How to Use Face Massage Tools for Lymphatic Drainage?

Discover the benefits of Clarins’ signature facial massage techniques—rooted in spa expertise—to enhance your skincare results and elevate your daily routine.

Since Clarins opened its first spa in Paris 70 years ago, founder Jacques Courtin-Clarins’ exclusive lymphatic drainage facial massage techniques have been used by our Beauty Experts to optimize the performance of our anti-aging formulas, provide a relaxing spa-like experience, and produce immediate and long-lasting visible results. Our exclusive application methods have evolved over the decades and offer the following facial massage benefits:

• Release toxins

• Nourish

• Visibly firm, hydrate

• Cleanse

• Refine skin texture and visibly lift without rubbing or stretching the skin

If you’re new to facial massage, read through this guide and incorporate it into your daily beauty routine. We encourage our customers to try our face massage methods or tools because we know improving your skincare goes beyond the products—how you apply them is just as important.

Key Takeaways

• Face massage is a gentle way to stimulate the skin using your hands or a facial tool designed for your face.

• Lymphatic drainage massages for your face can help visibly refresh tired-looking skin, relieve tension and provide a more radiant appearance. 

• Face massages can be done with your hands or a tool and both options just require an oil or moisturizing product to help your hands or tool glide.

• You always want to apply gentle upward and outward motion and take note of acupressure points for the full benefits of the massage. 

• Facial massage should be a part of your self-care to stimulate and visibly revive your skin. 

What is face massage, and why does it feel so good? 

Face massage is exactly what it sounds like—a gentle, purposeful way to stimulate the skin using your hands or a facial tool. Methods are designed to maximize face massage benefits like lymphatic drainage, improved circulation, and enhanced performance of your skincare products—all while delivering a feeling of relief and relaxation.

Regular lymphatic drainage massages for your face can help refresh tired-looking skin, relax facial tension, and give your complexion a more radiant, sculpted look. Consider it another level in your self-care routine.

Other benefits include:

• A more rested, lifted appearance

• Reduced puffiness and visible dullness

• Improved glow and smoother-looking skin

With the right technique, you are rejuvenating your skin as you work. Between ridding the face of toxins and giving your skin a smoother look, it’s no wonder a proper facial massage feels so good. 

What is a lymphatic drainage face massage?

A lymphatic draining face massage is an ancient technique that flushes out toxins to de-puff the face, decongest, ease tension, and boost skin’s glow. Over time, waste can build up in facial tissues. Lymphatic face massage speeds the removal of toxins from the face and transports them to the lymph nodes, where they are filtered out and eliminated.

The skincare benefits of lymphatic drainage face massages

Lymphatic drainage face massages support the skin’s microcirculation for a rosy glow and help naturally cleanse the skin by releasing toxins that lead to puffiness, dullness, and inflammation.

A face massage roller or Chinese Gua Sha tool promotes lymphatic drainage to visibly lift, sculpt, firm, plump, and relax muscles and smooth the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Face massages also improve the absorption of skincare products like serums, moisturizers, and lotions. If you don’t have a face massage tool, your hands can also be used for a refreshing face massage.

To get the most out of each session, start with clean, hydrated skin and a few drops of face oil or serum to help your tool glide comfortably. Focus on upward and outward movements, following the natural contours of your face to support drainage. Regular use helps reduce the look of puffiness and dullness and encourages a more toned, sculpted appearance over time. For optimal results, pair your massage with products designed to visibly lift, hydrate, and revitalize skin—enhancing both the ritual and the results.

How to do a face massage

Gentle stimulation of the acupressure points in the face through a lymphatic facial massage can be achieved with the hands or facial massage tools. Our tools are proven to visibly reduce swelling and puffiness in the face, enhance hydration, and promote a healthier-looking, more radiant complexion.

We’ll give a more detailed breakdown of using each of these tools in the next section, but if you’re more interested in the hands-only approach, follow these instructions:

• Warm product between palms

• Press gently onto cheeks, forehead, and neck

• Use fingertips and heels of hands to stimulate facial acupressure points (like between the brows, temples, and under cheekbones)

• Glide upward along jawline and cheeks

• Tap lightly around the eyes

• Finish with smoothing strokes from the center of face outward

How to use face massage tools

With 70 years of spa expertise, Clarins- the expert in face massages--has created the two best tools for lymphatic facial massage. Let’s look at how to use each one and then compare hands-on facial massage vs. using facial tools.

