Face Yoga Benefits: What Is Supported and What Is Hype

The best-supported face yoga benefits are modest: face yoga is a low-risk, low-cost routine that may help you feel more relaxed and notice facial tension, and one small study found slightly fuller-looking cheeks after 20 weeks of practice. Most of the bigger promises, like erasing wrinkles, lifting the face or slimming it, are not backed by evidence. Below, every common benefit gets an honest evidence rating, so you can decide whether face yoga is worth your time.

The short answer

Face yoga benefits fall into three groups: a few that have been studied a little, several that are plausible but untested, and a set of popular claims with no real support.

• Studied, but only in small studies: fuller-looking cheeks and changes in muscle tone. The research is early, small and mostly without control groups.
• Plausible: relaxation, tension awareness, a steady self-care habit and a short-term “fresh” look after massage. These make sense and carry little risk, but face yoga itself hasn’t been tested for them.
• Unproven or not supported: reducing wrinkles, lifting or sculpting, slimming the face and changing bone structure.

If you want the full detail on each study, our article on whether face yoga works walks through the evidence, and the face yoga research roundup summarises every study we know of.

Face yoga benefits by evidence level

Here is each benefit people commonly claim, with how strong the evidence is and where it comes from.

Claimed benefit	Evidence level	What the evidence says
Fuller-looking upper and lower cheeks	Studied (small, uncontrolled)	One pilot study of 16 women who finished 20 weeks (Alam et al., 2018)
Changes in facial muscle tone	Studied (very small, uncontrolled)	12 women, measured with a device, not appearance (Güzel et al., 2025)
Feeling relaxed or calmer	Plausible	Relaxation techniques are studied in general (NCCIH); face yoga itself is not
Noticing jaw and forehead tension	Plausible	Follows from paying attention to your face; not studied
A steady self-care routine	Plausible	Habits form through repetition (Lally et al., 2010)
Short-term “glow” after massage	Plausible, temporary	Body gua sha raised surface blood flow briefly (Nielsen et al., 2007); not tested on the face
Fewer or shallower wrinkles	Unproven	Reviews call the evidence insufficient (Van Borsel et al., 2014; 2025 review)
Lifting, sculpting, a “facelift”	Unproven	No controlled studies show it
Slimming the face, losing face fat	Not supported	Spot reduction doesn’t work (Vispute et al., 2011)
Changing bone structure	Not supported	Adult facial bones don’t reshape with exercise

Supported or plausible benefits, explained

These are the benefits you can reasonably hope for, from the best studied to the most everyday.

Fuller-looking cheeks (studied, small)

The most cited face yoga study comes from Northwestern University and was published in JAMA Dermatology (Alam et al., 2018). Twenty-seven women aged 40 to 65 enrolled and 16 completed it. They practised for 30 minutes a day for 8 weeks, then every other day until week 20. Dermatologists rating standardised photos saw improved upper and lower cheek fullness, and the women’s average estimated age fell from about 50.8 to 48.1 years.

That’s encouraging, but the study was small, had no control group and used far longer sessions than most people do at home. Larger controlled studies are needed before this counts as a proven benefit.

Changes in muscle tone (studied, very small)

A 2025 study in Medicina measured facial muscles rather than looks (Güzel et al., 2025). Twelve women did face yoga for 8 weeks, and a handheld device recorded changes in muscle tone, stiffness and elasticity. It shows the muscles respond to practice, but it had no control group and didn’t assess whether anyone looked different.

Feeling more relaxed (plausible)

Slow, gentle movement combined with steady breathing is the basis of many relaxation techniques, which have been studied for a range of uses with mixed results (NCCIH). A few unhurried minutes of face yoga may help you feel calmer in a similar way. No study has tested face yoga for stress, though, so think of it as a way to unwind, not a treatment for anything.

Noticing tension in your jaw and forehead (plausible)

Many people clench their jaw or frown while they concentrate without realising it. Practising face yoga means paying close attention to those muscles, which may make it easier to catch the habit during the day. Our guide on how to relax your face muscles has simple moves for this, and the jaw tension relief guide explains when jaw pain is a reason to see a dentist.

