Facial-Flex® is a FDA Registered Class 1 Medical Device for exercising over 30 muscles of the face, chin, and neck. It is the first, and only, progressive resistance exercise device clinically proven to tone facial muscles, reduce wrinkles, and provide facial rejuvenation. Using the device for just two minutes twice a day, will result in a more youthful appearance by preventing facial aging due to
weakened facial muscles. You work out to stay healthy, strong and youthful, and Facial-Flex® applies that same logic to the 30+ muscle groups that support your face, chin and neck. However, exercising with Facial-Flex® in your 20’s, will help protect your skin from aging in your 30’s and 40’s. Facial-Flex® is easy to use, inexpensive, and a safe, natural, and necessary approach to include in your skin care regimen, according to leading Dermatologists. Facial-Flex® was originally developed to help rehabilitate patients with facial burns. Broader rehabilitation applications were quickly identified, and the device has been used to help patients with speech and language issues, facial nerve disorders, strokes, TMJ, and more. From there, Facial-Flex® moved into the area of pure exercise for the face, neck, and chin. We continue to explore new applications for Facial-Flex® through cooperative research with major universities and expert healthcare providers. The History of Facial-Flex
1970s-
Horst E. Buckner, a German certified Prosthetist, became inspired to invent a product that would help burn patients who suffered facial deficiencies.
1985-
Buckner’s design of an oral appliance was filed for a US patent. The appliance was adjustable to fit the patient’s mouth and could be enlarged to progressively widen the opening of the mouth if shrinkage occurred.
1987-
Patients who used the device noticeably showed an overall improvement in facial tone and strength, which gave an appearance of a natural lift. Hence, the second patent was filed as a new facial exercise device that worked on the principle of dynamic progressive resistance implemented with the weighted resistance of an orthodontic band. This design allowed patients to independently strengthen their face, chin, and neck muscles with weight bearing resistance in the same manner as weight training for the rest of the body. The product became known as “The Face Machine”.
1987-
The company was assigned to William F. Hellings who eventually named his company Facial Concepts, Inc. (FCI).
1989-
FDA registration was granted to Facial Concepts, Inc. for the product as a Class I medical device. A change in the name of the product seemed appropriate and so the new name of “Facial-Flex®” was applied to the FDA registration and trademarked as it remains today.
1992-
The first clinical study was launched in an effort to substantiate the effectiveness of Facial-Flex as a dynamic resistance exercise device. As a result of the study, an IMPORTANT DISCOVERY WAS MADE. The protocol needed modification to include “changing to a new band every week”. A second study was commissioned with the new protocol and results were greatly improved showing a 250% increase in facial muscle strength/tone, a 32% increase in facial skin firmness, and a 10% increase in blood flow.
1995-
Numerous catalogs, shopping channels, retail, and wholesale distributors sought Facial-Flex to help build their businesses. Clinical studies using Facial-Flex continue to investigate the effectiveness of using Facial-Flex in the treatment of various conditions causing pain or discomfort of the face such as: temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMD/TMJ), speech and language disorders, neurological deficiencies, facial muscle imbalance due to stroke or Bell’s palsy, as well as facial post-reconstruction and post-augmentation.
