At the tip of your finger
The truth is that you can reap the beauty rewards of self-massage in your home.
“If you spend time massaging skincare products into the skin instead of just rubbing them on, the ingredients are pushed to a deeper level in the skin to repair and replenish at a cellular level,” says skin expert Nichola Joss.
Puffy bags, dark circles and laughter lines. The skin around your eyes is thinner and more fragile than anywhere else on the face so it requires extra TLC. Self-massage should be attempted with a softly softly approach using your middle or ring finger, which apply less pressure than your forefinger.
“For bright, younger-looking eyes, massage the eye area daily to de-puff, stimulate the lymph glands and keep the whites of the eyes clear and sparkly,” Joss advises.
“Eye cream needs to be gently pushed into the correct part of the eye contour to nourish, brighten and repair the delicate skin.”
As part of the launch of Sanctuary Spa’s Peptide Repair Eye Cream (€25, Boots), Joss has developed a six-step eye massage.
* Gently place a pea-sized amount of eye cream onto your middle finger.
* Take your index fingers and place them on your temples.
* Gently tap your middle finger from the outside of the cheek bone inwards along the upper cheek bone and into the eye area and the bridge of the nose. The tapping movements will gently massage the cream into the skin.
* Moving upwards, apply more pressure and sweep along the eyebrow and brow bone to the outer corners of the eye. This will gently lift the brows and de-stress the muscle.
* Repeat and circle the eye six times.
* Finish by massaging any remaining product into the temple area.
Whether it’s talking, blinking or raising our eyebrows, our facial muscles are getting a constant workout. Manipulation of these muscles can improve the flow of blood for a more radiant, toned appearance.
“Always remember that all facial massage movements should be worked in an upward direction to lift the muscles, and outwards towards the lymph node to remove excess fluid and toxins from the system,” says Susan Harmsworth, founder of ESPA.
Warm up your facial muscles with Harmsworth’s tips, using a product like ESPA’s Regenerating Face Treatment Oil (www.espaonline.com).
* Pour a few drops of face oil onto your hands, warm between your palms and spread evenly.
* Place your fingertips on your jawbone and, with light pressure, make a large, sweeping circle from the jaw line up either side of your nose to the centre of the forehead, out along the hairline and down the temples to meet at the jawbone.
* Use circular movements with the tips of the index, middle and ring fingers, starting at the chin and travelling along the jaw line and then up from the angles of the jaw to the temples.
* Pinch the skin on each side of the nose, close to the base of the nostrils, moving first under the cheekbones and then up toward the tops of the ears.
* Placing the tips of the middle fingers at the inner corners of the eyes, slide your fingers upward, pushing against the orbital bone, and then outward, just above the eyebrows, towards the ears.
* Use circular movements to massage the forehead, starting just above the top of the nose, moving up towards the hairline, and then outwards until you reach the temples.
Bring spa luxury to the bathroom this Mother’s Day with Sanctuary Spa’s Limited Edition Deluxe Sanctuary Hamper. The bumper kit is less than half price at €24 (originally €50). Available until March 26 at Boots.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
