A Rejuvenatingly Facial massage

Massage therapy is an ancient form of healing. It has been suggested that regular facial massages can keep the skin looking young, smoother, firmer and more beautiful. Massage accomplishes this by releasing tension, minimizing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, increasing circulation, tightening facial muscles, normalizing the moisture balance, reducing impurities and toxins, and increasing radiance.

When you first wake up in the morning you may notice that your skin looks puffier and paler than it did the night before. This is because during sleep, circulation is decreased in the body - which means there is less blood flow to the face. Facial massage is a great way to get the blood flowing again and to achieve a healthy glow. Regular facial massages also work to tighten and lift the facial muscles, giving the skin a more youthful appearance. It’s no wonder it has been called an anti-aging treatment!

Fortunately facial massage is something that can be easily done at home and it only takes few minutes to make your skin feel better. Facial massage is usually done by applying gentle pressure using your fingers resulting in the relief of tension and reduction of overall stress leading to improvement in your skin appearance. In addition to reducing tension other benefits of facial massage include tightening of muscle tone in the facial area, relief of eyestrain, reduction the effects of stress and anxiety as well as overall feeling of relaxation.

Important part of any massage is being comfortable, the best results can be achieved if your body is relaxed and your mind is calm. Find quiet place in your home where you won't be disturbed during this time. You perform massage either sitting or laying down but the key is being completely relaxed and comfortable.

To begin a facial massage, the first step is to cleans the face thoroughly and remove any makeup. A good cleansing and scrubbing will exfoliate the skin, removing any dead skin cells on the face. Generally, pure vegetable oil or nut oil is good for facial massages. Pure vegetable oils provide great moisture to the skin and have long-lasting effects because they are absorbed by the skin more slowly without clogging pores. Different skin types will require different types of oils.

When you are finished doing the massage, remove the oil from your eyes by gently washing the area with a very gentle cleanser, or remove the excess oil by blotting it with a tissue. Make sure to remove excess oil or cream from the corners of your eyes, otherwise you might land up with eyes that are even more baggy or swollen.

Here are some exercises you can do as part of your massage routine:
1. Head Tapping - Gently tap your scalp area with your fingers for about a minute to stimulate blood flow to your head and improves brain cell activity.
2. Forehead Swipes - Put palm of your hands in front of your forehead with palms facing inward. Now move your head from left to right and right to left with fingers of your hands touching your forehead and stimulating the skin. It should be your head moving not your hands. Repeat this about 10 times.
3.Circling the eyes - Before starting massaging the area of the eyes please note that the skin around your eyes is extremely delicate and thinner than the rest of your face so make sure not to be too rough when applying pressure during this technique. Now put hands on the eye level and make loose fists and at the same time put thumbs on your cheekbones. Starting at the bridge of you nose move the knuckles of your index fingers in an arch around your eyebrows down the side of your face outside of your eyes. Then do the same thing except this time move in the opposite direction start at the bridge of your nose and moving from inside of your eyes in an arch to outside towards the cheekbones. Repeat this about 10 times in each direction.
4. Palming the cheeks - Open your hands and place them on each side of the face on cheekbones. Firmly move palms down towards the mouth and then continue the movement by following the line of the jawbone and then upward toward your ears and finishing back where you started, in the area of cheekbone's completing the cycle. Repeat 10 times.
5. Mouth Swipes - This is similar to forehead swipes except it's done on a mouth level. With your palms facing inward move your head side to side swiping fingertips of your palm. Make sure your head moves and not your hands. Repeat 10 times.
6. Throat Pull - Gently place your gingers around front of your neck and gently pull forward. During this movement you want to bring thumb and your forefinger together so you tug gently at the skin. As the first hand sliding off the other hand is coming up to repeat the process. This shouldn't feel painful or uncomfortable. Repeat with both hands 10 times.
7. Ear Massage - Separate the fingers of your hand with index finger being away from the rest and place them on the side of the head so your ear is between the opening of your fingers. Now move your fingers up and down massaging the area. Repeat 10 times. Following this we will massage our ears. Rub the top part of your ear between your thumb and the first two fingers continue massaging towards the lobe covering entire area of the ear. Finally to finish give your lobe a firm tug, then do the same to the middle and then the top of the ear. Repeat the gentle pull about 3 times.

Facial massage is one of the easiest and least expensive way to improve your skin condition and the best part is that you can do it anytime or anyplace and it only takes few minutes to rejuvenate your skin and make you feel and look younger.

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