Facial massage is one of the most relaxing therapies designed to provide tension release, while stimulating the skin. Besides working as a beauty therapy, it is very beneficial in perking up the circulation and revitalising the facial muscles. It is increasingly being used by men and women all over the world.
Benefits of a Facial Massage
• It can help improve the overall appearance of skin.
• Stimulates circulation, which nourishes the skin and rids it of impurities.
• Cleanses away dead surface cells.
• Reduces puffiness and tones, firms, refines pores and helps skin retain moisture.
• Helps to relieve muscle tension and promote relaxation.
• A relaxing facial benefits a person physically and psychologically.
• It can help to reduce puffy, sagging areas and rejuvenates the skin.
Facial Massage for Beauty
A facial massage is a great way to de-stress after a long day. For a facial massage, you can use any kind of cream, or vegetable oil, or a blend of essential oils for added benefit. Start by mixing your own blend of essential oils that is perfectly suited for your skin type. Clean your face and then cover it with your personal blend. Massage the oils into your face using upward and outward motions.
There is no proper way to massage but some things you may want to try are: Finding the acupressure points and pressing with fingertips, following the curves of your skull with a firm, steady pressure, massaging your jaw and the base of your skull (all the way around the back), and massaging your whole face in small circular motions.
Don’t forget to try using all parts of your hands including your palms and thumbs. The only “rule” is to use upward and outward motions (down on the nose).
To make your own personal blends, mix base oil with essential oils suited for your skin type. Blend one teaspoon of base oil with 1-3 drops of essential oil. You may also want to try blending Vitamin E oil with your base oil for an effective facial oil.
Blends for Different Skin Types For Normal Skin : Base oil: sweet almond oil. Essential Blend : lavender, sandalwood, bergamot. For Oily Skin : Base oil: sweet almond oil. Essential Blend : lemon, cypress, basil. For Dry Skin : Base oil : peach kernel oil. Essential Blend : lavender, frankincense, geranium.
Who Can Have a Massage?
Most people will benefit from holistic facial treatment. There are, however, a few conditions, where it would be unwise to have one. They include skin disorders, recent face, or neck operations, or fractures, high or low blood pressure, diabetes, fever, sunburn, thrombosis and tumours. Pimples, or acne should be treated with care, while massaging. Don’t pinch, or burst them, instead avoid the general area and continue with the rest of the face.
A STRESS RELEASE FACIAL MASSAGE
The actual massage techniques are derived from the areas of lymph drainage, energy balancing, and a reverse reflexology of the nervous system (beginning with the head rather than the feet).
The recipient is seated in a reclining position with legs slightly elevated for proper spinal relief. The massage areas include the face, scalp, neck, shoulder blades, and arms. The lymph canals are drained toward the mastoid just under the ears and down to the lymph nodes under the collarbone.
Acupressure points in all the areas covered are also incorporated in the massage to ensure stress reduction andtoeliminateblockages in energy flow. This balances the electro-magnetic field, which relaxes the nervous system, and this in turn relaxes the muscles. It also reduces pain and increases the body’s ability to heal.
The massage treatment begins with surface cleansing of the skin, which removes surface debris. It is a quiet time for the recipient of the facial massage, allowing a pause from noise and cares. The mind also seems to be cleansed by the subliminal massage, which places a person in a wonderful meditative state.
The massaging action should be constant, for the entire duration of the treatment, which lasts for about half an hour. After cleansing, begins the deep pore-cleaning phase of the massage, which can be done by using an Alpha Hydroxy acid containing granular cream. This granular cream exfoliates the dead skin cells on the face, and should be followed by warm towel packs, which stimulates blood circulation bringing increased flexibility to the pores.
This is a transition state and also prepares nerve endings for the massage. Next a conditioning clay, or hydrating mask is applied, which draws out any remaining liquefied impurities in the pores while firming and tightening the skin. The mask is left on for three to seven minutes, and then rinsed repeatedly with clear warm water until completely cleansed away. Mildly sedative, it has a vaso-constrictive action on the capillary structures, which acts to texture the skin.
A toning rinse is the next step, used to close the pores and bring the skins pH into balance. This toning rinse breaks down complex oils enabling them to easily rise to the skins surface along with any residue of waste products from within the skin.
Then a protective day-cream is applied, which will normalize the skin and help it to retain moisture evenly.
Finally, the hair covering is removed and a light scalp massage with gentle tugging brings the recipient back to gradual awareness.
The final result is an intense sense of serene energy, which comes from the internal organization and achievement of facial fitness. The exercise massage accelerates your skins natural cell renewal, which remoulds loose contours and restores elasticity and radiance.
