The method of Revitonica
Revitonica is a novel method supported by findings of a randomized controlled trial performed in 2016–2020. The trial suggests that Revitonica exercises, if done on a regular basis, not only reduce age-related changes, but also facilitate the treatment of chronic stress, depression, and anxiety. Revitonica includes self-massage and exercises to improve your posture.
Revitonica is a scientifically based and proved system of rejuvenation and appearance correction which helps regain youth and restore the impaired functions of the body. Revitonica includes self-massage and physiotherapy techniques, rehabilitation exercises for the face and neck muscles, and posture-correcting exercises.
Practicing Revitonica on a regular basis helps improve the blood circulation and lymph outflow, restore the bone, muscular, and adipose tissues of the face and neck, and eliminate fibrosis. The recovery of underlying metabolic processes comes along with the external changes: the posture improves, the wrinkles are smoothed out, swelling goes away, and a well-defined jawline is formed. Rejuvenation is good for mental health: the mood swings go away, the internal tension decreases, and the resistance to stress improves.
Why do we call Revitonica rejuvenation? Of course, the exercises will not change your real age; however, you will be able to slow down the physiological and esthetic processes associated with aging and launch the vessel and tissue regeneration mechanisms. Your external and internal biological age will decrease, and your transformation will become noticeable to other people; in this sense, the method of Revitonica is rightfully considered rejuvenating. See more results in the Feedback Section.
Why do we age?
Aging does not start with wrinkles. They only are a consequence of a serious underlying impairment at the muscular, neural, vascular, and cellular levels.
Due to stress, anxiety, overwork, fears, and resentment, the muscles of your face, neck, and back are getting tense, your teeth are clenched all the time, and your back becomes slouch. Just look in the mirror to see the changes: the buffalo hump has developed over the 7th cervical vertebra, your neck has grown shorter, the jawline has changed due to jowls and double chin, and the skin has become dry and saggy.
The tense muscles compress their blood and lymphatic vessels resulting in impaired circulation and, consequently, in oxygen deficiency in the tissues which affects their trophicity and leads to fibrosis.
The main causes of aging are:
- Impaired statics of the cervical spine and osteochondrosis causing brain ischemia and preventing normal neuroendocrine regulation in the body
- Impaired circulation in the head and neck due to the compression of arteries and veins by the tense muscles
- Impaired lymph outflow and constant swelling in the tissues of the face
- UV-radiation which produces active forms of oxygen
- Accumulation of "breakdowns" and errors in the facial tissues, at the level of bone tissue, muscular and adipose tissues, and derma
- Negative effects of stress
Revitonica purposefully eliminates these causes:
- It frees the arteries, veins, and lymphatic vessels from compression, and improves facial and cervical circulation
- It smoothes out the stretched skeletal and facial muscles
- It eliminates muscular spasms in the face and neck
- It launches the self-renewal mechanisms of the body, improving not only the appearance but also the health in general
- It restores cerebral circulation
- It prevents age-related loss of the facial skeleton
Unlike the esthetic treatment, Revitonica fights the true causes of ageing, rather than its symptoms. Wrinkles and other age-related defects are gone when their cause is gone.
Evidence base of Revitonica
The method is research-based.
A randomized controlled trial performed in 2016–2020 with more than 150 female subjects aged 36 to 50 years suggests the efficacy of regular Revitonica exercises, both for esthetic treatment and elimination of chronic stress, depression, andanxiety.
A team of neurophysiologists proved that Revitonica exercises effectively reduce the muscle tension and swelling (physiological processes that are commonly seen as age-related changes).
Moreover, the studies suggest that regulat exercises improve the blood circulation and lymph drainage, restore the bones, muscles, and fat tissue of the face and neck, and reduce the signs of fibrosis. As underlying metabolic processes return to normal, your looks are also getting better: the posture improves, wrinkles and swelling disappear, and the jawline is well-defined.
Hypertonus and stress
The role of emotions in the development of muscle stiffness has also been studied. Scientists have proved that negative emotional background enforces the tension of facial and cervical muscles, and the mechanisms of psychological defense and defensive behavior form "muscular armor" and pathologic patterns which manifest in the tension of various muscles. The anxiety and fears result in the tension of muscles of the neck, back, and abdomen, as well as restricted breathing and movements, and slouch. Emotional stress is also localized in the facial muscles—namely, in the mimic and chewing muscles.
