“Will my skin become saggy from face massage?”

This is a very good question - it's only natural to question whether or not regular self face massage contributes to skin sagging.

Dr. Neal Schultz, a dermatologist speaking on DermTV rightly points out: "If you cause unnecessary stretching of the elastic skin, it will cause failure of the elastic fibers and it will sag and stretch out sooner".

I agree that excessive pulling of the skin could cause sagging, even if the moves are ‘against’ the gravity, however... a face massage done in a correct way would never involve excessive stretching or pulling.

This is NOT the move you should ever see in face massage!

Image from: http://www.stylecraze.com/articles/effective-home-remedies-for-skin-tightening/#gref

In my opinion from time to time it’s ok to go through a face “therapy” with e.g. Tanaka massage which proposes quite powerful moves or have a session in a Spa involving an intensive facial but if we are talking about regular self massage, moves should always be done:

[if !supportLists]1. Gently (which means no stretching, pulling, no strong pressure)

[if !supportLists]2. On an oily surface (using either oils or rich creams)

[if !supportLists]3. We should feel like we’re softly moving something “under” the skin rather than moving, or what’s worse – folding the skin itself

[if !supportLists]4. It shouldn’t be done too frequently, last too long or have too many repetitions (the massage should last 3 – 5 min)

I’ve been a fan of gentle self face massage since I first discovered it - I was around 21. I’m 28 now and I strongly believe face massage helps to maintain the skin condition I currently have, without which I might have looked differently now. By no means I say it stops ageing completely as my face is changing over time and it WILL continue to change but the massage helps to delay and make the changes softer.

Left: picture of my mum in her early 20's (without face massage) , Right: Picture of me at 28

Because I understand not everyone will find words of 28 year old believable on this subject, below I put together opinions and evidence from other (older) people.

On this forum a person identifying himself as cosmetic practitioner says:

“I am a cosmetic practitioner and I teach my patients the Tanaka massage. The issue is you must understand your own skin and the A&P of the human face. Massage is what I think one of the top five things woman should do for their skin.”

(I would like to know what other 4 things are ;) )

Another person on the same forum claims that after the regular face massage she “also noticed the jowls disappearing.”

On this page we read that "a deep tissue facial massage will help to tighten loose skin by reattaching the skin to the bones."

Furthermore, we can read here that “group Shiseido concluded that impaired function of lymphatic vessels leads to accumulation of subcutaneous fat, which causes skin sagging”.

In another words - this shows face massage by removing the lymph accumulation prevents from skin sagging and not causes it!

The image below taken from this page shows the close up of the deeper layer of the skin before and after few months of regular face massage. We read that face massage “targets the section of the dermis that looses its density with age through improving microcirculation, bringing oxygen and nutrients to the cells.” (which means the skin

keeps together better and tighter after face massage - again, opposite to skin sagging!)

Pictures description: “the space between the deep dermis and the superficial layer was diminished. The skin also increased its firmness.”

On this website we see a picture of a 56 year old lady after a single session of face massage (below) - the skins looks visibly healthier and lifted.

Furthermore, Asian ladies although genetically more prone to skin sagging than other ethnicities are famous for a high proportion of women who look ageless despite advancing in age, many of them openly admit that face massage is an essential part of their skincare regime.

The age of ladies from the pictures from the left: 43, 37 and 35.

Picture from: http://www.zeberka.pl/art/dlaczego-azjatki-wygladaja-20-lat-mlodziej-31396

Finally, do you remember Dr. Neal Schultz quote from the beginning - "If you cause unnecessary stretching of the elastic skin, it will cause failure of the elastic fibers and it will sag and stretch out sooner"?

With this quote he was actually referring to… facial exercises. He continues: "Facial exercise is a total no-no for helping your facial skin and texture". The recommendation instead goes like this: “Instead of facial movements to tighten the skin, you can practice massage exercises to stimulate circulation, which can be beneficial to your skin”.

It’s important to know face massage is not for everyone. For example if your skin is delicate, thin or has a small layer of fat tissues (you feel half of the face moving with each massage stroke), it may not be for you.

In this case, apart from working on skin’s thickness and elasticity, a good alternative to face massage could be facial acupressure.

To sum up, from what I’ve looked at, I found nothing to suggest a gentle face massage could cause skin sagging. In fact my findings confirmed the opposite is true – facial massage helps to make the skin tighter, can prevent or even reverse sagging (to some extend).

I have hardly found any negative comments/feedback/evidence regarding face massage (please go ahead and search yourself if you don't believe me ;) ).

One "negative" mention I spotted on this page where some side effects like swelling have been reported but it was commented to be “subjective and temporary”.

Although I found a lot of positive feedback regarding face massage, what I was missing was a good long term study on a group of people practicing face massage on a regular basis through their lives to ultimately confirm or deny the allegation that regular face massage can cause skin sagging. Unfortunately I didn't find anything like this.

If you are familiar with such study, please let us know. If not, it looks like I’m on a good way to becoming the first self massage guinea pig ;)

If any of You have experienced sagging after regular face massage practice, please share with us, I (and others) would be genuinely interested in finding out about it.

Many thanks for reading :)

Olga

#goodread #facemassage #antiaging