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One of the most common goals of facial exercise is to prevent or reduce bags under the eyes and the untidy wrinkling known as crows feet.

Certain types of faces are prone to bags under the eyes because of the way that particular muscle groups dominate in facial animation.

Crows feet on the other hand develop because of conflicting muscle movements. This involves the eye muscles and the muscles that lift the lips.

Exercising the face to reverse the effects of aging is therefore just as much about not exercising certain muscles as it is about exercising others. The dominant patterns of muscle development in your face determines which muscles should be exercised to achieve a particular change. A full account of how to customise facial exercise to your own requirements can be found in The Ultimate Natural Facelift.

The exercise described below, however, will allow the eye muscles to be toned in isolation. This will help to rejuvenate the slack muscles that create bags while reinforcing the pattern of response that prevents crows feet.

 Place three fingers of your left hand at the outer corner of the left eye, and then your right index finger under brow on inner eye corner, with your right middle finger below your eye. Your fingers forming a horizontal V as in the illustration.

Use your fingers to provide resistance as you slowly try to close the eye, using lower lid and muscle only - not the upper lid.

Try not to squint or frown; just keep the rest of the face relaxed apart from the lower eye muscle.

Hold tension for ten seconds then relax.

Repeat five times, then do the same with other eye.

Do this exercise once a day.

This exercise can be performed safely regardless of your facial signature, because it merely tones and trains the eye muscles to respond in a typical "youthful" way.