Dermatologists and plastic surgeons use this massage to alleviate anxiety and fully prepare the skin and muscles for treatment.
A DIY Facial Massage
Remember that the facial massage requires three kinds of basic movements-stroking, pinching and stimulating. Once you have mastered the three, there is no looking back. Although, these are the basic strokes, one can devise new ones to suit oneself according to individual needs. Another important thing to remember is that the strokes should always be upwards and outwards.
1. Using alternate hands, sweep from collarbone to jaw bone starting at left side, ending at right. This movement is commonly known as alternative stroking up the neck.
2. Using alternate hands, start from the left side of the neck continuously stroking in the upward direction to finish on the right side of the neck. Stimulate the skin by using the back of your hands and loosely rolling your fingers up the cheek. This can also be used on the neck and under the chin.
3. Cupping of the jaw : The palm of the left hand should be cupped in a concave shape over the right hand side of the jaw. Now, stroke across to the left side till your fingers come up towards the ears. Now, cup the right hand and take it to the right side. With your thumb and forefinger, gently pinch the skin along the jawbone and under the chin. This is very stimulating and helps prevent a double chin.
4. Cheek triangle : Using your finger weep under the sides of the mouth towards the ears returning down to the centre of the chin.
5. Draw fingers firmly up to the cheekbone level close to the nose, stroke with gentle pressure under the cheek-bone towards the ears as if you were draining the sinuses from under the nose area towards the ear. Then release pressure and gently glide your fingers towards the centre of the chin.
6. Starting from the tip of the nose using the thumb cushion in circular movements (Clock-wise) start moving towards the forehead finishing at the top of the forehead.
7. Gently stroke with relaxed hands up the forehead following with the left hand, repeat alternate stroke.
8. Place three fingers over the eyebrows across the frontal bone. Now, drain across towards the temples using pressure. Release the pressure and wait. Using ring fingers under the eyes, circle around to the starting point.
9. Place index fingers above lips, second finger below the mouth, the ring and the little fingers on the chin and below. Place both your hands to meet at the fingers. Keeping this contact move slowly apart from the centre of the mouth towards the temples. (Do not bend fingers) when the fingertips reach the temple apply pressure for 3 to 4 seconds on it, only to repeat the movement.
10. Shoulder effleurage : Place both your hands on the centre of the chest, just under the neck. Stroke lightly and move hands out towards armpit. Now, move your palms around the deltoid muscles up to the back of the shoulders. Continue to the occipital point at the base of the skull. Wait there for 10 seconds, and then repeat all over again.
The Vision-massage Connection
To understand the eye-body relationship, we need to experience it aesthetically. Most of the time we are not aware of it; we feel the effects of seeing only later, in the form of eyestrain, eye fatigue, neck tension and other related problems. It is possible, however, to learn to feel immediately, when we strain our eyes or the muscles surrounding them, and to stop ourselves from doing so.
A good place to begin is with the muscles closest to the eyes and most directly affected by seeing-—the facial muscles. A massage of the face, with particular attention to several specific places seems to have an especially good effect on vision.
It has only recently been discovered that these are the same points used by the Chinese in acupressure massage—a facial massage, particularly as a preparation for palming should help relieve a lot of eye strain. One of the most important functions of palming is, in fact, relaxation of the muscles around the eyes.
Try This Massage
Massage of the whole face influences the circulation around the eyes. Rub your hands together until they are warm, and then massage your face with your fingertips, gently at first, and then more firmly as your muscles also begin to warm up.
The pressure at first should be just firm enough to let you feel whether a spot is tense, or painful, but not hard enough to make pain worse. Spend at least a couple of minutes on each separate area, noticing how your touch feels and what affect it has.
You may feel a deep tension, or pain, a superficial tightness, a pleasant sense of release, or numbness, which is also a sensation. Begin with the jaw, and continue over the other areas.
Massage the whole area from the point of the chin outward along the jawbone, in front of and behind the ears. You can open and close your jaws while doing this, to help stretch and relax the strong jaw muscles. This may make you feel like yawning, so yawn as much as you want-it is very relaxing for your face.
Now work up from the bridge of the nose outward along the cheekbones toward the temples. From the bridge of the nose, work out along the eyebrows, massaging above, below and directly on the brow.
Spend a little extra time on the point between the eyebrows; this area gathers a lot of tension from the act of seeing. To relieve this tension, massage in long firm strokes across the forehead and, very gently, with small circular motions, in the temple area.
Stroke lightly from the temples up into your scalp, imagining that you are drawing tension away from your eyes. After ten minutes, or so of massage, your face will be glowing and tingling from the increased blood flow.