12 Face Yoga Exercises for Every Area of the Face (With Step-by-Step Instructions)

These 12 face yoga exercises give you two simple moves for each area of the face (forehead, eyes and brows, cheeks, mouth and lips, chin and jawline, and neck), each held for about 30 to 45 seconds, so the full set takes roughly 10 minutes. Every exercise below has numbered steps, a suggested hold or rep count, what you should feel, the most common form mistake and a safety note. Do them gently, and treat them as a relaxing daily habit rather than a quick fix.

A quick word on expectations: face yoga is exercise, stretching and self-massage for the face. Research on it is limited, so this guide describes how each move should feel, not what it will change. If you want the evidence first, read whether face yoga works.

Before you start

Good face yoga starts with relaxed posture and light effort. A minute of setup makes every move easier to do well.

• Clean hands, clean face. Wash your hands. For moves that glide over the skin, apply a few drops of facial oil or moisturiser.
• Sit or stand tall. Relax your shoulders away from your ears and keep the back of your neck long. Many face moves pull on the neck if you slump.
• Use a mirror. For the first few sessions, watch for tension creeping into places you aren’t working, such as a frowning forehead during cheek moves.
• Gentle effort. Aim for about a third of your maximum effort. You should feel the muscle working or a soft stretch, never pain.
• Breathe slowly. Breathe through your nose and count breaths instead of rushing reps.
• Know when to skip. Stop any move that hurts, clicks or makes you dizzy. Check with a doctor, dentist or physiotherapist first if you have jaw joint (TMJ) problems, a neck condition, an active skin condition, or recent facial surgery, dental work or injectables.

Your face has two broad groups of muscles: the muscles of facial expression, which move your skin when you smile, frown or raise your brows, and the chewing muscles that work your jaw (StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf). Most face muscle exercises below work the first group with slow holds and stretches; the jaw moves touch the second, which is why they stay gentle.

Forehead exercises

The forehead moves focus on relaxing the brows and working the muscle that raises them, without scrunching.

1. Forehead Smooth Down

This move comes from the Gluvy app’s follow-along videos.

1. Place both palms flat across your forehead, fingertips meeting near the centre.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Glide your hands slowly downward over your brows with gentle, even pressure.
4. Lift off at the brows, return to the hairline and repeat in slow strokes.

Suggested time: about 35 seconds, or 8 to 10 slow strokes. What you should feel: a light, calming pressure and the brows softening. Common mistake: pressing hard or dragging dry skin. Keep it light and use a drop of oil if your hands catch. Caution: keep the pressure off your eyelids.

2. Palm-Supported Brow Raise

1. Rest your palms flat on your forehead, just above the brows.
2. Press very lightly so the skin stays still.
3. Try to raise your brows slowly against your palms, as if looking surprised.
4. Hold for about 5 seconds, then relax completely for a breath.
5. Repeat 5 times.

Suggested time: about 40 seconds. What you should feel: the forehead muscle working under your hands, with the skin staying smooth. Common mistake: letting the skin bunch into lines. Your palms are there to hold it flat; if lines form, press a little more evenly. Caution: if you get tension headaches, keep the effort very low and stop if a headache starts.

Eye and brow exercises

The skin around your eyes is the thinnest on your face, so these are the gentlest moves in the set.

3. Temple Lift

This move comes from the Gluvy app.

1. Place your fingertips on both temples, just outside the outer corners of your eyes.
2. Close your eyes and relax your brows.
3. Glide your fingertips slowly up and down over the temples, lifting the skin around the eye contour very slightly.
4. Keep a steady, unhurried rhythm.

Suggested time: about 35 seconds. What you should feel: a light, soothing movement at the sides of the eyes. Common mistake: pulling the skin sideways. Let your fingers move with the skin, not over it. Caution: skip it if you have irritated skin or a recent treatment around the eyes.

4. Under-Eye Slide

This move comes from the Gluvy app.

1. Apply a little moisturiser or eye cream under your eyes.
2. Lay your index fingers flat on the bone under each eye.
3. Slide them back and forth very gently along the bone, from the inner to the outer corner.
4. Keep the pressure feather-light.

Suggested time: about 30 seconds. What you should feel: almost nothing beyond a light touch. Common mistake: working on the eyelid instead of the bone. Stay on the firm ridge below the eye. Caution: take out contact lenses first if they feel uncomfortable, and stop if your eyes water or sting.

Cheek exercises

Cheek moves work the muscles you use to smile and to shape your mouth, and they are among the most popular yoga face exercises.

5. O-Shape Pump

This move comes from the Gluvy app.

