How to Give Yourself a Face Massage

One of the best parts of receiving a facial at a spa, aside from leaving with a fresh-looking complexion, is the gentle facial massage that goes with it. Well, you don’t have to wait for your next appointment to reap those face massage benefits. Instead, combine self-care and skin care by adding a facial massager to your beauty arsenal. 

All you’ll need are two skin care products — a facial cleanser and a facial oil, serum, or moisturizer — and your hands or a face massage tool. Grab those essentials, then read on to find out how to add facial massage to your weekly skin care routine.

What Are the Benefits of Face Massage?

According to a study from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), facial massage rollers work wonders to increase blood flow with continued use, which helps with the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and under-eye bags. The NCBI also shares that a facial massager can help you de-stress and improve your overall mood.

3 Face Massage Tools You Can Try

While your hands are a great way to massage your skin, face massage tools can take your skin care game to the next level.

1. Derma Rollers

If you’ve been scouring Google for the best face massagers, you’ve likely come across derma rollers. According to the NCBI, derma rollers are a needle-studded tool that’s rolled over the skin to help treat acne scarring, and they can also help induce collagen and elastin production, as well as enhance product absorption. Since this tool requires puncturing the skin, talk to your dermatologist before trying it at home.

2. Jade Rollers

One of the most popular beauty tools, a jade roller helps increase blood flow to the face and helps to smooth products evenly onto skin for a balanced and refreshed complexion. 

Best of all, this tool comes equipped with two ends, a large end to massage your cheeks, forehead, and jawline and a smaller end to cover the bridge of the nose and under-eye area. Simply roll the tool over your face in upward strokes to reap all the benefits. You can even take things a step further by cooling your jade roller in the fridge before each use to help de-puff skin. 

3. Gua Sha

Gua sha is an  East Asian massage technique that uses blunt objects to press and scrape all over the skin to relieve muscle tension and boost blood circulation. Gua sha tools, which are flat and often made of pink quartz, have become popular stateside and are typically used to massage the face in a similar fashion to a jade roller.

How to Give Yourself a Face Massage

Follow this step-by-step guide below to give your visage the TLC it deserves.

1. Start With a Fresh, Clean Face

It’s a must to wash your face (and your hands) before you get started on your massage so that you don’t massage dirt and other impurities into your skin. Start by getting your hands clean, then reach for a hydrating cleanser that’s sure to provide a thorough cleansing, like the L’Oréal Paris Revitalift Radiant Smoothing Cream Cleanser. This cleanser has a nourishing formula that removes dirt and oil for an incredible cleanse without any tightness.

Editor’s tip: If you’re wearing makeup, you might want to consider double cleansing. To give it a try, use the L’Oréal Paris Micellar Cleansing Water  Complete Cleanser Waterproof - All Skin Types to wipe off makeup before breaking out the cream cleanser.

2. Reach for Your Moisturizer or Facial Oil

If you’ve ever received a facial massage, you’ll know that the esthetician doesn’t smooth their dry hands over your face. Instead, they’ll massage a moisturizer or facial oil onto your skin. That way, their hands can glide smoothly over your skin without any tugging or pulling. You’ll want to do the same during your DIY facial massage.

Rub a dollop of moisturizer between your hands to warm up the lotion or cream before applying it to your skin. If you prefer, you can choose to do the same with facial oil, or mix a few drops of oil into your moisturizer for the best of both worlds. As for which moisturizer to incorporate into your facial massage, you can use a favorite that you already have at home, or consider one of these following options, based on your skin type.

For oily or combination skin, reach for the L’Oréal Paris Revitalift Micro Hyaluronic Acid + Ceramides Line-Plumping Water Cream. This moisturizer combines fan-favorite hyaluronic acid with gentle but powerful ceramides, which act as a glue to seal in moisture while reinforcing the skin barrier.

If you have dry skin, try the L’Oréal Paris Age Perfect Cell Renewal Midnight Cream, Antioxidants. The cream uses a patented antioxidant and vitamin E to help repair the skin barrier.

Mature skin types should try the L’Oréal Paris Age Perfect Rosy Tone Moisturizer for Mature, Dull Skin. As skin matures, its ability to renew surface cells slows down and causes a buildup of dead cells on the surface. As a result, the natural tone is hidden, and your complexion may become dull. This intense daily moisturizer helps to gently exfoliate dull skin and revive skin’s natural vibrant tone.

3. Apply Light Pressure in Upward Motions

Now, it’s time to massage. To massage with your hands, start at your chin and move up toward your temples, applying light pressure. Then move from above your lips, going up and out toward your temples again.

To massage with a gua sha tool, start by sweeping the tool over the under-eye area and out to your temple. Next, go to your chin and press the gua sha tool along your jawline and up by your ear, then take the tool behind the earlobe and down the neck. Finish by lightly scraping the gua sha tool up the bridge of your nose and then down by the side of the nose to your cheek.

To massage with a derma roller, take your roller and roll it over your forehead, cheeks, chin, and neck in all directions: vertically, horizontally, and diagonally. Make sure to be firm yet gentle, as too much pressure could cause damage to your skin, which is exactly the opposite result of what you want.  

To massage with a jade roller, apply medium pressure and roll the tool across your forehead, cheeks, and jawline in a back and forth, up and down, and then out to the side motion. Repeat in the same spot about five or six times before moving on to the next area.

4. Pay Extra Attention to Your Eye Area

Moving to the area under your eyebrow, use a face massage tool to press and flow with outward strokes toward your temples. Gently work your face massager from the inner corners of your eyes toward the outer corners. This is especially important because fluids can build up under the eye, causing puffiness. If you have under-eye bags, you may want to spend extra time on your under-eye area.

5. Include Your Neck And Jawline

An excellent facial massage doesn’t stop with your face. It should continue downward, focusing on your jawline, neck, and décolletage.You can use your hands or a tool here, and you should massage in a circular motion up the neck to the jawline. This will also help with increasing blood flow and reducing lines and wrinkles in the area.

Next: How to Do a DIY Facial at Home

Edited by: Témi Adebowale, Photographer: Chaunte Vaughn, Art Director: Hannah Packer, Creative Producer: Becca Solovay, Visual Designer: Sarah Duvivier, Content Director: Shalwah Evans, Prop Stylist: Catherine Pearson, Prop Assistant: Lindsay Jones