At this point in December, I hope you’ve already had a chance to enjoy the festive season, but haven’t hit the stage of exhausted yet. For me, twinkling lights and present shopping go hand in hand with enjoying mulled wine and mince pies.
Whether your celebrations have been planned or impromptu, gatherings throughout the month may leave you and your skin in need of a bit of extra attention, but lacking time for a relaxing treatment. To help with this, I recommend you indulge in a facial massage at home.
Facial massage can be easily done in the morning as you prepare for the day or during the evening while you are lounging at home. Massage stimulates your blood and lymph circulation, delivering nutrients to your skin and eliminating toxins. The result is a healthy glow and a decrease in puffiness. Who couldn't use this to help survive until new year?
After cleansing and moisturising, gentle pressure in slow strokes over your face and neck are all that are needed. Your self-treatment will be most relaxing if you use both hands together mirroring your movements on the right and left side of your face. I recommend doing this after you moisturise so that you avoid dragging or pulling your skin with your fingers.
To begin, place all fingertips on your chin and stroke out along your jawline to the base of your ears and sweep back to return to your chin. Next, move your fingers straight up your face so that they rest on your nose before sweeping out along the bone at the bottom of you eyes to your temples. Let your fingers move up along your forehead so that they meet at the bridge of your nose to then sweep down your nose and stroke your cheeks, returning to the starting point at your chin.
To provide appropriate invigoration for your skin, it's best to keep as much contact as possible with your fingers and palms on your face. Perform this routine at least three times or until you feel tension melting from your face.
After your finished massaging your face, use alternating palm strokes from the base of your neck lifting up to your chin. I suggest doing this six times with each hand.
This technique will only take you a minute or two though you can repeat it as desired for maximum effect. If you want something longer or more intense, check out these suggestions from MindBodyGreen, Lisa Eldridge and Caroline Hirons.
On days when I want a longer routine, I will start using my hands and then pick up one of these tools for additional relaxation: facial massager, jade roller, double ball facial massager. Each provides a slightly different, softening feeling to the face. A slightly cool jade roller feels particularly good on tired eyes.
Facial massage is designed to bring a little bit of enjoyment into your day, so do it as often as you feel motivated. You may even find yourself creating your own calming routine. Taking time for this, one to three times a week, will improve your skin while helping to reduce tension and stress. A perfect gift for the season.