We are all about providing Tools for Self Care. One of the easiest things we can do is Facial Lymphatic Drainage.
Five years ago, I didn’t know what lymphatic drainage was, let alone its benefits. Lymphatic drainage is not only good for your health (keep that qi moving, people!), but it can help reduce puffiness under the eyes, and it brings blood up to the surface of the skin…
What is lymph? Massage therapist Jennifer Findley says, “The lymph system consists of lymph nodes which are the filters, and lymph vessels, which resemble respiratory veins or arteries.” Lymph helps us filter out the nasties. 🤢
It’s part of the circulatory system – and when you think of that, you think of the heart. But the heart has a pump to keep things moving. 💓 Lymph does not. It moves with muscle contractions, which the face doesn’t do all that often.
Let’s talk about puffiness first.
I sometimes get puffiness (or what some people might call “bags under the eyes”). Most skincare products cannot be a panacea for this situation and there are some factors in this that we can’t control. It’s OK to be a human:
- Genetics
- People who are prone to sinus issues
- Hormones
- Dehydration / Jet lag
- Poor lifestyle choices: high salt intake or ya know, like what I used to do, binge drinking & smoking.
But gentle facial lymphatic drainage can help, especially around the eyes. Plus it feels really good and you’re also doing something to enhance your overall health #selfcare.
We all retain fluids (aka blood and lymph) in our face. The easiest way to deal with this is a simple facial lymphatic drainage massage, either with your hands or with tools.
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Facial lymphatic drainage massage
In K-Beauty, I learned about facial massage. Here’s how you do it:
When you’re going about your morning or nightly skincare routine, once you get to the part when you’re applying serums, oils, or cream, just gently massage your face LIGHTLY. If you massage too hard you can actually create inflammation and no one has time for that. 🙅♀️
With your hand or one of those popular (overpriced) jade rollers, gently massage your face in upward motions.
Start from top to bottom. With the heel of your hands, work your way from the top of the forehead to the eyebrows. Then, move on to the temples and jawline. Don’t forget your neck! Massage both sides of the neck and the clavicle. You can get into the nose, top of the mouth, eyes, and chin with your fingers, either by gentle tapping/patting or a light-handed massage.
If you do use a jade roller or want to buy one, I recommend buying from Amazon and/or do price comparisons because these products tend to be wildly marked up. TIP: I have a jade roller and I like to pop it in the freezer before using it. Oh so good.
Lisa Eldridge (aka the queen) also has a good YouTube video about facial lymphatic drainage if you want to learn more.
Lymphatic drainage massage for the eyes
Our Almond Eye Serum is perfect for this! We recently changed our rollerball due to customer feedback and it is just awesome! We added a luxurious rose quartz rollerball that feels SO GOOD to roll under the eyes. We chose rose quartz because we love crystals and it adds a touch of something special to the experience. #goodvibes #selfcare
When you gently roll this serum under your eyes, it counts as a gentle lymphatic drainage massage for the under-eye area!
The bottom line
How often should I do it? As much as possible, but if you miss a day, don’t worry about it.
Make sure to use VERY gentle pressure. Lymph doesn’t take much to move.
Final TIP: I like to do legs up the wall every once in awhile to get both my heart pumping and lymph moving. If your legs go a little numb, your’e doing it the right way. 😎
