Research & Studies
do facial exercises really work … absolutely
but facialbuilding blows the doors off!
Independent Study
Facial Resistance Training™
Eureka CA. 1997
Independent Study
Eureka Physical Therapy Eureka, CA
FlexEffect Facialbuilding – Developed by Deborah Crowley
Eureka Physical Therapy in Eureka, California, and Deborah Crowley founder of FlexEffect® conduct an independent study of the effects of Facial Resistance Training™
Under the direction of Deborah Crowley, a panel of 12 healthy females (average age 45) trained daily for two weeks in Facial Resistance Training™ the results showed an average 35% increase in facial muscle strength.
100% of the panelists reported lift and an increase in facial firmness. FlexEffect Facialbuilding is a new approach in the recovery of Bell Palsy. Now being offered at Mad River Hospital in Arcata CA.
Facial Resistance Training™
So, exactly what brought about this study in the first place?
It was right after a news article came out regarding Deborah’s Facial Resistance Training™ classes in Eureka. She received a call from a local Physical Therapy clinic asking her if she wouldn’t mind stopping by and take a simple biofeedback test (shows the strength of muscle) Deb jumped on it. Once there, they said they wanted to compare her facial muscle strength against someone of her choice in the office. Deb asked for the youngest person available. After the test, Deb was told her facial muscles were 200% stronger than the girl she was compared to. Deb asked what was so important about the strength of facial muscle, muscle strength was never her goal, they told her; if a person is capable of increasing facial muscle strength to that degree, it could be a tremendous help for those suffering from several different types of facial muscle trauma.
Facial Skin Remodeling
Tissue Engineering and Wound Healing Laboratory at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School; Tufts University School of Medicine; and the University of Padua, among other contributing authors.
In the study, researchers noted that the “accumulation of neuropeptides in both epidermis and dermis were significantly increased after cyclical stretching of the skin”. In layman’s terms, the researchers concluded that by stretching the skin, cellular physiology is affected in a positive way.
Crowley explains; following the smallest amount of tissue damage, which is not visible to the naked eye, the body’s natural healing process takes over, a reaction triggered by FlexEffect’s Cross Stretching technique. As it heals, the body creates new collagen and elastin fibers, accompanied by a build-up of glycosaminoglycans (molecules that restore the skin’s moisture capacity); the result is firmer, more elastic skin with fewer facial wrinkles.
Facial Bone Remodeling
Baylor College of Medicine in Huston TX
Recent studies have shown beyond doubt that facial bone atrophy contributes significantly to facial aging, and that gravity and repetition of facial expressions are not such important factors in the aging process and more importantly, facial exercise just might be a way to slow down the bone loss.
The technique used in Cross Stretching™ is Mechanical Stretching
Because ‘mechanical stretching’ of the skin has never been practiced solely for cosmetic training purposes (other than through Facialbuilding®) one can only refer to the science behind such training. The references below, strongly speak to the benefit mechanical stretching has on the skin and cellular matrix cells; fibroblasts, collagen, elastin
Analysis of Neuropeptides in Stretched Skin
Michael S Chin 1, Luca Lancerotto, Douglas L Helm, Pouya Dastouri, Michael J Prsa, Mark Ottensmeyer, Satoshi Akaishi, Dennis P Orgill, Rei Ogawa
Affiliations expand
PMID: 19568049 DOI: 10.1097/PRS.0b013e3181a81542
Conclusions: The authors’ results suggest that skin stretching may alter cell physiology by stimulating neuropeptide expression and that cyclical mechanical force may be more effectively stimulating mechanosensitive nociceptors or mechanoreceptors (mechanosensors) on cells.
Looking Older: Fibroblast Collapse and Therapeutic Implications
Arch Dermatol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2010 Jun 17. Published in final edited form as:
Arch Dermatol. 2008 May; 144(5): 666–672. doi: 10.1001/archderm.144.5.666 PMCID: PMC2887041
NIHMSID: NIHMS201349 PMID: 18490597
Reduced Mechanical Tension Decreases Collagen Production and Increases Collagen Breakdown:
Fibroblasts have evolved to regulate their synthesis of collagen and other extracellular matrix proteins in response to mechanical tension. Increased mechanical tension stretches fibroblasts, which coordinately increases collagen production and decreases collagenase production.