Why Facial Massage Is the Skin-Care Habit I’m Committing to in 2021 - Vogue

[massage]

I’m not the only one who has caught onto the trend. My coworkers are constantly texting about different variations of gua shas and face-zapping tools. It’s like collecting Pokémon cards: There is a new update on a tool every week, and we have to catch them all. My facial-workout obsession reached new heights during lockdown, when the lack of a commute meant I finally had the time to take 30 minutes out of my morning to do a meaningful amount of above-neck reps after my full-body fitness routine. This type of dedication is common among fans of FaceGym, a studio that offers face-sculpting sessions featuring special massage techniques. The company reports that its online sales (including both online classes and products) are up 700% year to date.

For those not quite ready to commit to a gym, there is a slew of Instagram accounts dedicated to facial massage and workout how-tos. Anastasia Burdog, 40, of @anyclass.faceonline boasts more than two million followers, and uses a tightening-and-release technique often referred to as “face gymnastics.” She offers her classes in Russian, but you don’t have to understand the language to get the gist of the instruction. (Plus, the before-and-after images will convert anyone into giving their visage the Liberace treatment.) Then there’s 30-year-old Karina Trigubchak of Ukraine, whose skin is as smooth as a baby’s palm. While she has only been publicly active on her account for about a year, she has been practicing facial exercise for more than five years. “The essence of my course is very different from massage or face fitness. Face fitness pumps the muscles of the face, which is essentially not correct,” she writes in Russian. “All problems, such as expression wrinkles, creases on the face, are due to spasmodic and shortened muscles. Therefore, my technique is aimed at relaxing the muscles of the face.” Call me a sucker, but whenever I have a moment, I find myself pinching my eyebrows à la Trigubchak in the hopes of widening my eyes.

The results of all this exercise are evident to me, but does the science back it up? I’ve heard skepticism around my very long morning facial routine, mostly from my mother and friends who are constantly questioning whether the results are permanent. But cosmetic and medical dermatologist Hadley King notes that there is evidence in several studies that these facial workouts, well, work out in the long-term. She does note, however, that those studies involved informed technique: “The subjects were following a specific and rigorous massage methodology and it wasn’t some just haphazard rubbing.” To that end, King suggests that better data is needed to support the magic of facial workouts. “We don’t understand all the mechanisms,” she says. “[But] there is some limited data that shows that there might be real results from these things.” While I wait for the additional assurance that my routine is backed by robust data, I’ll still be kneading my face every morning—that killer concave silver in my cheek doesn’t lie.

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Herbivore Jade De-Puffing Face Roller

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