Abstract: This technology provides systems and methods for tracking facial movements and reconstructing facial expressions by learning skin deformation patterns and facial features. Frontal view images of a user making a variety of facial expressions are acquired to create a data training set for use in a machine-learning process. Head-mounted or neck-mounted wearable devices are equipped with one or more camera(s) or acoustic device(s) in communication with a data processing system. The cameras capture images of contours of the users face from either the cheekbone or the chin profile of the user. The acoustic devices transmit and receive signals to calculate a representation of the skin deformation. A data processing system uses the images, the profile of the contours, or skin deformation to track facial movement or to reconstruct facial expressions of the user based on the data training set.