Facial Muscle Dictionary: The Muscles of the Face and What They Do
Most face care talks about skin. Face fitness starts one layer deeper: the roughly 40 small muscles that move your expression, your eyes, your mouth and your jaw. This dictionary explains the main ones in plain language: where each sits, what it does and which gentle exercises involve it.
A note on expectations. Knowing your facial muscles helps you train with better technique and more care. It does not guarantee visible changes, and research on facial exercise results is still limited. Read our Face Yoga guide for what the evidence does and does not show.
Upper face
Frontalis
Where: across the forehead, from the hairline to the eyebrows.
What it does: raises the eyebrows and creates horizontal forehead lines when you look surprised.
In practice: train it gently (Forehead Anchor) and avoid pulling the brows up constantly during the day.
Corrugator supercilii
Where: just above the inner end of each eyebrow.
What it does: draws the brows together and down, the muscle behind a frown and the vertical lines between the brows.
In practice: often tense from screens and concentration. Relaxing it is as useful as strengthening it (Brow Smoother).
Procerus
Where: over the bridge of the nose.
What it does: pulls the skin between the brows downward, working with the corrugator when you scowl.
Orbicularis oculi
Where: a ring of muscle around each eye socket.
What it does: closes the eyelids, blinks and squints.
In practice: the skin here is thin, so use very light pressure (Lower Lid Squeeze, Upper Lid Lift).
Mid-face and mouth
Zygomaticus major
Where: from the cheekbone diagonally to the corner of the mouth.
What it does: lifts the corner of the mouth when you smile.
In practice: the key muscle in cheek exercises (Cheek Apple Sculptor).
Risorius
Where: from the tissue over the cheek to the corner of the mouth.
What it does: pulls the corner of the mouth sideways, as in a tight smile.
Buccinator
Where: the deep muscle of the cheek.
What it does: compresses the cheek against the teeth, which you use when blowing, sucking or chewing.
In practice: trained in Air Pocket Transfer.
Orbicularis oris
Where: a ring of muscle around the mouth.
What it does: closes and purses the lips and shapes speech.
In practice: used in Pout and Resistance Press.
Mentalis
Where: the chin.
What it does: pushes the lower lip up and forward and wrinkles the skin of the chin, as when you pout.
Depressor anguli oris
Where: from the lower jaw to the corner of the mouth.
What it does: pulls the corner of the mouth down.
In practice: exercises such as Corner Lift aim to relax it while the smile muscles work.
Jaw and neck
Masseter
Where: the thick muscle on the side of the lower jaw, between cheekbone and jaw angle.
What it does: closes the jaw for chewing. It is one of the strongest muscles in the body for its size.
In practice: commonly tense from clenching. Gentle massage and conscious relaxation often help more than strengthening.
Temporalis
Where: the fan-shaped muscle at the temple.
What it does: also closes the jaw and can hold tension that shows up as temple tightness.
Platysma
Where: a thin sheet from the collarbone area up over the neck to the jaw.
What it does: pulls the lower lip and mouth corners down and tightens the skin of the neck.
In practice: trained in Ceiling Kiss and Cheeky Tongue.
Train with care
- Move gently and use light pressure, especially around the eyes and mouth.
- Stop if anything hurts.
- If you have had injectables or surgery, or have a facial nerve, jaw or skin condition, check with a doctor first.
