminds you and keeps a record.
- YouTube gives you choice and costs nothing. You decide what to do, for how long and when.
If deciding, timing and remembering are where you get stuck, Gluvy takes all three off your plate. Either way, no video or app can promise a specific change to your face. Research on face yoga is limited; our article on whether face yoga works goes through it.
What Gluvy adds
Gluvy turns face yoga into a ready-made daily session: plan, video, timer and reminder in one place. Here’s what that looks like.
- Multi-week plans. Gluvy’s 3-week plans are built around 5–10 minutes a day, so each day already has a session waiting. You don’t scroll; you press play.
- Follow-along video with a countdown on every step. Each of the 229 guided face yoga video exercises has its own video and a timer, so you don’t count in your head or rush the holds.
- Coverage across 8 face areas. Exercises cover the forehead, eyes, nose, lips and mouth, cheeks, chin and jawline, neck and full face, so a plan moves through the whole face. The chin and jawline program is one example.
- A large gua sha library in the same app. About 34 gua sha and facial-massage video courses sit next to the exercises, plus skincare lessons and article courses.
- Relaxation built in. Guided breathing, body scan, sleep and stress-relief sessions make it easy to wind down after a routine.
- Reminders and routines. Morning and night routines and reminders give the habit a fixed slot in your day.
- A progress journal with selfies. It makes it easy to look back at how your practice has gone.
- A starting point. The AI face analysis suggests focus areas to begin with. It’s a starting-point analysis, not a diagnosis.
- Simple billing. One App Store subscription, $49.99 a year or $7.99 a week (US), managed in your iPhone Settings.
- Several languages. The app is available in several languages, which can help if you’d rather not follow instructions in English.
Gluvy is a subscription and is iPhone only. Comparing apps too? Our best face yoga apps roundup puts Gluvy alongside five others, and we’ve also compared Gluvy and FaceYogi and looked at Koko Face Yoga alternatives.
What free YouTube videos offer
Free face yoga videos are a no-cost way to try the practice. Many teachers have built free libraries. Danielle Collins, for example, shares free routines on her Face Yoga Expert YouTube channel alongside her paid courses and books.
- It costs nothing. You can try face yoga for weeks without entering a card.
- Lots of variety. Short and long routines, single areas and different teaching styles from many teachers.
- It works on any device. Phone, tablet, laptop or TV, iPhone or Android.
Where free videos fall short
The limits are mostly about what happens around the video, which is exactly what a guided app solves:
- No plan. You build the routine yourself, and choosing a video can take longer than doing it. Gluvy has today’s session ready.
- Inconsistent length. One video is 3 minutes, the next is 20, which makes a fixed daily habit harder. Gluvy’s sessions stay in the 5–10 minute range.
- No timer on each step. You time holds yourself. Gluvy counts down every step for you.
- Ads and autoplay. Most free videos come with ads unless you pay for an ad-free subscription, and the next video is always one tap away.
- No tracking or reminders. Nothing notices if you skip a week. Gluvy has reminders and a selfie progress journal.
- Mixed messages. Some titles promise dramatic or fast changes. Research doesn’t support those, so skip the promises.
Our guide to free face yoga apps and alternatives has more on getting the most from free options.
Gluvy vs YouTube: side by side
Here is how Gluvy and free YouTube videos compare, as of October 2026. Gluvy’s details come from our own pricing page and feature pages.
| Gluvy (guided app) | Free YouTube videos | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free download; Gluvy Pro $7.99/week or $49.99/year (US); new users may see a one-time $39.99 yearly offer | Free (ads on most videos) |
| Structure | 3-week plans, 5–10 minutes a day | You build your own routine |
| Guidance | Follow-along video for every exercise, 229 guided exercises across 8 face areas | Varies by teacher |
| Timing | Countdown timer on every step | Video length varies; you time holds yourself |
| Reminders | Reminders, morning and night routines | None built in |
| Tracking | Progress journal with selfies | None built in |
| Gua sha and massage | About 34 gua sha and facial-massage video courses | Depends on the channel |
| Extras | Skincare lessons and article courses; breathing, body scan, sleep and stress-relief sessions | Depends on the channel |
| Starting point | AI face analysis suggests focus areas (not a diagnosis) | None |
| Devices | iPhone only | Almost any device |
If structure is what you’re missing, try Gluvy’s guided plan or see pricing first. If you cancel, do it in iPhone Settings › your name › Subscriptions; deleting the app doesn’t cancel it.
