Exercises for the orbicularis oculi muscle include eye squeezes, which involve squeezing your eyes shut without wrinkling your forehead, and resistance exercises, where you use your fingers to add light pressure while blinking or lifting your eyebrows. You can also try eyebrow lifts with closed eyes or cheek lifts to target different parts of the muscle.
Eye squeeze
Eye squeeze
- Close your eyes gently without squinting or scrunching your face.
- Squeeze them shut, holding for 5-10 seconds.
- Release and repeat 10-15 times.
- Blink resistance:
Place your index fingers lightly on your temples and slowly blink against the resistance. - Eyebrow lift resistance:
Place your fingertips just below your eyebrows and try to lift them while simultaneously closing your eyes tightly. - Outer corner resistance:
Place your index fingers at the outer corners of your eyes and close your eyes against the slight resistance.
- Eyebrow lift with closed eyes:
Close your eyes gently and try to raise your eyebrows without moving your forehead. You should feel the muscles under your eyebrows working.
- Upper cheek lift (smile eye lift):
Smile using just your upper cheeks, focusing on activating the muscles under your eyes. Hold each rep for 5 seconds.
- Rapid eye blinks:
Blink your eyes rapidly for 10 seconds, then relax for 5 seconds. Repeat as needed.
- Be gentle:
Avoid aggressive movements, which can create wrinkles. The goal is to strengthen the muscle, not cause strain.
- Keep the rest of your face relaxed:
Try to isolate the muscle you are working and keep your forehead and jaw relaxed.
- Warm up:
Gently tapping or massaging the area around your eyes with your fingertips can help warm up the muscles before you begin.
- Cool down:
After exercising, gently rub your fingertips in a circular motion around your eyes to relax the muscles.
