From Receded Chin to Defined Jaw: My Midlife Experiment
I just turned fifty three years old (29/11/2025). Generally, I am happy with how I look and have made peace with the aspects of my body that are less than model-like. One of those aspects was my receded chin side profile. Another was that over the last ten years my jowls had begun to drop, making my resting face look drawn. I have been practicing mewing for a couple of years and have been doing various face yoga exercises since my thirties, but what I was doing hadn’t been enough to address these issues. Then, about two months ago I came across a video by Oscar Patel about thumb pulling which caught my interest. Theoretically, thumb pulling could correct my receded chin, define my jaw and straighten my teeth. My teeth had started to crowd forward at the front which was a bit of a concern as I had paid thousands of dollars to have orthodontic braces in my twenties and then again to have veneers put on my top front teeth in my forties. Consequently, I was very interested to learn about something that could create more space in my palate and allow my teeth to come back into alignment.
I watched a few more of Oscar’s videos and decided to give thumb pulling a go. After about three weeks I could see that my chin was starting to move forward, my bottom front teeth seemed to have a bit more space and my palate felt wider in terms of how my tongue and teeth were resting. However, while my chin and jaw did seem to be getting more definition, the jowls and downturned mouth remained. I think that thumb pulling alone may work if you are younger, but that most older people need to incorporate other practices to tone the whole face. The face yoga I was doing obviously wasn’t getting the results I wanted either. In light of this, I began researching face yoga techniques to target the areas I wanted to transform. After trying a few different exercises, I settled on a routine that worked well and was fairly efficient. I am a busy person with a full life, and effectiveness and efficiency are very important to me. I often combine aspects of different practices into one practice that gives multiple benefits in less time.
Three Months of Thumb Pulling and Face Yoga: My Real Results
It has been about three months since I started my face yoga and thumb pulling experiment. I have been doing a thumb pulling routine three times a day and a face yoga routine twice a day. Along the way I have tweaked the face yoga techniques as I worked out which ones worked best and were easy to do, and I have learned more about the impact of body and tongue posture on the face and have incorporated practices to address those too.
Here are the progress photos so far. The photos on the left are the starting photos and the photos are the right are ones I took last week.
Thumb Pulling 101
Most people are familiar with the concept of face yoga, but thumb pulling is far less widely known. Thumb pulling involves using your thumbs to apply upward and forward pressure on the palate (the roof of the mouth) with the aim of stimulating the forward development of the maxilla (upper jawbone). It is a self-administered version of principles found in cranial osteopathy. I was very aware going in that it is a controversial practice with little scientific evidence to support it as yet (there are some studies starting to be done), and that there are potential risks such as damage to teeth or gums, risks for those with existing dental issues, and possible development of facial asymmetry. However, I have done a lot of study of human biology, fitness and somatic body awareness and I felt confident that I could try it safely. Due to the risks involved, and not being trained or qualified to teach it, I will not be giving a description of how to do it in my posts, but if you want to try it and want to ask me any questions about my experience then feel free to email me.
My Face Yoga and Thumb Pulling Results
My purpose for doing the thumb pulling was to move my chin forward and open room in my palate so that my teeth could straighten. I do feel like my palate has opened because my thumbs fit more easily in my mouth now and my tongue has more room to rest on the roof of my mouth. However, from the photos, there does not appear to have been any movement in my teeth, or my chin.
One thing that has obviously happened though, is that my face is now more symmetrical and I think that shift came about from the thumb pulling. I hadn’t realised how asymmetrical my face was until I started doing this experiment and noticed the change. That alone makes this process worth the effort for me.
My cheekbones and the area around the sides of my mouth and jowls have lifted. My upper lip has lifted and is fuller, and my jawline is more defined. The changes are small but significant, and some are more apparent when I am talking than in these static photos.
The Often Overlooked Secret to Facial Lift and Tone
Something I have learned on this face yoga journey is how much the posture and muscle tone of your neck affects your face. Tight muscles in the front part of the neck can drag down the skin on the face contributing to the downward sag as we get older. Forward head posture, which is commonly called tech neck because it is mainly caused by consistently sitting looking at device screens, promotes mouth breathing and unsupportive tongue posture. This contributes to loss of muscle tone in the face, and recession of the chin. Thus, to get the full benefits of exercises and massage on your face, you also need to work on relaxing and toning the muscles of the neck, practicing proper tongue resting posture (Mewing) and correcting forward head posture.
That may sound like a lot, but it has so many benefits besides just improving the look of your face. Practicing correct head, neck, tongue and body posture:
- improves oxygen intake and utilisation which stimulates increased energy and brain function
- increases nitric oxide levels in your body leading to improved blood circulation, immune response, muscle performance and recovery, lung function and bone health
- reduces neck and back pain
- naturally strengthens and tones your core abdominal muscles
Is Face Yoga Worth the Effort?
Despite the claims of quick and easy results by apps like Luvly and influencer social media posts, face yoga takes time and effort to get results. The good news is, it does work, and I do think that it is worth doing, but doing with awareness both of the consistent practice required to get the results, and how the body works as a holistic support system. For those of us that are more mature (in the full bloom stage of our lives), it is also important to do face exercises that work well for skin with less elasticity and prone to being dryer.
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