1. Shape your lips into a firm O, as if saying “oh”.
2. Keeping the O, slowly lower your jaw, then raise it.
3. Continue in a slow, even rhythm.
4. Keep your forehead smooth; if it wrinkles, slow down.

Suggested time: about 40 seconds, or 10 to 12 slow pumps. What you should feel: a stretch through the cheeks and around the mouth. Common mistake: opening too wide and too fast. Small, slow movements keep the effort in the cheeks. Caution: open only as far as your jaw joint is comfortable.

6. Cheek Puff and Roll

1. Close your lips and fill your mouth with air.
2. Push the air into your right cheek and hold for a breath.
3. Move it to your left cheek, then above your upper lip, then below your lower lip.
4. Do 3 to 4 slow rounds, then release the air.

Suggested time: about 40 seconds. What you should feel: the cheeks stretching gently from inside and the lips working to keep the seal. Common mistake: puffing so hard that your lips strain or your ears feel pressure. A moderate puff is enough. Caution: skip it if you have recent dental work or mouth sores.

Mouth and lip exercises

These moves work the ring of muscle around your lips and the area between the nose and upper lip. Our guide to exercises for smile lines has more moves for this area.

7. Upper Lip Stretch

1. Open your mouth slightly.
2. Draw your upper lip down over your top teeth.
3. Lengthen the area between your nose and lip, as if making a long face.
4. Hold for about 5 seconds, then relax.
5. Repeat 4 to 5 times.

Suggested time: about 30 seconds. What you should feel: a stretch across the upper lip and the sides of the nose. Common mistake: tensing the chin and neck. Keep the effort in the upper lip. Caution: stop if it pulls on the jaw joint.

8. Pucker and Smile

1. Push your lips forward into a soft pucker, as if about to kiss someone.
2. Hold for about 3 seconds.
3. Slowly spread your lips into a wide, closed-lip smile.
4. Hold for about 3 seconds, then return to the pucker.
5. Repeat 6 to 8 times at a slow pace.

Suggested time: about 40 seconds. What you should feel: the muscles around your mouth working in both directions, with the cheeks joining in on the smile. Common mistake: squinting during the smile. Keep your eyes soft and your forehead still. Caution: keep the lips relaxed, not clenched, during the pucker.

Chin and jawline exercises

Jaw moves should feel easy, so keep your teeth apart and never clench. Both of these come from the Gluvy app’s chin and jaw plan, and our guide to jawline exercises adds five more.

9. Jawline Press & Pull

1. Rest your fingertips along both sides of your jawbone, near the chin.
2. Press in gently but steadily, so you feel the bone under your fingers.
3. Draw your fingers outward along the bone toward your ears, keeping the pressure even.
4. Lift off, return to the chin and repeat in a slow rhythm.

Suggested time: about 30 seconds, or 6 to 8 strokes. What you should feel: a pleasant pressure along the jaw, a little like a massage after a long day of concentrating. Common mistake: gritting your teeth while you press. Let your jaw hang loose with your lips lightly closed. Caution: add a drop of oil if the skin drags.

10. Tongue Reach

1. Stick your tongue out and reach it up toward the right corner of your upper lip.
2. Hold for a moment.
3. Draw the tongue back in and relax.
4. Repeat 4 to 5 times, then switch to the left side.

Suggested time: about 40 seconds. What you should feel: work under the chin and along the side of the jaw. Common mistake: lifting the shoulders or wrinkling the forehead. Only the tongue and the area under the chin should be working. Caution: stop if your jaw clicks or aches.

If the lower face is your main focus, our guide to face yoga for jowls explains what a routine can and can’t do there.

Neck exercises

Neck moves work best with a neutral spine: ears roughly over your shoulders, chin level and shoulders down.

11. Sky Smile

This move comes from the Gluvy app.

1. Sit tall and gently tilt your head back to look toward the ceiling.
2. Smile as wide as you comfortably can, lips closed.
3. Hold for 3 or 4 slow breaths.
4. Bring your head back to level, relax and repeat 3 to 4 times.

Suggested time: about 35 seconds. What you should feel: a stretch along the jaw and down the front of your neck. Common mistake: dropping the head far back and crunching the back of the neck. Lengthen upward first, then tilt a little. Caution: skip it if looking up makes you dizzy or strains your neck.

12. Chin Tuck

1. Sit or stand tall, looking straight ahead.
2. Without tipping your head down, glide your chin straight back, as if making a double chin on purpose.
3. Hold for about 5 seconds, feeling the back of your neck lengthen.
4. Release slowly and repeat 5 to 6 times.

