The more time passes, the more we start to see our skin losing its natural elasticity and fine lines, wrinkles and crow’s feet starting to appear. But how about if you could slow down their arrival thanks to a totally natural technique – facial massage!
Face massaging is an ancient technique given to us by traditional Chinese medicine, but before we reveal its secrets, let’s just take a closer look those fine lines…
Close-up on the different signs of aging
- Frown lines: these start to appear around the age of 30 years between your eyebrows. They’re linked to muscles in that zone that help to show our facial expressions, particularly the serious ones!
- Brow lines: sometimes called glabellar lines, these horizontal lines commonly show up from the age of 20 and gradually become more noticeable as we get older. Like frown lines, these are caused by the contraction of muscles in your forehead.
- Crow’s feet: eye contours are the one place that your skin is finest and most fragile. That’s why lines around the corner of your eyes – commonly called crows’ feet take hold so easily. They are caused primarily by blinking and smiling. That’s why we talk about a genuine smile being one that reaches your eyes !
- Laughter lines: these are vertical lines that run from the corners of your mouth to the edges of your nose and are most commonly caused by, you guessed it, smiling. 😊
- Marionette lines: like an upside-down smile, these ‘marionette lines’ are so-called because they literally look like a puppet’s mouth. They start in the corners of your mouth and end at your chin. Common from around 50 years on, they can be accentuated by negative emotions like sadness, disgust and disagreement, so let’s try to turn that frown upside-down!
How facial massage can help prevent signs of skin aging…
It’s important to remember that the lines on your face are a sign of true character. But face massage can help stimulate skin and improve bloodflow, helping kickstart cell regeneration and slowing down signs of aging.
After several weeks of practice, you’ll see you skin looking softer, brighter, and with fewer fine lines and signs of tiredness.
It’s best to start facial massage as soon as you see the first signs of lines appearing. Sure enough, how often you do it is all down to your personal preference, so just go with what feels right. You can do it daily, or twice weekly, but always remember to thoroughly cleanse your skin first.
To help things along, you should use a natural plant-based oil, which makes the movements easier and stops your skin getting heated up – a potential source of irritation.
Contrary to what you might think, pressing hard and working fast are not the most effective methods for face massage. The aim is for your skin to be both soothed and relaxed, so try to make your massage soft, slow and gentle.
3 simple actions
To start your new routine, here are 3 easy massages to try out, each with 5 repetitions:
- For an eye-lift, bring your fingers up from your eyebrow to the top of your forehead.
- To firm up the bottom of your face, place your thumbs on your chin and work upwards towards your ears.
- And to fight the lines around your lips, work in small circles round your mouth.
Sure enough there are numerous other massages you can try ! Try looking for tutorials on face massage technique from specialists like Sylvie Lefranc or Abigail James on social media!
