[How to Give Yourself a Facial Massage]

Facial massages increase circulation to your facial tissue, resulting in brighter, youthful-looking skin.

Facial massages can also help to lift and firm the skin, reducing the appearance of puffiness and wrinkles.

As an added benefit, a good facial massage reduces stress, leaving you feeling peaceful and relaxed.

Treat yourself to a massage once a day, either in the morning or at night before you go to sleep.

1 Start with clean skin

Complete your face-washing routine before conducting your massage.

Cleanse your face using a gentle cleanser or oil, rinse it with lukewarm water, then pat your face dry with a towel.

2 Apply a light layer of face oil.

 Using a bit of oil helps your fingers move smoothly across your face, rather than dragging on your skin.

It also leaves your face bright and glowing when you're through with the massage.

You may use a blend of oils formulated especially for the face, or choose a single oil that works best with your skin type.

Almond, argan, and jojoba oil all work well as face massage oils that won't clog your pores.

※ For very dry skin, choose argan or almond oil.

※ For medium to oily skin, choose jojoba or a blend of jojoba and castor oil.

※ If you're concerned about using oil on your skin, use your favorite moisturizer.

3 Begin by massaging your lymph area.

Many believe that toxins drain from the face to the lymph nodes, located under your ears on the sides of your neck.

Massaging this area helps to release the toxins and prevent them from building up in your face.

Using the tips of your fingers, massage your lymph area in a circular motion for one minute.

※ Use wide circles, sweeping from under your ears, down toward your throat, and up along your jaw line.

※ You want a firm touch, but don't massage too hard.

A facial massage is different from a deep tissue massage, since the skin on your face is more sensitive.

4 Massage the sides of your face.

Using the same wide circular strokes, massage along the sides of your jaw, past the corners of your mouth, next to your nostrils, an over your cheekbones.

Push your skin up, then out; never down, since this can cause sagging to occur.

Continue for one minute.

5 Massage your forehead.

Use a broad circular motion to massage both sides of your forehead at the same time.

Start near your temples and move gradually in toward the middle of your forehead, then back out to the sides.

Continue for one minute.

6 Massage your eye area.

Position your fingers at the arch of your brows.

Sweep them around the outside corners of your eyes, gently move them under your eyes, and end with your fingers at the inside corners of your eyes.

Continue along up the sides of your nose and along your brow lines.

Repeat the motion for one minute.

※ Massaging your eye area helps combat puffy eyes, leaving the area brighter and more youthful looking.

※ Use extra oil if necessary to prevent your fingers from dragging the delicate skin around your eyes.

7 Finish by going back over each area once more.

Gently massage each part of your face again to end your massage.

Your skin should look bright, fresh and rejuvenated when your massage is complete.

NEW FACE, NEW LIFE