A facial massage is more than just a method of stress relief. It’s a way to rejuvenate the skin around the whole area. Beauticians and dermatologists highly recommend them for removing more than just tight muscles. They help to remove excess oils, dirt, dead cells, and more. They clean the skin while creating a radiant, hydrated area of the body.
While you can get a facial massage from a beauty spa, you don’t always spend hundreds of dollars on a monthly basis. Give yourself a facial massage at home, opting for the professional ones once a year. You just need to know how to do one properly. After all, a poorly done facial massage will offer no benefits at all. You could do damage to the fragile skin on your face.
Why You Need to Pamper Your Face Right Now
Massaging is one of the best ways to relieve stress in the body. While the majority of people will opt for a back massage, getting a massage anywhere will help to relieve tension. Your muscles get pressure that helps to unknot and release, while improved blood circulation gets into the muscles and improves the health of them.
Most people find a massage a positive experience. They release more happy hormones, reducing the number of stress hormones affecting your body. This is highly beneficial for improving the look, feel, and cleanliness of the skin.
When you reduce the number of stress hormones in the body, you get rid of the hormones affecting your natural oil production. While you don’t want to stop this completely (it keeps your skin hydrated), you can reduce it to the point where it doesn’t block the pores and cause bacteria growth that leads to acne.
Better blood circulation also helps with the collagen production. When this is boosted, your skin remains flexible and supple. You reduce the signs of aging, like fine lines and sagging areas. Scars and tears are less prominent, and you can even prevent new scars and tears from forming. There’s less need to worry about wrinkles.
So, if you haven’t started already, you need to look into doing a facial massage on a monthly basis. It’s time to look after your skin and get stress-relieving benefits at the same time.
Best Techniques for Performing a Facial Massage
Before we get into the full guide on doing a facial massage, it’s worth knowing the best techniques to follow. With these techniques, you can move the skin in the right direction and avoid tears.
You want to work in the same direction as the massage. Harmony is essential when it comes to stress relief. This is while circular motions are preferred by all massage therapists. It is no different between clockwise and anti-clockwise circular movements.
Pressure is necessary, but you don’t want so much that it’s painful. One of the best things about doing a massage on yourself is you know your pain threshold. You’ll be able to quickly release or apply more pressure, without having to work with someone else to get it just right.
Different parts of your face may need less pressure than others. This is particularly relevant for around the eyes and on the cheeks. You shouldn’t feel your skin pulling or pain within the muscles from fingers digging too deep. You’re not doing a sports or deep tissue massage right now!
Work with the pulse for the speed of circles. This will help to boost the blood circulation uniformly and effectively. As you massage for longer, your heart rate will drop, so you’ll need to slow down the pace throughout.
Everything You Need for a Good Facial Massage
A good facial massage is more than just picking up your favorite moisturizing cream and working it into your face. You need to get a range of products to cleanse and hydrate your skin fully. The following items are necessities if you want to get into the pores, remove dirt, improve collagen production, and boost blood flow.
Make sure you have a medium bowl with some cold water. Cold is important to avoid drying out the skin and causing damage to the inner layers.
Makeup remover is essential if you’re currently wearing makeup. You may be able to avoid this, although you will want a gentle cleanser for the dirt and excess oils in your pores. Get some cotton pads, and a sponge for a full cleanse and don’t forget about an exfoliating scrub. Remember you want to get rid of all the dead cells and dirt.
A massage cream/moisturizer, face pack, toner, and eye cream are also necessary. You want to fully hydrate the skin while making it easy for the fingers to move in circles on your face.
Opt for products that work with your skin type. You don’t want something that makes you break out is acne, nor do you want something that completely dries out your skin!
Your Step-by-Step Guide to a Facial Massage
Now that you have everything ready, it’s time to move onto the actual facial massage. Make sure you have somewhere quite, where you can relax. If you have kids, wait until they’re in bed or enjoy the treatment when they’re in school or being looked after by others. This is your necessary ‘me time.’
Before You Start. Before you even think about getting the moisturizer for your massage, you need to prepare your skin. Remember that makeup remover? Well, you need to use it to get rid of all traces of makeup on your skin. You don’t need anything drying or toxic. A little coconut oil on some cotton pads is one of the easiest options! The coconut oil will draw toxins, bacteria, and makeup out of your pores, leaving you with clean and soft skin.
Even if you don’t have makeup, cleanse your face gently. Use your favorite cleanser that supports the hydration of your skin.
Don’t forget to clean the products off your face with the cold water. If you don’t like cold water, make it lukewarm. It shouldn’t be hot!
