When it comes to carving out some 'me' time, a facial and massage is up there with the best of them. A moment to surrender to the hands of the professionals to knead away the stresses and strains of everyday. We may not have been able to book many of either this year but that doesn't mean you can't get handy yourself.
Face massage isn't anything new but it is one of the most underrated facial practices in the beauty industry. Although we tend to leave these things to the experts, incorporating daily or weekly massage into your everyday routine can deliver staggering results, from changing the shape of your face to clearing breakouts and revealing a more glowing visage.
How? Well, the main aim in facial massage is to clear the lymph nodes that sit underneath the ears and on the neck. If left unblocked, the lymphatic system becomes sluggish and won't drain toxins from the face effectively, which leads to a dull and puffy complexion. By stimulating the nodes, not only does your face get a nice new batch of fresh blood carrying nutrients and oxygen to the skin, it also helps to produce more collagen.
Yet perhaps the most obvious benefit of facial massage is tension release. While we rub our shoulders and stretch our necks on the daily, we often overlook the tension we hold in our face. From frowning to laughing, clenching to grinding, we use our face a lot when awake and asleep, leading to a build-up of muscle soreness around our jawline, eyebrows, cheekbones and eyes.
The result of this simple practice? A more defined and invigorated face that can unveil defined cheekbones, jawline and higher brows. Who needs botox when you have your hands to work their magic?
7 facial massage techniques
After cleansing in the morning or evening, apply your favourite face oil, as it will allow your fingers to glide over your face more effortlessly. Before you start, gently pulse above your collarbones with your fingers 5-10 times to open up the lymph system for your face. Do each of the below motions 10-15 times.
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Start by sweeping your middle or index fingers from the inner corners to the outer corners of your eyes or to your temples.
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Next bring your fingers to your cheekbones and using the same motion, sweep the fingers underneath the bones to the outer edges of your face. Apply as much pressure as you want, as some may find this area tender due to muscle tension. You can also spend a little more time kneading the area between your cheekbones and jawline, near your ears, as this is where tension builds when we grind our teeth.
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To massage your jawline, start by placing the flat of both thumbs under your chin. Make a fist with both hands, using the inside of your index fingers to trace along the jawline to the outer edges of the face as if you are sculpting that jawline.
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To get fresh blood flow to the face, use both hands to simultaneously sweep upwards on the cheek.
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To disperse the nasolabial folds (around our mouth), use your fingers to trace along the line from the bottom up using mid-firm pressure, allowing your nose to lift up as a result of the movement.
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Use the same lightweight sweeping technique for the forehead, using upward moves from the centre of the forehead up to the hairline and working along the eyebrows outwards. Use your thumbs for adding pressure along the brow bone and out towards the temples.
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Use your thumbs to push gently on the inner sides of the eyebrows in an upward motion to target pressure points.
Finish the facial massage by using sweeping motions down the neck to encourage all disturbed toxins into the lymphatic system above the collarbone.
Article by Jessica Harris
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