I first had the idea of doing my own facial massage after a particularly stressful workday and was looking a way to ease the tension in my forehead and jaws. The idea of giving one self facial massages has always struck me as very quaint and romantic. This was something our mothers, grandmothers include as part of their beauty routine but became somewhat lost with our hurried lifestyles.
Facial massage can be done using anything with slip, including oils, any sort of face creams or even facial wash. I was however keen to look out for an product specific for facial massage. Using my current face creams can be expensive as a fair amount of product will be required each time. I also personally prefer adding massage cream to my routine as the additional time and effort invested can feel extra pampering. Of course, if time pressed e.g in the mornings, facial wash creams are a good option for a quick massage.
This facial massage cream caught my eye with its soothing pale pink packaging ,which is surprising weighty and luxurious feeling. It contains my favourite skin brightening ingredient, rice water, and also moringa oil. The scent is a very clean, pleasant and quiet floral. It is mild but lingers throughout the massage, so it is important to take a whift of this before purchasing. I personally find the scent to be one of things I loved about this cream and it helps add a spa like feel to my massage.
The texture of the cream is rather thick but spreads easily and melts into an oil once massaged into the skin. The oil does not dry easily on the skin but forms a layer on top of the skin, which allows me to massage the skin without any tug. This also help prevent creating unwelcomed wrinkles while massaging and reduces the need to keep having to top up product during the massage,which can be disruptive.
I was initially concerned that the oil may cause breakouts but on the contrary, my skin has became noticeably clearer, firmer and brighter ever since I have included this as part of my routine. I think this is a combination of both the product and the facial massage. For my facial massages, I try to do lots of upward lifting motions for my cheeks and neck area, at the same time, massaging my lypmh nodes to help with drainage of toxins. I also do lots of criss cross actions using my fingers across my forehead which helps to relax the frown lines etched in during the day.
I usually do my facial massages once or twice a week, after cleansing my skin at night. After the massage, I like to use a cream cleanser to directly massage it into my skin before rinsing with water. I feel that this helps to dissolve the oils from the massage cream more effectively. After the cleanse, I see a significantly more well moisturised and brighter looking skin. Facial massage not only improves my skin but definitely puts me a more relaxed state of mind and ready for bed. I love this so much that it already is an integral part of my beauty routine and I look forward to this mini me-time each week.
Lisa Elderidge's facial massage video was helpful in getting me started and I hope for you too. I liked her message that doing a facial massage should be something fluid, intuitive, based on what feels good, instead of something very technical. There are also many other videos and guides available online to give you some ideas. Test out a few to get a better feel of what type of movement feels good and after a couple of tries, I would say just go with the flow and enjoy!:)
