Saturday, January 12, 2008

Face Building

Dear Mom,

When I was about 35, my face started sagging a bit, of course. I'm violently allergic to cosmetics so I knew makeup would never be an option. I did some research and came upon the concept of facial exercise. It only makes sense. On any part of the body where there are working muscles, the overlying skin is healthy and tight, like the forearm or the calves. The muscle underneath nourishes the skin and provides proper drainage to carry away the by-products of metabolism. Collagen is the "glue" that anchors skin to the underlying tissues. Collagen can only be induced to grow by exercising the muscle beneath it.

I came upon a review in the newspaper about a book called "Face Building" by Reinhold Benz. He had seen a TV program about a ballerina and was admiring her body when she turned and her face was old, but her body was perfect, no evidence at all that she was well over 50 years old. He did his research into anatomy and developed a facial exercise program that received a lot of publicity at the time, but people lost interest because it required discipline. You can't throw money at your face, it doesn't care, it will just keep falling-and wrinkling-unless you tighten the musculature underneath or surgically remove and tighten the skin.

So I decided to experiment, doing the exercises three times a week for rather a long time. When I hit 40, I still had no wrinkles and my skin was stuck tightly to my face. At 45, I still had no wrinkles or sagging. Now and then when I slack off for a month or two my face gets lumpy and I start to develop some tiny lines, like now, but I've gotten spoiled, I know I can get rid of them in a couple of weeks. I'm 51, and still have no wrinkles.

My only cosmetics are baby wash for cleansing and dollar-store hand lotion and vaseline for moisturizers.

The past year has been busy and nerve-wracking and at times I just forget to do the exercises. I'll make this year's New Year's Resolution to stick to my facial exercises and see just how well they work if done more often. My neck's beginning to sag so that will be a particular concern. Stay tuned for updates, in a year or five I'll let you know how it goes. Perhaps I'll end up being a good advocate for facial exercise.

I love you,

Lisa

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