HOW WAS FACEPHYSICS BORN?

In 2013, when I was 40 years old, the first bigger signs of ageing began to appear on my face. Small lines and wrinkles didn't really bother me but when my skin started becoming loose and my face began to sag, I got anxious. Moreover, my face was sagging unevenly; the other upper eyelid, lower eyelid and cheek were hanging lower than the other side (as you can see in the before and after pictures).

I went to have different treatments, some of which helped for a while, some not at all, spending a lot of money. I wanted my firm face back in its entirety but I didn't want to spent large amounts of money achieving it.

I have worked with muscles my whole life; I have been a professional dancer, dance and fitness instructor, and coached PT clients. One day I got an idea; if I can exercise the muscles below my neck and get excellent results, why could I not do that with the ones above my neck.

I wondered if anyone else had got the same idea and googled the word "face training". Yes, others had thought about it, I received 5 million links.

I went through the jungle of results and, after a few months of research, I found one American face training programme which, out of all the ones I had found, seemed to have the most potential. I subscribed to the programme. I exercised according to the instructions for 7 months, didn't notice any changes. I dived into the Google jungle and, after searching for a while, ended up subscribing to another American method and exercised for 8 months, barely any effect – although, watching videos of myself from around that time now, I can see that some changes had occurred – I had given myself even more wrinkles. I gave up for a year, thinking that perhaps this wasn't going to work after all.

At 43 years old, however, I went back to the idea. I started to think about the exercise programmes I had subscribed to and compared them to what I knew about building muscle. I don't know why I hadn't thought about it before but I realised that the programmes I had tested weren't the kind that would grow your muscle mass. I decided to plan my own exercise programme based on my knowledge and skills and see what would happen.

SUPERCOMPENSATION – WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Fancy word but actually a very simple concept.

Supercompensation means that the muscle is exercised so that micro-injuries are formed in it. After this, the muscle is given time to rest and recover and it will fix itself to become slightly stronger than before the workout. This is repeated again and again which causes muscle growth, hypertrophy.

In order to cause micro-injuries to form in the muscle, it must be exercised vigorously, until exhaustion. With the other muscles in your body, which can be exercised using separate weights, this can be achieved with a few repetitions. When it comes to the facial muscles, the weights are your fingers and hands, and many repetitions must be done for the muscle to get to the point of exhaustion. Supercompensation was the important aspect that was missing from the programmes I tried.

HOW FAST CAN I SEE RESULTS?

After planning the first version of Facephysics, I noticed changes on my face for the first time after six weeks of exercising.

As a dance teacher and group exercise instructor, I see myself in the mirror every week in the same gyms and lighting, talking and smiling. At six weeks I noticed that I didn't look as tired as before. The impression strengthened during the following weeks and I knew that I was on the right track.

At three months a significant moment took place that convinced me of the effectiveness of the method. I had done a face workout in the morning and went to hold another class. I looked at myself in the dressing room mirror and wondered if the lights were exceptionally favourable or why my face was looking so good. During the class, I kept critically looking at myself in the mirror and silently said to myself that this thing does work.

After the class I went to pick up my child from the ice rink, only wearing mascara. I bumped into an acquaintance of mine who I hadn't seen at least in a year. "How are you looking so fresh?" was the first thing she said. I was so stunned by the question that I mumbled something vague. I didn't want to tell her about my project before I was sure that it worked. After this evening, I was sure.