Using a multi-use tool like our L’Outil 3-in-1 Facial Massager

Clarins’ luxurious Precious L’Outil 3-in-1 Facial Massage Tool mimics the facial massage techniques developed at our spas to enhance the anti-aging benefits of Precious La Crème and any other anti-aging Clarins moisturizer. The unique shape fits naturally into the hand to visibly firm, lift, and provide a deeply relaxing anti-aging experience at home.

Here’s how to massage your face with the L’Outil:

• Prime your face for the massage by applying a facial moisturizer.

• Apply pressure in circular movements on your chin and above your lips using the side of your fingertip.

• Apply pressure in circular movements starting under your eyes and working outwards. Continue across the cheeks, over and between the eyebrows.

• Using the crescent moon side of the tool, make gentle smoothing movements on each side of the face:

• Starting under the eyes toward the ears three times

• From the mouth toward the ears three times

• From the chin toward the ears three times

• Upwards over your forehead, starting from the center of the eyebrows

• Down the neck on both sides

• Finish by using the cushion side of the Precious massage tool to glide:

• Under the eyes toward the ears

• From the nose bridge toward the temples

• From the chin toward the ears.

• From the eyebrows to the forehead

• Across each side of the forehead.

• Down the neck

Comparing hand vs. tool face massages

Tools like Gua Sha rollers and the Precious L’Outil provide more precision and pressure, making them ideal for sculpting and depuffing. Hand massages offer flexibility, control, and the added benefit of touch—great for stimulating acupressure points and enhancing product absorption. While both methods support lymphatic drainage, tools can elevate your routine with spa-like consistency and targeted movement. For best results, alternate between both approaches based on your skincare goals.

Apply face serums or lotions for next-level comfort 

Pairing your face massage with the right serum or lotion can really elevate your massage experience. A hydrating serum or nourishing lotion creates the ideal texture for your hands to glide smoothly over the skin, minimizing tugging and maximizing comfort. 

Massaging serums into the skin also boosts absorption, allowing their plant-based ingredients to deliver visible radiance and hydration more effectively. Creams and lotions, meanwhile, help lock in moisture while supporting the skin barrier during massage. You’re not just layering products—you’re amplifying them.

Try a lightweight serum in the morning to wake up your skin and a richer lotion at night for a comforting wind-down ritual. With the right Clarins formulas, your hands become your most powerful beauty tool—enhancing both the experience and the results with every touch.

Don’t feel comfortable giving yourself a face massage yet? Our expert beauty coaches and estheticians are happy to help over a live virtual consultation. To experience the benefits of face massage first-hand from our Beauty Experts, visit a Clarins Spa in person.

Final application tips for a relaxing, glow-boosting ritual 

The key to visible results is consistency. Once you understand how to properly perform a facial massage, a few mindful minutes each day can leave your skin looking smoother, more radiant, and refreshed. Think of facial massage as more than a step in your routine—it’s a wellness ritual, a beauty practice, and a little self-care rolled into one.

You can elevate your nighttime routine with a facial massage using your favorite Clarins product for a moment of peace and quiet. Morning massages can help awaken tired-looking skin, while nighttime rituals support skin’s natural overnight renewal.

Don’t try to push too hard for better results. Gentle pressure with your fingertips or facial tool can visibly boost circulation, reduce puffiness, and give your complexion a relaxed, lifted look over time. It’s not just about looking good—it’s about feeling good in your skin every day.

Ready to elevate your routine? Explore Clarins skincare and face massage tools here and bring the spa home.

Any Questions?

What tools can I use for facial massage?

Popular options include Gua Sha stones, face rollers, and multi-use tools like Clarins’ L’Outil 3-in-1 Facial Massage Tool. Each offers different benefits depending on your goals, from sculpting to soothing.

How often should I perform facial massage?

You can massage your face daily—once in the morning to energize and again at night to relax and support overnight renewal. Even just a few minutes can make a visible difference over time.

Are there any precautions to consider with facial massage?

Use light pressure, especially around the eyes, and always massage on clean, moisturized skin. If you have sensitive or reactive skin, test new tools or techniques slowly to avoid irritation.

Can facial massages help with skin issues like puffiness and dullness?

Yes—facial massage supports lymphatic drainage and boosts circulation, reducing visible puffiness and reviving dull-looking skin. It’s a simple way to promote a more radiant, refreshed appearance

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