Facial Yoga A Growing Anti-Aging Trend

NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- The latest trend to help keep you looking young doesn't require any needles or filters. It's a natural way to get rid of frown lines and plump the skin for a more youthful appearance.

Now, many are opting to try facial exercise programs to help them "work out" the wrinkles.

"You want to stretch the corners of your mouth to your eyes, and open your eyes really wide," Yoga instructor Annelise Hagan said.

Making faces may actually help you look younger, and can help strengthen sagging muscles.

The moves are part of exercise programs that target muscles on the face to tighten and tone.

"You're stretching everything out," Hagan said.

"I have no wrinkles on my forehead, no botox," Cynthia Rowland said. "Look at this – my forehead doesn't even move because it's so strengthened from exercise."

Rowland is the creator of Facial Magic, a series of moves aimed a reshaping the face and countering the aging process.

"We're using isometric exercise with contraction, and when you isometrically contract a muscle, it moves everything from the inside in a very special way," Rowland said.

Practitioners say they're seeing the results in a big way.

"I looked in the mirror and was like, 'holy crap,'" Dr. Diana Kirschner said. "The eyebrows went up, the hairline went up immediately."

"I have no injections now, nothing, and I'm over 50," Jackie Silver said.

Cosmetic surgeon Dr. Joseph Eviatar, however, said the concept may sometimes be oversold.

"If you can do it in a way that in certain people improves their appearance, I don't think there's any harm to that," Dr. Eviatar said. "But this notion that you should exercise your facial muscles like you exercise the rest of your muscles for the gym is really not true."

Hagan, though, has a class full of people who may disagree. She's also the author of "Yoga Face."

"When I give people target exercises for specific areas…I see the results right away," Hagan said.

"You actually feel your muscles working, and you feel them tingling in your face when you're doing the exercises," Stephen Kazanijan said.

"You look completely ridiculous for a little bit, and then it kind of relaxes you because you're laughing at yourself," Hillery Wheeler said.

Dr. Eviatar stresses to be careful not to damage your facial tissues by pulling too hard.