If you simply don’t have time to get to a massage therapist for a face or body massage, or you don’t want to spend money on a deep cleansing facial then the next best thing is to give yourself one at home. Regular facial massaging has numerous benefits and it only takes a couple of minutes a day.
Remember, you use your face to express yourself every day so it ages faster than other parts of the body. You frown, you laugh, you raise your eyebrows and all of these actions encourage lines. Facial massage helps to slow down the aging process, it plumps up the skin, it improves circulation for a glowing complexion and it aids lymphatic drainage.
Prepare your Skin
It is always better for you if you perform facial massage on squeaky-clean skin. Wash your hands to get rid of any dirt, then clean your skin thoroughly using your favorite skincare routine. If you have acne prone or zitty skin, you might want to steam your face first over a bowl of boiling hot water with a towel over your head.
Don’t get too close to the water to avoid scalding and stay under the towel for a couple of minutes to open pores. Don’t forget your neck too and then tie your hair back so there’s nothing blocking access to your face.
Use Your Favorite Skincare Products
Use your favorite moisturizer and serum for your facial massage, that way you complete two jobs at once and massaging in your products helps you to get the best out of them. The warmth from your hands helps your products to sink deeply in the skin so they work their magic from within.
Use Fingers or Specialist Facial Massage Tools
You can use your fingers if you don’t have facial massage tools however, for a deeply satisfying experience, you would benefit from a roller facial massager or a microdermabrasion massager. The former consists of a rolling mechanism at the end of a small handlebar and it is usually covered in slightly raised nodes that deliver a tissue massaging effect.
Microdermabrasion rollers have tiny needles in their roller, these are painless and penetrate the skin to really stimulate collagen production while getting rid of dead skin cells. They reveal a youthful, glowing skin after use.
Use Mid Pressure or Light Pressure
Don’t pess your skin too hard or you could end up marking it, but do apply some pressure to stimulate your skin. For acne-prone skin, apply lighter pressure.
Avoid the Delicate Eye Area
The eye area is extremely sensitive and the skin is thinner than any other skin on the body so don’t apply pressure around the sockets or eye bag area. Simply softly press the area to decrease puffiness but don’t keep going over and over it.
Apply Your Product
Lightly apply product (moisturizer or serum) to your fingertips and hands and distribute it evenly. Then start with your brows and place your fingers between them, moving them gradually upwards to your forehead, repeating a few times.
Then move your fingertips to the center of your face and move them across your cheeks towards your ears, Repeat a few times and move your fingertips downwards repeating the action outwards until you reach the base of your face.
Move onto your neck and from your collarbone upwards, use vertical strokes to discourage sagginess. Finally, open your mouth as wide as possible and then close it, do this three or four times.
Just massaging your face once or twice a day should visibly improve the texture and look of your skin!