Suggested time: about 40 seconds. What you should feel: a gentle stretch at the base of the skull and a sense of your head sitting back over your shoulders. Common mistake: nodding down instead of sliding back. Keep your eyes level the whole time. Caution: move only within a comfortable range, and talk to a physiotherapist first if you have a neck injury or nerve symptoms.

A 10-minute face yoga workout using these moves

Put the 12 exercises together, top of the face to the neck, and you have a full face yoga workout of about 10 minutes. Start with a short warm-up of light fingertip taps across the forehead and cheeks, then follow the order below.

#	Exercise	Area	Time
–	Fingertip tapping warm-up	Whole face	30 s
1	Forehead Smooth Down	Forehead	35 s
2	Palm-Supported Brow Raise	Forehead	40 s
3	Temple Lift	Eyes, temples	35 s
4	Under-Eye Slide	Under the eyes	30 s
5	O-Shape Pump	Cheeks, mouth	40 s
6	Cheek Puff and Roll	Cheeks, lips	40 s
7	Upper Lip Stretch	Upper lip	30 s
8	Pucker and Smile	Lips, cheeks	40 s
9	Jawline Press & Pull	Jawline	30 s
10	Tongue Reach	Under the chin	40 s
11	Sky Smile	Jaw, front of neck	35 s
12	Chin Tuck	Neck	40 s

That is about 8 minutes of movement. With 10 seconds of rest between moves, the whole sequence fits into roughly 10 minutes.

A few tips for making it work:

• Short on time? Pick one move per area for a 5-minute version, or follow our 5-minute face yoga routine for beginners.
• Want something to print? Save or screenshot the table above and keep it by your mirror. It is the same information you would get from a face yoga exercises PDF, without the download.
• Keep it consistent. Attach the sequence to something you already do, like brushing your teeth or your evening skincare. A short daily session is easier to keep than a long weekly one.
• Add massage later. Once the exercises feel familiar, you can finish with a few gentle strokes from our gua sha routine. Not sure which suits you? Compare face yoga vs gua sha.

How to choose the best face yoga exercises for you

The best face yoga exercises are the ones you do comfortably and regularly, because no study has compared individual moves.

The research that exists looks at whole programs, not single exercises. A 2014 systematic review found nine reports on facial exercise, none with a randomised control group, and concluded the evidence was insufficient to judge whether it works (Van Borsel et al., 2014). The best-known later study is a small pilot in JAMA Dermatology: 27 women aged 40 to 65 enrolled and 16 completed 20 weeks of facial exercises, 30 minutes a day for 8 weeks and then every other day (Alam et al., 2018). Dermatologists rating standardised photos saw fuller upper and lower cheeks, and the average estimated age fell from 50.8 to 48.1 years. It had no control group and used much longer sessions than this routine, so larger controlled studies are needed.

So choose by area and comfort:

• Start with the area you care about most, then add the rest once the moves feel natural.
• Drop anything that strains. There’s always a gentler alternative for the same area.
• Keep the effort low and the form clean. Slow, precise moves beat big grimaces.
• Judge it by how it feels. Notice whether your jaw feels looser or your forehead calmer, rather than checking the mirror for changes every day.

Common mistakes across all face exercises

Most problems with face yoga come from doing too much, not too little.

• Pressing too hard. Redness that lingers or any tenderness means ease off.
• Tensing the wrong muscles. Frowning during cheek moves or lifting the shoulders during jaw moves is common. A mirror helps.
• Clenching the jaw. Keep your teeth slightly apart during every move.
• Pulling dry skin. Use oil or moisturiser for any move that glides.
• Rushing. Count breaths, not reps. Slow control is the point.
• Slumping. Good posture makes neck and jaw moves more comfortable and keeps the stretch where it belongs. Practise both sides evenly; our guide to facial asymmetry explains why most faces aren’t perfectly symmetrical.

Want to go deeper on one area? Our guide to facial exercises by area explains what’s realistic for each part of the face and links to the detailed area guides.

Do these face yoga moves with Gluvy

If you’d rather follow along than read, Gluvy’s face yoga video workouts guide you through moves like these with a countdown timer on every step. The app has 229 guided video exercises across the forehead, eyes, nose, lips and mouth, cheeks, chin and jawline, neck and full face, organised into 3-week plans of about 5–10 minutes a day. You choose a focus area, and for the lower face there’s a dedicated chin and jawline plan. For the bigger picture, including safety and the research, read our complete guide to face yoga.

Sources

• “Anatomy, Head and Neck: Facial Muscles.” StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf.
• Van Borsel J, et al. The effectiveness of facial exercises for facial rejuvenation: a systematic review. Aesthetic Surgery Journal, 2014.
• Alam M, et al. Association of Facial Exercise With the Appearance of Aging. JAMA Dermatology, 2018.