Waking up with a puffy, bloated face – nobody needs that. Although what if i told you, there were a few simple things you could do to get rid of the puffiness, because there are!
There are many causes of a puffy or bloated face although poor circulation and toxic build up from a poor diet (especially one high in salt, processed foods and alcohol) are often to blame. Medical conditions such as sinusitis can also be culprits for puffy eyes however, if you don’t suffer from any of these perhaps we should be focusing on what we eat.
Making adjustments to your lifestyle and diet are key to reducing a bloated face. Make sure you’re eating lots of fresh high water content foods and of course, reducing your salt and alcohol intake too. Drinking more water will help flush out toxins and discourage any fluid retention.
How can we deal when we wake up looking puffy, bloated and worse for wear – whether it’s our own fault or not? Attacking it first thing in the morning is key.
Top Tip
Drink a cup of hot water and lemon as soon as you wake up. This will help kick start and aid in your body’s natural detoxification process. Applying a cool, damp compress over your face and leaving it for 10 minutes or so will also work. The colder the compress the better so I recommend using ice water.
Step By Step at Home Facial Massage
Most importantly though, facial massage with your serum or moisturiser will save your day – and your face! I love a good facial massage, especially one focusing on toning and lymphatic drainage. It can do wonders for decongesting and reducing puffiness.
Lymphatic drainage massage manually aids detoxification on your face by draining toxins to your lymph nodes and is a technique that increases circulation and lymph flow, which aids in your skin/face flushing out toxins and fluid build-up too.
Although with very limited time today, is it even possible to do a simple lymphatic facial massage on our own? All you need is a good serum or face moisturiser and follow these easy three steps outlined below:
1. Starting both hands between your eyebrows, push hands to the hairline and slide down to the ears (lymph nodes are here). Repeat the step, so that you have drained top, middle and bottom of forehead and on brow bones. 2. Now under the eyes. Start from inner corner of the eyes and slide hands towards the ears. Repeat the step, covering cheeks, mouth and chin. Always middle and out. 3. Last step is the neck, massage up neck and under the jaw towards chin. Then from chin, sweep both hands towards the ears.
Giving your face a good, light pressured massage might also work better if you invest in a Gut She tool as well. Mainly because they can be used cold to increase the circulation (if you put them in the fridge or freezer) and can really work to massage deeply and release muscle tension when your face is super puffy.
Also investing in skin firming and hydrating products such as Hydracool and Moisturising Complex can work miracles for your hydration levels and lowering inflammation.
And you can never beat an expert facial massage every couple of weeks, because there’s nothing better than getting that after massage glow…and walking out with cheekbones! Did you know, lymphatic drainage is included in our Deep Clean Hydrafacial, The Ultimate and The Signature Facial.
My Go-To Gua Sha Tool
The number one tool you need to magically de-puff your face. You can even pop it in the fridge or freezer and use it first thing in the morning or evening (when you prefer and have time!)
Work it, stretch it, get that blood flowing... Combining the power of ancient Chinese medicine massage technique – Gua Sha with western skincare savviness. This is a facial massage that will give your face a massive shake up, get your blood flowing and help de-bloat your face.