Over time, our face shows the first signs of aging: the skin loses tone, the face marks more and wrinkles appear. To delay their appearance, the solution is at your fingertips thanks to facial self-massages. Regular use of these massages restores firmness to the face, combats sagging and promises a radiant complexion.

Discover this miraculous gesture that sublimates your skin and preserves its youthfulness!

THE WRINKLES ON OUR FACES

The face is made up of about fifty muscles, more or less solicited daily. These different muscles give tonicity to our face and sculpt it. Over time, the fibres become distended, the features slacken and the expression folds become permanent. The production of collagen, elastin,hyaluronic acid, and cell renewal decreases. Several changes take place in the different layers of the skin and wrinkles form. Among these are :

- frown lines: located between the eyebrows, these vertical wrinkles begin to appear around the age of 30. They are due to the folding of the muscles in this area, linked to our expressions.

- forehead wr inkles: forehead wrinkles appear horizontally. They can appear as early as the twenties in the form of fine lines and become deeper with age. They form as a result of the contraction of the forehead muscle.

- Crow's feet: located at the outer corner of the eye, these wrinkles form as a result of blinking or smiling. The skin around our eyes is very thin and tends to mark easily, especially with the loss of skin suppleness.

- Smile lines (naso-labial fold): these are vertical wrinkles that run from the corner of the mouth to the wings of the nose. As their name indicates, these wrinkles are marked with the smile but intensify with the loss of facial fat.

-Bitterness lines: these lines start at the corners of the lips, go down towards the chin and give the impression of an inverted smile. Emotions of sadness and disagreement may contribute to the appearance of these wrinkles, but they are more pronounced because of age-related skin slackening. These folds usually appear around the age of 50.

THE BENEFITS OF FACIAL MASSAGES TO REDUCE WRINKLES 

Very widespread in Asia, particularly in Chinese medicine or in Japan with the practice of "Kobido", facial massage is a natural anti-wrinkle method that brings many benefits to your skin. Thanks to the different movements exercised, the massage stimulates the skin by restoring blood flow and oxygenation. It boosts cell renewal and collagen production, slowing down and attenuating skin aging. The skin gradually regains tone, elasticity and a younger appearance. Wrinkles are smoothed out, less apparent, the face is more luminous and the skin regains all its radiance! It is important to combine these anti-wrinkle massages with a healthy lifestyle in order to take full advantage of all their benefits.

Different variants of facial massage are also making their appearance, such as facial gymnastics, also known as "facial yoga". Like massage, these other techniques have similar benefits on the signs of aging. They are practiced through contractions of the muscles of the face and neck, in order to regain toned and firm skin.

Good for wrinkle prevention, but not only!

In addition to preventing and reducing wrinkles, facial self-massage is particularly beneficial in providing a feeling of physical and mental relaxation. The massage not only relieves facial tension, but also releases tension from the body. It accompanies the relaxation of the tissues and the mind, particularly by massaging the temples and scalp. Taking time for yourself, even if it is only for a few minutes, is always beneficial!

GOOD SELF-MASSAGE PRACTICES 

The ideal age to start anti-wrinkle massages

As soon as the first wrinkles and fine lines appear (around 25-30 years old), you can integrate anti-wrinkle facial massages into your beauty routine. Stimulating your skin as a preventive measure will be your little secret to preserving your youth capital.

Frequency of massages

Performed occasionally, facial massages will give your complexion a glow, diminish signs of fatigue and give you a feeling of happiness. The beneficial anti-ageing effects appear with regular practice over the long term. Carry out these self-massages once or twice a week to slow down the signs of ageing. It is up to you to increase their frequency and vary their duration according to your needs and lifestyle (5 minutes a day, 20 minutes twice a week ...).

The use of a treatment to facilitate movement

To ensure that the movements are fluid and to increase the feeling of well-being, you can perform your facial massage using a vegetable oil (borage, jojoba, sweet almond, apricot), your organic moisturizer or a lifting serum, to be warmed beforehand in your hands. Ideally, massage in the evening, when applying your skin care products, so that their active ingredients are well absorbed by the skin.

Make-up removal to prepare your skin for massage

To prepare your face for massages, it is important that your skin is clean and free of make-up, especially if you take advantage of this moment to apply your treatments. Make sure you use products that gently remove make-up and respect your skin. To dissolve make-up and remove impurities, you can use an organic make-up remover oil. To cleanse your skin, turn to an organic facial cleans er with a natural composition. To perfect make-up removal and soothe the skin, spray a littlerose water. At Akane, all of our skin care products are formulated with our apple and leaf-based Akane oleoactif. This oil has a strong regenerating power, protects the skin from free radicals and slows down the ageing process. It is also 7 times more antioxidant than pure vitamin E.

Additional accessories

For the realization of your self-massages of the face, your fingers and palms are the adequate tools. However, there are other devices such as jade or quartz stone rollers, which are not indispensable, but which can increase the feeling of well-being and maximize relaxation! The freshness of the stones is beneficial for the face and their shape also allows you to precisely massage certain areas such as the eye contour.

MASSAGES TO BE PERFORMED TO REDUCE WRINKLES

Facial massage to prevent wrinkles is a practice accessible to everyone and is easily performed at home, provided that the right gestures are performed on the right areas. Ready, set, go!

Reducing Smile Wrinkles

1. With the pulp of your index finger, make slight horizontal movements along the entire length of the wrinkle. To perform this gesture with more precision, you can tighten your skin with the middle finger and index finger of your other hand.

2. Using your thumb, forefinger and middle finger, lightly pinch, always along the length of your wrinkle, to plump up.

Smooth out forehead wrinkles

1. Run the pulp of your fingers up and down over your forehead, as if you were rubbing it out.

2. Pinch with your thumb and forefinger from the top of your nose to the middle of your forehead.

3. Finally, smooth your forehead, using the fingertips of both hands, from the top of your nose to the beginning of your hairline.

Soften the eye contour area

1. Slide your ring fingers, with light pressure, under your eyebrows to your temples. Do the same under the underside of the eye, from the edges of the nose to the outer corner of the eye.

2. Still under the underside of the eye, lightly palpate and roll: using your opposite hand, let your thumb slide while lightly pinching the skin with the rest of your fingers.

3. 3. Apply small, toning pressures with your fingertips around the eye contour area, including the eyelids.

4. For crow's feet, place your hand in a V-shape, with your index and middle fingers, along the wrinkle. With the tips of your fingers pointing towards the corner of the eye to stretch the eye slightly. With your index finger of the opposite hand, come and "brush" this area, making slight up and down movements.

Erasing frown lines

1. Place your thumb between your 2 eyebrows and make small circles to the right and then to the left.

2. On the same area, position the index and middle fingers and erase from top to bottom and then from left to right.

Erase wrinkles around the mouth and plump up lips

1. Pinch all around the contour of the mouth and also on the lips with the index finger and thumb.

2. To stimulate the production of collagen, pass your 2 index fingers horizontally in succession from the chin to below your lips, like a flutter. Conversely, start from the base of your nose towards your upper lip in the same motion.

These massages are a gentle and natural alternative to surgery, but obviously do not provide the same results. They are the ideal solution for those who wish to gently reduce the signs of aging while regaining self-confidence. In addition, they will bring you an intense moment of relaxation and well-being.

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