See The modern views on the relationship between emotional state and bioelectrical activity of facial muscles (literature review). Dubinskaya A.D, Kukshina A.A., Yurova O.V., Kotelnikova A.V., Gulaev E.N. Reference
The relationship between the psychoemotional condition in healthy women and the extent of facial and cervical muscle tension has been confirmed in a study conducted by Anastasia Dubinskaya in 2016—2019 in the Moscow Scientific and Practical Center.
See Relationship between the psychological condition and tonic activity of the facial muscles in healthy women. Authors: A.D. Dubinskaya, O.V. Yurova, A.V. Kotelnikova, G.A. Tkachenko. Voprosy Psychotherapy (Problems of Psychotherapy); 2020, No. 73(78): 110–126.
In August 2021, the study «Correction of Psycho-Emotional Status Using Neuromuscular Relaxation of the Face» conducted by Anastasia Dubinskaya has been published in the acclaimed American scientific journal « The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease». This peer-reviewed publication is included in Scopus, the world’s largest abstract and citation database. Reference
The study showed that negative emotions cause an increase in the facial muscle tonus, and long-term tension, in turn, supports and increases the negative neuro-psychic conditions.
Together with theoretical novelty, it contains evidence of the positive practical effect of consistent Revitonica exercises on physiological ageing. The Revitonica methods and techniques are approved and highly efficient.
See Myofascial facial massage as a possible method to improve the psychoemotional state. Authors: A.D. Dubinskaya, O.V. Yurova, A.V. Kotelnikova, E.N. Gulaev. Problems of Balneology, Physiotherapy, and Exercise Therapy. Vol. 96, 2019; 6: 24–39.
Principles of the method of Revitonica
The skin is not to be blamed for its ageing
The skin is wrongly made responsible for its ageing. Traditionally, age-related loss of skin turgor due to decreasing elastin and collagen is believed to be the cause of wrinkles.
However, we usually forget that under the skin there are muscles, nerves, vessels, and bones—the whole world of its own which undergoes dramatic changes with age.
Sure, the skin elasticity decreases as the years pass. In some people, this process is accelerated due to impaired circulation, body weight changes, and constant swelling due to various diseases. However, the skin, if healthy, keeps its elasticity for almost the whole life and starts to shrink when the internal structures shrink and dry out. Therefore, the skin changes are a consequence, rather than a cause of facial ageing.
Deformations in the musculoskeletal corset as a cause of ageing
The myth of skin stretching leads to us cutting it mercilessly, out of the desire of having it stretched, instead of restoring the frame which is drying out, and which the skin is pulled on. Changes in the structure of muscles and bones underlie the biomechanics of facial ageing. With age, facial muscles grow shorter and start pulling the skin. The area of the skin is greater than the surface of the musculoskeletal frame of the face. The skin cannot contract as quickly as the volume decreases, so it becomes saggy, and folds start to form.
So, most deep wrinkles and folds on the face are not caused by the skin, but rather by the shortened and deformed muscles. After 50 years of age, every 10 years, we lose up to 10% of muscular mass, and by 80–90 years of age, the sarcopenia amounts to 40%.
Wrinkles develop at the sites of muscular spasm
All facial and body wrinkles develop at the sites of muscular spasm (hypertonus) and lie across the spasmodic muscle. A healthy muscle should have low physical tonus that is considered normal. However, the muscular balance is affected by several factors, of which the main is the psychological factor (emotional stress).
As a result, due to the effect of stress hormones (adrenaline and glucocorticoids), the tonus increases, and the muscle becomes spasmodic and shortened.
Via muscular block (spasm) elimination with special exercises, we restore the anatomically correct shape of muscles, so that the wrinkles can smoothen out. With the rehabilitation of the muscles under the skin, we make it smooth again. According to the traditional view, the elimination of nasolabial folds or forehead wrinkles may seem like a miracle, but in Revitonica, these changes are natural and predictable.
Muscles can rejuvenate facial skin
It is a scientifically proved fact: when working properly with facial and cervical muscles, their parameters start becoming closer to those of younger muscles in terms of strength, volume, and length. By restoring the muscular corset, we improve the jawline and decrease the wrinkles, which are smoothed out due to the skin stretching and activation of recovery processes. Healthy and young muscles prevent saggy cheeks, double chin, droopy eyebrows, and nasolabial folds. Your skin will be elastic and your cheeks—high and round as in your young days.
Saggy tissues of the face (jowls) are mostly determined by the condition of the jaw muscles which tend to warp with age. So, to eliminate the age-related facial changes, we should start eliminating the long-term stiffness of the jaw muscles and improving the position of the jaw.