How to decide
Ask yourself which of these sounds more like you.
Choose Gluvy if:
- You’ve started free videos several times and drifted off after a week or two.
- Choosing a video feels like a chore before the actual practice.
- You want each session to be the same short length so it fits a fixed slot.
- You’d like a countdown timer to pace the holds and a reminder to start.
- You want face yoga, gua sha, skincare lessons and relaxation sessions in one app.
- You’d like a selfie journal to look back on your practice.
When free videos might suit you:
- You’re curious and not yet sure face yoga is for you.
- You already practise most days without being reminded.
- You’re on Android (Gluvy is iPhone only), or you want face yoga that stays completely free.
A sensible path for many people: try our 5-minute face yoga routine for beginners for a few days. If you want a plan that’s ready each day, that’s where Gluvy earns its price.
Tips to stay consistent
Consistency comes from making the habit small and automatic. Habits take time to form. In a study of 96 volunteers who picked a new daily behaviour, the time it took to become automatic varied widely, from 18 to 254 days (Lally et al., 2010). So expect it to feel like effort for a while.
These steps help:
- Same time, same place. Tie face yoga to something you already do, like after brushing your teeth at night. Gluvy’s morning and night routines are built for this.
- Keep it short. Five minutes done most days beats 30 minutes done once. Stop while it still feels easy.
- Repeat one routine. Follow one plan for a couple of weeks instead of searching each day. In Gluvy, the 3-week plan does this for you; on YouTube, save one or two routines to a playlist.
- Set a reminder. Gluvy’s reminders do this; with free videos, a phone alarm works.
- Take a weekly photo in the same light. Same window, same time of day, same angle, no filter. Gluvy’s progress journal keeps your selfies together. Our guide to face yoga before and after photos explains how to make them comparable.
- Don’t restart from zero. Missing a day is normal. Just pick it up again the next day.
Keep the pressure light and stop any move that hurts. If you have jaw (TMJ) problems, a neck condition, or recent facial surgery or injections, check with a doctor before you start.
Try a guided plan with Gluvy
If you want a plan you’ll actually keep, Gluvy turns face yoga into short follow-along video sessions with a countdown timer on every step, plus gua sha courses, skincare lessons, relaxation sessions, reminders and a selfie journal, all in one app. It’s a subscription and it’s iPhone only, so start by downloading it and browsing the courses. See all of Gluvy’s features or download Gluvy for iPhone. For more background, our face yoga guide is a good place to keep reading.
Sources
- Lally P, et al. “How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world.” European Journal of Social Psychology, 2010. doi:10.1002/ejsp.674
- Danielle Collins, Face Yoga Expert YouTube channel, checked October 2026
Frequently asked questions
Is free face yoga on YouTube enough?
It can be, especially for trying face yoga or if you are good at keeping a routine on your own. What free videos usually don't give you is a plan, timed steps and reminders. A guided app like Gluvy adds a 3-week plan of 5–10 minutes a day, a countdown timer on every step and reminders, which many people find easier to stick with.
What does a face yoga app cost?
It varies between apps and countries, and many use weekly, monthly or yearly subscriptions, so compare yearly totals. Gluvy is free to download, and Gluvy Pro costs $7.99 a week or $49.99 a year on the US App Store as of October 2026. New users may see a one-time yearly offer of $39.99 in the app.
Can I cancel a face yoga app subscription anytime?
If you subscribed through the App Store, you can cancel at any time on your iPhone in Settings, then your name, then Subscriptions. You keep access until the end of the period you already paid for. Deleting the app does not cancel the subscription, so always cancel in Settings.
Do face yoga apps work better than YouTube videos?
There is no evidence either way. Research on face yoga itself is limited to small studies, and nobody has compared apps with free videos. What an app like Gluvy mainly adds is a plan, a timer on every step, reminders and a progress journal, which some people find easier to stick with.
How often should I do face yoga?
Short, regular sessions are easier to keep than long, occasional ones. Many people aim for 5 to 10 minutes on most days, which is how Gluvy's plans are built. Keep the pressure light and stop any move that hurts, whether you follow a video or an app.
Practise this with Gluvy. Follow-along videos with a timer for every step. See everything in the Gluvy app.
Download on theApp Store
The team that builds Gluvy writes these guides from the app's own face yoga, gua sha and skincare courses. We are not doctors or dermatologists: articles are general wellness information, and we link to the research where it exists.
This article is general wellness information, not medical advice. Talk to a doctor or dermatologist if you have a skin, jaw or other medical condition.
