2023 Author: Jessica James | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 03:31
My name is Tatiana Rogozinskaya. I am 36 years old, I am a PR specialist and the founder of the Mam community of the South-West District and the Yasenevo District. This year I went through a three week face fitness marathon and I want to tell a story that might be a good motivation for other girls.
I can't say that I used to be very dissatisfied with my appearance and lacked attention. But there came a period in life when it became really difficult to look in the mirror. At the age of 33, my second child was born, overweight appeared, and I noticed changes on my face: the oval “sagged”, there were a lot of facial wrinkles around the eyes, creases, a pronounced nasolabial.
I have always been prone to edema, but in recent years this problem has taken on some incredible proportions. If earlier it was easily solved (I slept and everything went away), now there is a cumulative effect. That is, literally every morning I woke up, as if after a stormy party. Plus, due to stress, there were a lot of clamps in the chest, neck, chin - as a result, natural asymmetry became more pronounced. All this strained and required some kind of action.
Previously, of course, I went to a beautician. Not regularly, since I have never had serious skin problems, and the habit of consulting a specialist for preventive purposes has not developed. I immediately got to a good delicate doctor, and on the whole I was pleased. We tried Botox injections in the forehead, around the eyes, nasolabial folds and even in the lips in the hope that in this way we could influence the pronounced asymmetry. Nobody noticed my manipulations, they only noted that I looked good and fresh. But botox is not an eternal story, and over time, everything returned to normal.
How it all began
After my first pregnancy, I tried to run face fitness marathons, but at that time there was no proper motivation. And this spring, I met coach Olga Degtyareva as part of my community for mothers. Now many specialists are working in this direction, all and sundry are teaching face fitness. But in this case, I was very much bribed by Olin's professionalism, attitude to business and adequacy. First, we held a meeting, where Olya told general information, showed basic exercises - the response from the girls was huge.
At this time, quarantine began, we curtailed all offline activities, moved with my family out of town, and I was at the peak of dissatisfaction with my appearance - I didn't like absolutely everything. There is a wonderful phrase “love yourself, and everything around will change”, and so I looked at myself in the mirror and realized that in this form I could not love myself and I needed to do something urgently.
I will not say that I am a person who likes to live in marathons, according to instructions, lists. Like many, I am lazy, the unknown scares me and slows me down, and I will also find 350 reasons not to do something. But at that moment I realized that I needed to act now, otherwise it would get worse. So I started to study with Olga.
They say that face fitness, on the contrary, is harmful to the body. Was I anxious at the beginning?
Of course, I've heard different opinions about face fitness. Some of my friends, beauticians and make-up artists are categorically against this technique, but at the same time they, for example, are in favor of Botox injections. I do not consider myself to be in any camp, but I try to see the pros and cons in everything.
Before starting classes, I judged this: I will always have time to return to Botox, but if face fitness helps to delay this moment, then I should try.
It is important to look at the coach you are training with. When I saw Olga and found out about her age, I sat with my mouth open and did not want to believe it. She looks so beautiful. As in any business, moderation is important here, you need to follow the rules and take into account the personal recommendations of the coach, which are given before the start of the marathon. For example, I was told that cupping massage can be done no more than once a week, self-massage - 2-3 times a week, and for the four remaining days you can practice regular facial gymnastics. Here, just like in cosmetology, the person who guides you is important: his knowledge, technique, hand position, literacy of recommendations. As in many things, the rule is "do not overdo it, so as not to harm." Do not pinch yourself and rub yourself until you turn blue.
Olga, my coach, has a diploma from the International Academy of Face Fitness. Before inviting her to speak for the mom community, I carefully studied her Instagram profile, read the comments. The second weighty argument was the impression of the meeting: how she looked and how she spoke, how open she was to us, honestly answered a variety of questions. At this moment, you understand whether you are ready to trust the person. The individual approach was the decisive factor.
Huge marathons, big names are great, but when a coach in a general training session can work out individual moments with everyone and correct the technique, it's worth a lot.
How does face fitness work?
Before participating in the marathon, I went through a week of free classes led by Olga. The option was available to everyone on Instagram. For seven days I included training, sometimes it was lazy, sometimes I didn’t do the exercises, and, in general, I was satisfied. There was no global result, but even for such a time in the photo before and after I saw how the oval pulled up and the puffiness began to disappear.
Then, for three weeks, as part of the marathon, we modeled our face, restored shape, relaxed muscles, and improved posture. Before the start of the marathon, it was necessary to take a “before” photo. Then the next photo - after 2 weeks, then - 2 months after the start of classes.
The face, as well as the body, has muscles. With age, some of them become deformed, weaken, lose their tone. In others, on the contrary, hypertonicity is formed - clamps and blocks. The condition of the skin directly depends on the quality of the muscles. They lose their shape, become shorter, shift. And the skin that tightly covers the face framework is not able to shrink. As a result, it begins to gather in folds, "tuberosity" appears, wrinkles are formed. Performing a set of exercises, we restore the muscle frame: we relax the necessary muscles, tone others. Plus, there is an improvement in blood and lymph circulation, which leads to more active transport of nutrients. The main thing is to follow the technique and work with a coach.
There are essentially three areas of work:
- Facial gymnastics you can do daily
- Self-massage
It is done by hand 2-3 times a week with a special oil (I use Levrana's Squalane). There must be perfect glide so as not to stretch the skin or injure it. You cannot use 100% oil (such as coconut or olive). Self-massage improves blood microcirculation, restores skin color, reduces swelling and relieves muscle tension well. The main thing is the correct movements performed with relaxed hands in the right direction.
Vacuum gymnastics
Banks are another story. You need to buy them and take a training course. In the process, the muscle frame is actively worked out, the elasticity of the muscles improves, tension is relieved and edema decreases. But vacuum gymnastics should be done strictly according to the coach's recommendations.
Do you use gadgets during your workouts?
We did not use gadgets in training. The maximum is a spoon and an ordinary wine stopper.
I ordered some gadgets separately. I saw all these gouache stones, rollers and wanted to try everything. Something ended up in the car, some accessories "entered", some are virtually untouched. In any case, after classes, I already imagined which massage lines to work, in which direction it is possible and in which it is impossible to move. Olga did not recommend them, because, having mastered the correct technique, you can get by with your hands.
About the first visible changes
The first small changes I noticed after the first test week, it was nice, but I still perceived it as fun entertainment in the morning. I saw the global effect at the end of the second week, when Olga asked to take a photo for comparison. The training was over, I took a picture of myself, looked, did not understand anything. I decided to make a collage of several pictures (you can see it in the material) and was stunned - the result was very noticeable, the oval of the face tightened and the puffiness went away. The progress from the classes was clear and gave strength to go further.
You can do it at any age, but the older you are, the longer it will take for a visible result. At 30, 40, 50 years, you can achieve results and see how the skin smoothes, the eyelids tighten, and the cheeks rise. And at the age of 20, face fitness will help remove the changes associated with mimic habits, tense muscles that have been formed since childhood.
One of the nice things about face fitness is the cumulative effect. But after a month of classes, it is naive to expect that the result will last for life, and you can do nothing. Unfortunately, you cannot work out for a while in the gym, and then rest for several years.
After the end of the marathon, I try to continue training. Not so systematically, but with knowledge of theory and practice. I only do exercises that are interesting and important. When you first start exercising, it takes an hour to work out. When you master the technique - 20-30 minutes. Something can be done in the car, some during a walk.
And time, even if it is not there, will surely be found from somewhere. The extra 20 minutes can be spent on yourself and not on the phone. It lifts your spirits and draws out great if you are sad. You need to start taking care of yourself small.
