Joannas at-home lymphatic drainage facial massage
By Kayla Spear · Published February 26, 2020 · Updated February 10, 2025
Lymphatic massage is one of my favorite ways to help reduce puffiness, minimize the appearance of dark circles, and lessen the frequency of breakouts.
Lymphatic massage is one of my favorite ways to help reduce puffiness, minimize the appearance of dark circles, and lessen the frequency of breakouts. - Joanna Vargas
We chatted with Joanna on how to recreate her salon routine featured in her signature facials in the comfort of your own home.
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The breakdown:
- Start with clean, dry skin, and position your index and middle fingers just underneath your ears, in the soft indentation behind your jawbone. Using gentle but firm pressure, rub your fingers down, then loop back in a J motion. Continue this J pattern three times, then move to the middle of your neck, right on the sides near your arteries.
- Repeat the same steps on the base of your neck, along your collarbone, chin and jawline.
- Move to your under eyes, massaging in the J pattern along your eye orbit, from the sides of your nose to just below the outer corners of your eyes. End at the place where your cheekbones meet the sides of your eyes. If youve got puffy eyes, especially in the morning, this will dramatically improve under eye bags.
- To move that excess liquid through your lymphatic vessels, massage the sides of your face, right toward the top of your ears, then shift down to the middle of your ears, then to the bottom of your ears, where your jawline begins
- Now reposition your fingers on your forehead, right above your eyebrows. Rub three times here, then move along your forehead, massaging in the middle, and finish at your temples. If youre prone to breakouts on your forehead, this will help clear out the inflammation that triggers them. Because the fluid needs to drain, move to your ear position and massage there, then finish up along your neck. Its vital you remember your neck, because this is where the excess liquid eventually drains out into your tissues.
I recommend lymphatic massage for anyonewhether your skin is dry, oily, or combination. It is so easy to do, and best of all, it takes less than ten minutes; you can do it in the morning or evening, as often as you like. - Joanna Vargas
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