Finally, scrub your face to get rid of the dead skin cells. Using your finger tips, work the scrub in circular motions to massage gently while you clean. Again, use the cold/lukewarm water to get rid of the scrub particles. You don’t want a grain left behind as it will be irritating when it comes to the facial massage.
Warming Up the Massage Cream. Put your massage cream into your hands and rub your hands together. The aim is to warm up the cream. Applying it cold will make your muscles tense up from the shock.
Start on your chin and then work your way up to your forehead gently and slowly. You just want to spread the cream across your face first, and then you can go back to massaging. Massage from the chin upwards. If you like to go further down, you can start with the neck.
When massaging just above your upper lip, pull your fingers in an out and downward direction, like you’re making a sad face. You can then work outwards on your cheeks to the ears.
Use your ring fingers when working around your eyes. This is the most fragile part of your skin, making it easy to tear the sections. You’ll want to work the skin upwards. There are high chances that you’ll need to release the pressure that you used around your lips and cheeks. Keep your eyes closed and apply a little pressure on the lids with your thumbs at the end. You only need to do this for a few seconds to encourage the blood flow to your eyes.
Once the creamis fully absorbed into the skin, you can rinse with the lukewarm water. This helps to get rid of any residue and cream left behind.
Seal It All In. It’s time to lock in the moisture and keep the goodness in your pores. The best way to do that is a good face pack. You want this to be as hydrating as possible. Sit back for about 20 minutes and allow the ingredients to work their way in.
Don’t use an exfoliating face pack. You want it to be hydrating and nourishing. You can create your face packs with honey and coconut oil, or even some lemon juice, cucumber juice, and avocado oil. What is cucumber good for health wise? Check here.
After rinsing the mask off your face, use a toner on your face to help improve the elasticity of your skin. Now it’s time for the eye cream and moisturizer. Use the eye cream first, with your ring finger. Massage it into your eyes to help improve the blood flow further. Now use the thick moisturizing cream to keep the pores clean and fresh.
As you get older, you can also use some petroleum jelly after this. It’s water-based, so won’t add any extra oil to your skin. It creates a barrier over your face, locking all the moisture in and preventing dirt from getting into your pores later.
Tips to Get the Perfect Cleansing Facial
Before you do your massage, make sure your hands are clean. Our hands tend to pick up bacteria, dirt, and oils without us even realizing. We just end up putting them on our faces, causing more acne breakouts. Spend a couple of minutes getting into all the gaps in your fingers.
Whatever you use on your skin needs to be good for your skin. There’s no point picking up something your friend uses without checking first. Your friend may have extremely dry skin and need a massage cream that adds extra oils to the skin. If you have oily skin, you’re making your skin greasier than it needs to be and run the risk of more acne!
When You Shouldn’t Massage Your Face
While facial massages are beneficial, there are certain times they need to be avoided. You want to make the most of this stress-relief and not cause any pain or make your health worse. A professional facial massager will avoid your skin if you have any cuts, wounds, or rashes. The movement of the skin, the use of products, and the increased blood flow can make the infections or cuts worse (even preventing them from healing).
If you have any acne, you’ll want to avoid facial massages. You run the risk of popping the acne and spreading the bacteria around your face. Any inflammation, especially from UV rays, should also disappear before you opt for a facial massage.
If you have a fever or feel exhausted, you should wait for your health to improve. A facial massage is relaxing, but you could make your ailments worse.
Some skin conditions will also be aggravated from a facial massage, often due to the oils or creams used. Make sure you avoid a massage if you have a flare up. If you get a flare up afterward, you’ll need to consider the benefit of one later.
Get Your Monthly Facial from Today
Forget about the issue of money when it comes to facials. You don’t need to spend a fortune at the spa. It is a good idea to get a professional one every year, but there’s no need to do it on a monthly basis. You can give yourself a facial from the comfort of your own home, surrounding yourself if your preferred scents and sounds. You’ll find it much easier to relax.
Monthly facials are good for that deep clean and stress relief. You get right into your pores, removing the dead skin cells and dirt. Even if you exfoliate and cleanse regularly, you will get a few left over elements deep within the pores.
By doing facials monthly, you can also care for your skin to reduce acne breakouts. You get to create a routine and have something to look forward to at the end of every month. Your products will last for a few months, making them far more cost effective than the regular trips to the beauty spa.
Check out more info on facial massage here:
The Ultimate List Of Body Massage Treatments To Try
The 7-Step Guide to Using Oil Cleansing Method for Acne
Everything You Need To Know About Bell’s Palsy
Oily Skin Treatment: Your Ultimate Guide
