Facial massage is an important component to a facial treatment.
It is the most relaxing step of a facial and will keep your client coming back.
Knowing your muscle anatomy and physiology of the skin can take your facial massage from a
feel-good treatment to a beneficial treatment to enhance skin and muscle tone through increased
circulation, lymphatic drainage and calming sensory nerve endings.
The touch research institute has concluded over 100 studies on the positive benefits of massage
from diminished pain to enhanced immune functions and many more.
It is important we incorporate massage into our aesthetic treatments
to help the biggest organ in human anatomy: skin.
Choose the additive that best fits your clients needs.
Add three drops into your hands and ask the client to breathe in deeply
three times. Count with them
Press the product gently into the skin
Add massage cream into warm hands and apply in effleurage movements spreading over the decollete.
Down the arms up the back of the neck and face
Once you are confident there is enough product on the skin you will begin your facial massage
At this point your hands cannot leave the skin
With the effleurage movement, place your hands together in the middle of the decollete.
Massage out with some pressure down the arms, up the back of the arms to the back of the neck.
Once you have reached the occipital ridge hook your fingers and pull for
a count of three seconds. Repeat two more times.
Glide your fingers out to the corner of the jaw and continue using the sides
of the hands along the jawline until your fingertips connect at the base of the chin.
Starting with your pinky finger, quickly roll each finger into the palms one
after the other to create a loose fist. Rotate your loose fist counterclockwise
and release below the chin into a swan dive. Your thumbs and pointer
fingers should be touching. Bring your palms together and interlace fingers.
Slide your hands while slowly releasing your fingers.
Moving up over the cheeks to the temples circle around the eyes three times and
then slide your hands down the sides of the neck and back to the chin.
Repeat movement three times.
Slide your hands across the decollete to the shoulders.
Form a fist and knuckle using the flat area and your first joint, palms facing in,
down the front side of the arm and up the back side of the arm
Effleurage three times between each repetition.
Repeat movement three times.
Knuckle along the back of the shoulders towards the base of the neck, palms facing up.
Once you are at the neck, twist your fist around and push with the flat edge of your fist
across the trapezius to the shoulder with firm pressure palm facing down.
Repeat movement three times
Move your client's head to one side using your left hand,
using your right hand glide down the side of the neck, shoulder and arm.
Return back to the neck with a firm pull and repeat three times.
Move into a slow roll,
pad across to the other side to return the head forward and repeat on the other side three times.
Gently move their head to the centre again never
taking your eyes off the client to ensure they're not feeling pain.
Move into slow upward cheek pulls on each side from the jaw to the temple finishing at the chin
pulling both cheeks up. Repeat movement three times on each side
starting at the temples.
Gently slide your fingers around the lower orbicularis oculi up to the centre of the brow
walk the pressure points with your middle and ring fingers.
Apply pressure across the brow line back to the temples repeat movement three times.
With your middle and ring finger tips using firm pressure,
slide back and forth from the brow line to the hairline covering the full forehead.
Start at the centre and move across to each temple.
Repeat movement three times.
With firm pressure create upward circles using your middle and ring finger of one hand
while your other hand creates an opening. With your index and middle finger
circle from the centre and concentrate on the centre of the forehead.
Repeat movement three times.
With your middle and ring fingers alternate pressure back
and forth across the forehead. Repeat movement three times.
Slide both of your hands across the brow line with firm pressure from the centre
over the left orbital bone to the temple. Your left hand will return across to the
centre while your right hand will lightly circle under the left eye to the centre.
Switch hands and repeat on the right. Repeat movement three times.
Your right middle finger will circle around the left eye clockwise
while your left middle and ring finger smooth out the edges over the client's orbital bone.
Switch hands and repeat on the right. Repeat movement three times on each side.
Now repeat eye circles with pressure point walk three times.
With firm pressure perform small stationary circles with the middle
and ring finger from the top of the nose over the zygomatic muscles and the nasolabial fold.
Add or remove fingers as necessary for smaller areas.
Repeat movement three times.
Using all fingers perform small stationary circles from the base of the nose
down over the mouth and then the chin. Repeat movement three times.
Using the middle and ring finger perform fast lifting movements on the jaw and cheek area.
Repeat movement three times. With the effleurage movement place your
hands together in the middle of the decollete. Massage out with some pressure down the arms
up the back of the arms to the back of the neck. Once you have reached the occipital ridge,
hook your fingers and pull for a count of three seconds.
Repeat two more times.
Middle and ring finger stationary circles across the mandible from the ear
then repeat over the forehead using the right hand and then the left.
Circle around the outer edges of the face in opposite directions with the fingertips.
Repeat movement three times.
Place your hands together over the forehead start opening your hands while gliding
your thumbs towards the temples. Apply pressure and slowly release.
This now concludes the European facial massage.
You can now proceed to the next step in the treatment.
Once you have completed all 22 steps remember to remove your massage cream with a warm steam towel
and place your client's arms and shoulders underneath the covers
before moving on to your professional serums and mask application.