nino.SemiMogger
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One thing that got to my head the other day is, what happens if you make a expression and hold it?
Lets say you raise your eyebrows and you keep them that way could they potentially change because of the muscle activation?
this is what i found. (taking eyebrows for example)
1. Muscle Hypertrophy
If you repeatedly activate a facial muscle — like the frontalis that raises your eyebrows — that muscle can undergo mild hypertrophy (growth) just like any other skeletal muscle.
2. Habitual Posture and Neuromuscular Adaptation
Your resting facial expression is partly influenced by habitual muscle tone.
If you constantly hold your eyebrows slightly raised, your brain may increase baseline activation of the frontalis muscle.
This is called tonic muscle activity adaptation. (tonic muscle activity adaptation means that when a muscle is held in a certain low-level tension or posture for long periods, the muscle and nervous system adapt to that position)
So if you do this and squint like a poptard would it help you give and you those "hunter eyes"
Short answer: maybe and if you would see just a tiny change
Longer answer:
You may see:
These are not structural changes to the muscle’s size or shape — they’re functional changes or skin changes.
Even with a very small muscle example (orbicularis oculi) :
Even when focusing on extremely small facial muscles, repeated use does not change the physical shape, size, or resting position of the muscle in any significant or permanent way BUT your brain could basically adapt to it (baseline activation)
What does change are:
Thus, habitual expressions influence the appearance of the face, but not the structure of the muscles themselves.
These discuss limits of facial muscle hypertrophy and effects of repeated facial expressions:
Lets say you raise your eyebrows and you keep them that way could they potentially change because of the muscle activation?
this is what i found. (taking eyebrows for example)
1. Muscle Hypertrophy
If you repeatedly activate a facial muscle — like the frontalis that raises your eyebrows — that muscle can undergo mild hypertrophy (growth) just like any other skeletal muscle.
- This can make the muscle more toned and slightly more prominent, which may make the brows appear a bit more lifted at rest.
2. Habitual Posture and Neuromuscular Adaptation
Your resting facial expression is partly influenced by habitual muscle tone.
If you constantly hold your eyebrows slightly raised, your brain may increase baseline activation of the frontalis muscle.
This is called tonic muscle activity adaptation. (tonic muscle activity adaptation means that when a muscle is held in a certain low-level tension or posture for long periods, the muscle and nervous system adapt to that position)
So if you do this and squint like a poptard would it help you give and you those "hunter eyes"
Short answer: maybe and if you would see just a tiny change
Longer answer:
3. What does happen with repeated use of a small facial muscle
You may see:
- Increased tone (the muscle feels “tighter” or more active)
- Habitual changes (you start holding the muscle slightly contracted without noticing)
- Skin creases forming from repeated folding
These are not structural changes to the muscle’s size or shape — they’re functional changes or skin changes.
4. What will NOT happen
Even with a very small muscle example (orbicularis oculi) :
- It will not shift bones
- It will not permanently lift or move facial features
- It will not meaningfully enlarge enough to change your look
Conclusion
Even when focusing on extremely small facial muscles, repeated use does not change the physical shape, size, or resting position of the muscle in any significant or permanent way BUT your brain could basically adapt to it (baseline activation)
What does change are:
- Muscle tone
- Expression habits
- Skin creasing
Thus, habitual expressions influence the appearance of the face, but not the structure of the muscles themselves.
Sources (scientific)
These discuss limits of facial muscle hypertrophy and effects of repeated facial expressions:
- Burres S. “Facial Muscles: Anatomy and Clinical Significance.” Clinics in Plastic Surgery, 2018 — facial muscles have minimal hypertrophic potential.
