Drooping eyelids bother us because they make us look tired and older. As someone who has genetic drooping eyelids, I know that they also make you feel more tired. The field of vision is restricted. You counteract this by unconsciously raising your eyebrows, which leads to forehead wrinkles over time. Being able to tighten the upper eyelids was therefore a wonderful effect of facial yoga for me, for which I am very grateful.

You can see the big difference in the cover picture and in the following photo. I already had drooping eyelids as a child and would certainly have been a candidate for a medically necessary eyelid lift at some point. If the field of vision becomes too restricted, you have to have an operation. But by practising facial yoga regularly, my eyes are now wider open at the age of 44 than they were at 17 or 20. I think that's great!

There are 20 years between the pictures below - I'm 20 in the first one, 40 in the second. I met an old friend, we took a photo, and I remembered that we have a similar one from 20 years ago. When I posted both of them next to each other on Facebook, I realised the difference. I had long forgotten about my droopy eyelids. 

How do drooping eyelids develop?

Our upper eyelids are made up of skin, connective tissue and muscles. As the ageing process is particularly hard on this very thin area, it is good to be able to support it with targeted exercises and massages. However, anyone who reads my blog knows that the connections are usually more complex. Imagine how big the muscle in your forehead is. It gets just as slack as our bum and exerts pressure on the eyebrows. However, the eyebrow muscle is no longer as firm as it used to be and all this mass is now pressing on the upper eyelids. 

Image source: 123rf.com/Chastity

Here it becomes clear that we need to think and work in larger contexts. We need to tighten the eyebrows and forehead again to such an extent that they relieve the upper eyelid. Only then does it make sense to also tighten the eyelids with targeted exercises. 

Lymph congestion aggravates the drooping eyelid

Older semesters know that the upper eyelid is very capricious. On some days it hangs lower than on others. This is due to the fact that fluid tends to build up there. This is where we will reach for the scraper and I will show you two very simple movements that you can use to relieve this. It's better to do the exercises first and then massage. Let's get going!

Exercise 1: Eyebrows like Angelina Jolie

Place your palms on your forehead so that your index fingers are at the hairline. Press them firmly against your forehead. Now push your forehead downwards (image 1) and move your eyebrows upwards against this pressure. In image no. 2, you can see how your forehead and eyebrow muscles should move under your hands. But your hands are resting on the floor and pushing down against them the whole time. This exercise tightens your forehead and gives your eyebrows more support. As a side effect, you may notice that the frown lines also become firmer. Small exercise, big effect!

2nd exercise: The glasses

Form a kind of glasses with your thumbs and index fingers. Place them on the eye ring muscle, i.e. around the eyes. Now use them to push the eyes slightly apart upwards and downwards. Try to close your eyes with the muscle against the resistance of your fingers, i.e. don't just let the eyelid fall shut. Imagine that the light is blinding you and you are trying to close your eyes. As the skin in this area is very sensitive, work carefully. Very small movements are sufficient. 

This exercise also tightens the lower eye area. You can also place your fingers slightly diagonally, i.e. a little closer to the outer corner of the eye. Then work on a different area of the eye ring muscle. If this is tight, you have already won.

Exercise 3: Glued eyes

Close your eyes. Imagine your eyelids are taped shut and you are trying to open them. Your eyes remain closed while you try to open them with the muscle of the upper eyelid. You feel a slight tension on the upper eyelid. If you place your fingers on your eyelids, you should feel a slight tremor. This means that you are doing the exercise correctly. 

Do each of these exercises for 30 seconds twice a day. When your muscles have become stronger, you can extend the time to 40 seconds.

And now for the massage:

Facial yoga, Gua Sha and much more

With all these exercises and massage techniques you can help your eyelids to become firmer again. You can do them as described here and you will get great results. Or you are one of my clients and know about my "Chi instead of Botox" methods my book or Online course. Then add these exercises to your usual programme if you want to concentrate more on the eyelid area. 

If you are not yet familiar with my "Chi instead of Botox" project, you have HERE the opportunity to familiarise yourself. Perhaps you too will feel like using facial yoga and Far Eastern massages to firm up your face, give it clearer contours and reduce wrinkles. After I managed to get rid of my frown lines myself, I wrote this book about it. It was a small revolution for me. I have been travelling for years to teach women these methods and for those who can't come to my courses, I have this online course created. 

Gua Sha against drooping eyelids

Gua Sha is an ancient form of massage that comes from China. It is very effective as it makes it possible to reach deeper layers of the skin, muscles and connective tissue (I have already this article I have already written about Gua Sha). It would be a shame not to utilise this property in the cosmetics sector. It really wakes up the tissue and increases the production of collagen. The tissue is supplied with blood and the lymphatic fluid that causes unsightly swelling is drained away.

If you have a scraper at home, use it of course. If you don't have one, use the lid of a jam jar, as small as possible. There are also small pesto jars, the lid of which would be even better. The skin you want to scrape must first be oiled. As we are working on the upper eyelid and the eyes could react sensitively to oil, you can also use an aloe vera gel. The following massages help against drooping eyelids:

1. fix eyebrows

Lubricate your eyebrows. Move the scraper or glass lid with medium pressure from the inner end of the eyebrow to the outer end. It can also feel good to increase the pressure. This massages the muscle underneath, which we want to lift the eyebrows slightly. Gua Sha has a stimulating effect on the muscles. At the same time, you can feel a relaxation in the frown line area.

2. tighten upper eyelids

Apply either oil or a gel that glides well, e.g. aloe vera gel, to the upper eyelids. Move the scraper soft (this is very important in this area!) on the upper eyelid from the bottom to the top below the eyebrow. Hold the scraper there for 2 seconds, then turn it slowly and carefully and continue scraping towards the outer end and on to the ear. 

A little tip

What the sensitive drooping eyelids don't like at all is a salty, sumptuous dinner and alcohol. After such a dinner, they sag particularly badly in the morning. A light, sweet dinner, on the other hand, will make you wake up refreshed and firm (and also sleep well). I don't mean that you should favour chocolate for dinner. Oatmeal or polenta porridge with steamed fruit is highly recommended (not raw, they won't be digested in the evening). Foods made from sweet vegetables such as carrots or beetroot also fall into this category - also not raw at this time of day, but in the form of a soup, for example. 

VIDEO

Because it simply feels better when you see all the exercises and massage movements, I have created another video for you:

 

 

 

 

 

You may also be interested in these articles:

Relax forehead, reduce frown lines: Facial massage

Crow's feet: causes, facial yoga and points

THE online course: learn facial yoga, Gua Sha, facial cupping and Dien Cham