Thus we can see that there are two types of face wrinkles, that which is due to overactivity of face muscles that cause buckling and wrinkling of overlying skin (the so-called dynamic wrinkles), and that which is due to inactivity and loss of tone of face muscles (the so-called static wrinkles).

It is the second group of problems which can be addressed by facial exercises.

Because facial exercises are done for free and there is no commercial gain in promoting facial exercises to reduce wrinkles, there is an obvious neglect in this field.  We have tons of material telling you how to keep your muscles in shape, and this is referring to the part of the body below your neck, but nothing for the face.

Facial muscles are a layer between the skin and bone of the face, along with subcutaneous fat and other tissues.  These form the cushion upon which the skin rests on the bones of the face.  If muscle tone is lost in these facial muscles, gravity takes over, and droopiness results.  Facial muscle exercises improve the tone of these muscles as well as that of the skin, and the increased blood flow that comes on with these exercises helps nourish the skin and removes the toxins from it.  This allows ultimately for a healthier-looking skin with increased volume and tone, and as a result the overlying face wrinkles are markedly diminished.

Facial exercises need to be done regularly for the best effect.  Initial daily exercises are recommended, and when the desired effect is achieved with your face wrinkles are much lessened, then three times a week is optimum.

It is fortunate that most of the side effects are uncommon, mild and transient.

The most common side effects are:

headache
a flu-like syndrome
pain, swelling or bruising at the site of injections

The side effect that is of most concern for the patient and the practitioner of botox injections is the effect on the muscles.  This comes on when there is too much botox, too little botox, or botox effect on other than the intended muscles.

Too much botox for the treatment of face wrinkles results in near paralysis of the target muscle, resulting in the production of a mask-like face which does not wrinkle no matter how much the patient tries.  Although this may be a desired effect on some western societies, especially in the area of film-making, this is not so in eastern societies, who prefer a minimization of wrinkles rather than complete absence of movement.

Too little botox obviously produces little or no effect on the target muscle, and the face wrinkle is only lessened slightly, needing further injections.

Wrong muscles: this results from either the wrong muscles being injected accidentally, or the unintended diffusion of the botox into adjacent muscles.  Thus we can see occasional double vision that results from diffusion of botox into the muscles of movement of the eyeball.

As said before, even these side effects wear off with time, and the patient is back to normal within 4 – 6 months.  Apparently recovery is speeded up by regular exercise of the affected muscles or the application of hot compresses which are supposed to increased the speed of breakdown of the injected botox.