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This COVID-19 pandemic and the disruptions it has brought to life is bound to make you feel stressed. This is where a little self-care can go a long way to help you feel relaxed. Then how about incorporating a facial massage into your beauty routine?

Celebrity aesthetician Nichola Joss, who has clients like Meghan Markle, Gisele Bundchen and Kate Moss under her belt, says that a daily facial massage removes tension and stress from muscle tissue. It also plums and hydrates the skin and stimulates blood circulation.

Using your hands and tools like the gua sha and jade rollers can help reduce water retention, sculpt your jawline, de-puff tired eyes and refresh lacklustre skin to make a makeup-free face feel rejuvenated.

Here is a go-to guide on getting started and the tools to use.

Start with your hands

To begin with, try a facial massage with just your hands. According to Joss, once you’ve cleansed your skin and washed your hands, apply a facial oil and start massaging from the centre of your face, working outwards and upwards to sculpt the contours of your face, which will start to remove any built-up tension.

Use a facial oil which is rich in antioxidants, flaxseed, carrot, rosemary and nut oils that will leave you with plump and glowy skin come morning and would be perfect for your evening skincare routine.

“Work along your jawline with your fingers and knuckles to help remove tension from the jawline. Go under the cheekbones and the eye area, concentrating on eyebrow muscles at top of nose, sweeping outwards,” adds Joss.

To finish, use the palms of your hands to make big circle movements on each side of the neck. Joss explains that this “drains congestion and reduces puffiness.”

Why it’s worth using a tool

There are many tools out there that can aid with a facial massage, gua sha and jade rollers are two of the most commonly used at the moment — you’ll no doubt have seen them on your Instagram feed — and both have a history based in Chinese philosophy and medicine.

Gua sha is a small round-edged flat jade tool, and a jade roller is a paint-style roller tool with a larger stone on one end for your cheeks, forehead and jawline and a smaller stone at the other end for under the eyes and around the mouth.

Using a gua sha tool allows you to work deeper into the muscles for deeper tension release. The treatment removes any build-up of lactic acid and encourages lymphatic drainage. Lymphatic drainage encourages the movement of lymph fluid around the body to reduce swelling and a buildup of fluid in areas like the neck and jawline.

How to use your tools

Joss recommends the jade facial roller, which can be popped in the fridge for 10 minutes before use for a cooling effect, especially on puffy eyes from any sleepless nights. Gently roll it across your skin, working in small sections.

Jade rollers are also particularly useful at smoothing sheet masks onto your skin, getting rid of any air pockets and ensuring your skin absorbs as much product as possible for a dewy finished result.

Also try a beauty restorer facial massage tool, with a facial oil, by taking the rounded-edge and pressing it gently all over your face, neck and décolletage for a minute every evening. Don’t forget to press and hold the tool under and over closed eyes, press and stroke it down your neck the drain excess fluid from the lymph glands too.

The Independent