Lymph Massage For A Glowing Complexion
Want To Regain Your Glow?
If your skin has been looking a bit dull or gray lately or you suffer from facial ’puffiness’ then lymph massage is an excellent way to refresh your skin and bring back its healthy glow.
What’s more you don’t need to set aside time to do it, you can simply massage your face when watching television, whilst relaxing in the bath or when moisturizing your face as part of your morning or evening skin care regimen.
Lymph massage is a wonderful way to rejuvenate your complexion and it’s not as difficult as it may sound. You simply need to understand the basics of lymphatic massage and you’ll soon be on the way to achieving beautiful skin that glows…
What Is Lymphatic Drainage Massage?
Lymphatic System
Your body has a network of vessels, similar to blood vessels, known as lymph vessels.Lymph vessels allow lymph fluid to pass through, carrying with it wastage such as dead cells and other unwanted substances.
Lymph fluid removes toxins, waste products and other foreign bodies via lymph nodes that are located at various points throughout your body.
The lymphatic system does not have a ‘pump’ as the circulatory system does – it relies on muscle movement.
So for example when you are active muscles contract and squeeze lymph along the lymphatic vessels.
If this flow becomes sluggish then your skin will start to look tired, puffy and dull.
Why Is Lymph Massage Beneficial For My Skin?
Think of the lymph system as your internal cleansing system, the part that drains away waste from the tissues.
If it is working efficiently then you will experience good, clear skin and a bright complexion.
If not and the system becomes overloaded you may experience dull gray skin, facial puffiness, dry patches, spots and blackheads.
When you sleep the flow of lymph slows down and this is why your face may look especially puffy or bloated in the mornings upon waking.
Other factors that can affect lymph drainage include:
- Lack of physical exercise
- Poor diet
- Shallow breathing
- Pollution
Lymph Massage Benefits
Manual lymph drainage massage is a method of enhancing the mechanisms of your lymphatic system.
If the flow of lymph within your body is impeded or sluggish, toxins are allowed to build up. This can lead to bloating and puffiness of the face.
Manual lymphatic drainage massage helps you to counteract and reverse this process by draining the toxins into the lymph nodes where it can be eliminated – thus detoxifying the body.
Basically this is deep cleansing and its very best.
When you perform lymph massage on your face you are working towards a better complexion by flushing away all those built up toxins and impurities and directing them to where they need to go to be processed – the lymph nodes.
This simple, extra addition to your skin care routine can make all the difference when it comes to a tighter and brighter complexion.
Locating The Lymph Nodes
Your entire body has lymph nodes however for facial massage the following nodes are the most important:
1) Paratoid Lymph Nodes
These are located around the base of the ears, starting just in front of the ear and going back to the hollow point just behind the ears.
If you trace a semi-circle with your fingers from the front of the ear to the hollow behind you will have located the area correctly.
These nodes are a part of the parotoid glands and working this area can help to increase tightness and reduce puffiness in the face.
2) Cervical Lymph Nodes
These nodes can be found extending downwards from the bottom of the ears at the sides of the neck.
3) Supraclavicular Lymph Nodes
You will find these lymph nodes in the hollow area just above the collar bone on the front of the body.
4) Axillary Lymph Nodes
You may be surprised to know that lymph nodes in the armpits are a part of manual lymphatic drainage massage for the face.
However these nodes, located in the armpits are where the waste and toxins from the face, neck and collar bones need to be drained to.
Lymph Massage For Vibrant, Younger Looking Skin
Massaging the face to help speed up the lymph drainage process is not difficult to perform and as many lymph vessels are located just below the skin you will find that a little effort goes a long way.
If you practice facial lymph massage regularly you’ll soon notice the difference to your complexion in terms of color and vibrancy.
What’s more you’ll be giving your whole immune system a boost by speeding up the drainage process.
The Basics
When performing facial lymphatic drainage massage make sure you use a facial oil or cleanser to enable your fingers to glide over your skin rather than drag it.
Some nodes may feel slightly swollen after or during massage but this is just a sign that the massage has worked.
Toxins have been directed to the lymph nodes where they can be processed effectively.
Lymph Massage 1
This massage works with the lymph nodes around the face and will also help to target a sagging jaw line and double chin.
If lymph flow is sluggish the facial contours around your neck may start to sag.
The following massage can help to keep this area toned and prevent a double chin from forming in the first place.
You can perform this massage easily whenever you have the time.
1. Place both thumbs under the chin
2. Slide each thumb along the underside of the jaw line out towards the ears
3. When you reach the ears press firmly into the lymph nodes located in the hollow dent just behind each ear
4. Next press the lymph nodes behind one ear with the fingers of your other hand, keeping the palm flat (press right hand fingers to left ear or vice versa)
5. Then glide the flat of your hand downwards towards the collar bones to drain the lymph to this area
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 on the other side
Lymph Massage 2
Caring for the skin of the neck to avoid it becoming wrinkled and saggy is important because the neck is one of the parts of the body that can give away our true age.
1. Using neck cream press down firmly on the lymph nodes behind the ears with the middle fingers of each hand and hold for a count of 10 or more
2. Glide the flats of your hands down along the sides of the neck to the collar bone to push along those trapped toxins
3. Next place your fingers into the hollow areas above the collar bone on either side and glide your hands along the length of this bone, pushing waste out towards the shoulders
4. Continue to glide the fingers downwards moving the waste along to lymph nodes under the arms
5. Finally press the armpits with a gentle squeezing action and hold for a count of 5
An Easy But Powerful Way To Better Skin
Lymph drainage massage is much simpler than it sounds – as you now know!
This simple process can really help to speed up the removal of unwanted waste and toxins from your body and give you a brighter, firmer complexion that suggests health, vitality and youth.