Contracting the Muscle First is a Must!
This is a good question. When you go for a massage of the body, do you have the concern that your skin is going to be wrinkled or sagging from the experience? Of course not. Well, the same is true for the face and neck. All the pulling and sliding you do on the skin seems to stimulate collagen production and this in turn allows the skin to appear more elastic and firmer than it was before. When you exercise the body in the gym, the skin tightens up around a contracting muscle. So it does on the face and neck, as well and even more so than in the body, alone. Remember, one of the secrets of the CFF™ system is that you are sliding over the skin with a contracted muscle underneath the skin and this sliding against pressure we call muscle resistance training. You are NOT stretching the skin, you are sliding OVER the skin building muscle fiber and shortening and toning the muscles that create lift.
Toned Muscles Lift Up the Skin
Furthermore, because the muscles of the face are connected directly into the skin which allows us to show facial expression, the skin therefore lifts up as you tone the muscle. And, as the muscle tones and smoothes out, the wrinkles also become less deep. That’s why the CFF™ program has a “Rubbing Out the Wrinkle” technique to help eliminate these lines as they become shallower and wider. This technique can help to get rid of wrinkles almost entirely.
Working Muscle Groups is Most Effective
I also know that many of the facial exercise programs ask you to “grip””and hold a spot on the face while working the muscles. One reason for this method of exercise has to do with “isolating” the muscle and working it. According to Salvatore Zambito, a specialist working with Olympic “runners” and a consultant in body building, isolation exercises are not necessarily the most efficient way to get a particular build. This is considered an “old-fashioned” approach to body building that was once thought to be the best way to get results. Muscles in the body are attached bone to bone, so while you can isolate and work the biceps, for example, it’s found that working from the point of view of muscle groups is much more effective.
If you want to isolate the muscle, then you need to be able to “grip” that “spot” and anchor the muscle to work it. You cannot easily isolate a muscle in the face and work it because the muscles are intertwined in the face. That is, one end is attached to the bone and the other through the skin, allowing us to show facial expression. In some cases the muscles, like the Risorius are attached muscle to muscle. If you try and isolate a muscle and work it, you may get a bulky or uneven build to the face.
Muscles function in groups, especially in the face. Isolation works against function. CFF™ works groups of muscles and slides a lot on the face and neck to preserve the integrity of the fascia and work these muscle groups. This method is more “functional”. Muscles are always sliding on each other. The CFF™ method works in the way muscles in the face actually function. This allows the massage action to happen and is one of the reasons you have this more natural and sensual look with CFF™, which gives a well-toned appearance as well.
Skin is Improved
Furthermore, since ten times more oxygen comes to a contracted muscle than not, the skins ability to absorb moisture is increased and its elasticity is enhanced. Remember, the skin is “elastic” but it is also “alive”. It does not necessarily stretch out of shape like an “inorganic” piece of elastic. The skin is a living organism renewing itself with brand new skin cells, for example, every 7 days.