Pumping up the muscles (increasing their tension) means provoking spasm and swelling
Opposite to working on body muscles in the gym, exercises for the facial and cervical muscles are built on different grounds. Instead of tonic tension and forceful pumping-up, it is necessary, first of all, to relieve the tension in spasmodic muscles. The forceful approach provokes deformations in musculoskeletal structures and promotes even more wrinkle development.
Working with the face should be started at the young age
All deep wrinkles and folds start emerging in the muscular layer of the face as early as adolescence. At the early stage, such "stiffness blocks" in the face are felt on palpation as dense areas of statically tense muscles. Prevention of such stiffness and blocks at a young age is the best way to preserve youth.
So, working with the face should be started when the wrinkles just start emerging and are only visible when smiling, laughing, or making other facial expressions. At a young age, they are quick to disappear at rest. However, muscle tension isn't gone completely; it rather accumulates deep under the skin, and little by little it starts appearing on its surface as grooves and wrinkles which get more and more visible and stable.
Learning Revitonica
Revitonica is a systemic method. The exercises should be performed consistently and regularly, about 20–30 min every day. This is the only way to develop stable muscular memory mechanisms and the cumulative effect of exercises.
Revitonica always informs of contraindications. When we start warming up the tissues and eliminating muscular stiffness, the blood circulation in this area increases. It is useful for a healthy body, but if the circulation increases at the site of disease, it can cause the disease progression. That is why any deviations from the normal are considered conventional contraindications—e.g., thyroid gland disease or other inflammatory processes in the body. If you find your diagnosis in the Contraindications section, please print the information list and show it to your physician. They will assess the possibility of using Revitonica techniques from your health perspective.
Revitonica is going to rid you of harmful habits which provoke ageing. No other technique will help you smooth out your face if you, even though unconsciously, keep pulling your neck toward your computer screen, lowering your head to read a message on your smartphone, frowning your forehead, knitting your eyebrows, making a wry face, or pursing your lips. Revitonica will help create a conscious physiological position. Of course, it will take about two to three weeks to develop a new habit, as well as to find a healthier way of expressing your emotions and to learn correct postures by training in front of the mirror or analyzing your videos.
Differences from the other methods
Revitonica is the first professional, scientifically proved rejuvenation system which is supported by methodology, is based on fundamental knowledge of the biomechanics of facial ageing, has its own licensed clinic in Moscow, and is responsible for all people practicing the method. There is no other school like this in the whole world.
Alternatives to Revitonica in Russia are self-taught people from social networks without special education or professional training who imitate (and often distort) the methods by Western schools of common "forceful" nature. These methods suggest pumping up the facial muscles, similar to a gym, which is extremely dangerous and harmful for your appearance. The facial muscles shouldn't be pumped up as skeletal muscles are. They cannot develop hypertrophy. Unlike these methods, Revitonica relieves the muscle tension, i.e., restores the natural condition of the tissues.
Advantages of Revitonica:
- No surgery and related injuries, subsequent healing, and recovery period
- The method is based on gentle stimulation of sanogenetic mechanisms; they restore the tissues and their natural properties characteristic of young age.
- Restoring the contours of the lower jaw and chin, as well as increasing the lip volume and lengthening the neck
- Preserving the natural facial expressions, liveliness and motility of the face, and its unique features
- Restoring the trophicity of the tissues, their turgor, vitality, and elasticity
What gives you the excellent results?
Revitonica will help your face look young and healthy again if you do the exercises regularly. You will get a well-defined jawline, a long and well-shaped neck, fewer expression lines, and smooth and elastic skin. Fit and healthy facial muscles will prevent the double chin, nasolabial folds, and droopy eyebrows and eyelids.
- For beginners, we recommend starting with "The Fundamentals of Rejuvenation" basic course which helps learn the main self-massage techniques.
- Advanced users can proceed to the "Advanced Course" с with a more thorough working-out, and also take the course "Youth and Shining Eyes" which solves possible esthetic problems in the ocular area.
- "Posture Improvement" will help improve the posture, as our spine is the basis of health and youth.
- The original course "Abdominal Visceral Massage" by Liliya Garipova helps get rid of the protruding belly (the exercises are aimed at strengthening the abdominal muscles and eliminating visceral and subcutaneous fat).
- The video course "Anti-stress Revitonica" teaches you to live without anxiety, fatigue, and depression, helps you feel relaxed and achieve emotional and hormonal balance.
- We also recommend taking the marathons "Youth. Express" and "Youth. Reload" which offer comprehensive technics for the restoration of beauty and youth.
- Equally useful are theme-based webinars aimed at rejuvenation of the face and neck and body care.