What is Facial Palsy?

The term facial palsy generally refers to weakness of the facial muscles, mainly resulting from temporary or permanent damage to the facial nerve.

When a facial nerve is either non-functioning or missing, the muscles in the face do not receive the necessary signals in order to function properly. This results in paralysis of the affected part of the face, which can affect movement of the eye(s) and/or the mouth, as well as other areas.

There are different degrees of facial paralysis: sometimes only the lower half of the face is affected, sometimes one whole side of the face is affected and in some cases both sides of the face are affected.

How do the facial nerves work?

Each side of the face has its own facial nerve, so damaging the left facial nerve will only affect the left side of the face, and vice versa. Each nerve starts at the brain and enters the face to the front of the ear where it then divides into five separate branches. These branches supply the muscles which are used for facial expression. Tears, saliva production and taste are also controlled by the facial nerve in different ways.

Illustration of the face showing the facial nerves

Facial nerve illustration

Medical illustration created by ©Medical-Artist.com – Illustration kindly funded by the Rotary Club of Epsom.

What causes facial palsy?

Although the most commonly known cause of facial paralysis is Bell’s palsy, there are actually many different causes of facial palsy, and treatment and prognosis vary greatly depending on the cause. Some of the main causes of facial palsy are listed below:

  • Bell’s palsy, an idiopathic condition, meaning that no conclusive cause has been established although links have been made with viruses.
  • Viral infections such as Ramsay Hunt syndrome.
  • Surgical causes: for example during removal of acoustic neuroma or facial nerve tumour, or when operating on the parotid gland.
  • Bacterial causes such as Lyme disease or following a middle ear infection.
  • Neurological conditions such as Neurofibromatosis 2, or Guillain-Barré syndrome.
  • Traumatic injury such as fractures to the brain, skull or face.
  • Birth trauma: for example caused by forceps or facial presentation delivery.
  • Congenital conditions such as an abnormal development of the facial nerve or muscle in the womb.
  • Rare genetic syndromes such as Moebius syndrome or CHARGE syndrome.
  • Stroke: although a stroke can cause facial palsy it is slightly different in that the problems are not caused by direct damage to the facial nerve. The paralysis in this case is caused by brain damage and the messages not being transferred properly to the facial nerve.

See our comprehensive list of facial palsy causes.

Classification of facial nerve injuries

There are three different kinds of facial nerve injury:

  1. First degree injury – when the facial nerve is just concussed or bruised and recovers within eight weeks.
  2. Second degree injury – where the facial nerve is more severely damaged but still retains its outer layer. The nerve begins to show the first signs of recovery at about four months as it slowly repairs itself at the rate of around one millimetre per day.
  3. Third degree injury – when the facial nerve is more severely damaged, any recovery is much slower and always incomplete. Sometimes the nerve is completely severed and surgical repair is needed to restore facial function.

What functions do the facial muscles perform?

  • Raising the eyebrows (frontalis)
  • Closing the eyes (orbicularis oculi)
  • Frowning (corrugator)
  • Open mouth smiling (zygomaticus)
  • Closed mouth smiling (risorius)
  • Pouting (orbicularis oris)
  • Lifting top lip (levator labii)
  • Pulling lower lip down (depressor labii)
  • Sticking bottom lip out (mentalis)
  • Pulling jaw and corners of mouth gently down (platysma)
  • Wrinkling nose (procerus/nasalis)

Understanding facial palsy

A 14 minute video with English subtitles explaining facial palsy and the stages of recovery.

How does facial palsy affect people?

There are many different symptoms that can be associated with facial palsy. It is also often mistakenly assumed that the issues faced by people with facial palsy are purely cosmetic, but in reality they experience a wide range of problems.


Our Chloe’s Day animation made for Facial Palsy Awareness Week 2019.

Also see our Facial Palsy Awareness Week Gallery.

Infographic Library

See our useful infographic library giving you a snapshot about some of the effects of facial palsy and the need for greater awareness.

Facial Palsy Awareness Week Quiz 2021

Test your knowledge of facial palsy with our 20 question Facial Palsy Awareness Week Quiz.

Last reviewed: 14-02-2022    ||    Next review due: 14-02-2023