A steady self-care habit (plausible)

A short daily routine gives you a predictable moment to slow down and look after yourself, and it pairs naturally with skincare. Habits become more automatic through repetition, although how long that takes varies a lot: in one study of 96 volunteers it ranged from 18 to 254 days (Lally et al., 2010). Short sessions you actually keep are the point; our guide on how often to do face yoga suggests a realistic schedule.

A short-term fresh look after massage (plausible, temporary)

Facial massage benefits are often described as “glow”. Rubbing or stroking the skin brings blood to the surface, which can make your face look pinker for a while. A small pilot study found that gua sha on the body increased surface blood flow for a short time afterwards (Nielsen et al., 2007), but it involved 11 people and wasn’t done on the face. Expect a temporary effect, not lasting change in your skin. Our article on whether gua sha works covers the massage evidence in more depth.

Popular claims that lack evidence

These are the face yoga benefits you’ll see most often online, and the ones with the least support.

• Reducing wrinkles. Two systematic reviews, more than a decade apart, reached the same conclusion: the evidence for facial exercise as rejuvenation is insufficient (Van Borsel et al., 2014; 2025 review).
• Lifting or sculpting the face. No controlled study shows face yoga lifts sagging skin or works like a facelift. Our article on natural face lift exercises explains what exercise can’t do here, and the face yoga vs Botox comparison explains why the two are very different things.
• Slimming the face or losing face fat. Spot reduction isn’t supported by evidence. In one randomised trial, six weeks of abdominal exercises improved muscle endurance but didn’t reduce belly fat (Vispute et al., 2011). There’s no reason to expect the face to work differently. Fat on the face changes with overall body fat, genetics and age; our double chin exercises guide covers this in detail.
• Changing your bone structure. The shape of your cheekbones, jaw and chin is set by your bones, which don’t reshape with facial exercise in adults.
• Results by a certain date. Any promise of visible change in a set number of days is marketing, not evidence.

Who benefits most from face yoga

Face yoga suits people who want a calm, low-pressure habit more than people looking for a guaranteed change in appearance. You’re likely to get the most out of it if you:

• Enjoy routines. If a few minutes of morning or evening ritual makes your day feel better, face yoga fits easily alongside skincare.
• Want a calming practice. If you like slow, quiet activities, face yoga may help you feel more relaxed at the end of a long day.
• Hold tension in your face. If you often notice a tight jaw or a furrowed brow, gentle moves give you a moment to let those muscles go.
• Have realistic expectations. If you’re curious about the cheek study but happy to treat any visible change as a bonus, you won’t be disappointed by the limits of the evidence.

New to face yoga? Start with our complete guide to face yoga, and use the face yoga before and after guide to track changes with consistent photos.

Try face yoga with Gluvy

Gluvy’s face yoga video workouts guide you through 200+ follow-along exercises for the forehead, eyes, cheeks, jaw, neck and full face, with a timer on every step and 3-week plans of 5–10 minutes a day. If relaxation is your main goal, try the Relaxing Face Yoga and Jaw Relaxation Routine courses, or the guided Stress Relief session among the app’s breathing and relaxation features. Ready to start? Try a relaxing 5-minute face yoga session on your iPhone.

Sources

• Alam M, et al. Association of Facial Exercise With the Appearance of Aging. JAMA Dermatology, 2018.
• Güzel, et al. Effect of Intensive Face Yoga on Facial Muscles Tonus, Stiffness, and Elasticity in Middle-Aged Women. Medicina, 2025.
• Van Borsel J, et al. The effectiveness of facial exercises for facial rejuvenation: a systematic review. Aesthetic Surgery Journal, 2014.
• Efficacy of Conservative Techniques for Mechanical Facial Rejuvenation: A Systematic Review. Aesthetic Surgery Journal Open Forum, 2025.
• Nielsen A, et al. The effect of Gua Sha treatment on the microcirculation of surface tissue. Explore, 2007.
• Vispute SS, et al. The effect of abdominal exercise on abdominal fat. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2011.
• Lally P, et al. How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 2010.
• National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Relaxation Techniques: What You Need To Know.