Best facial massage tools: Sculpt and tone with these contouring products

Best facial massage tools: Sculpt and tone with these contouring products

From the stress of lockdown life, maskne or our ever-increased exposure to blue light, our complexions have been through a lot this year.

While stretching out your body - whether through yoga or the end of a strenuous workout - may be commonplace, few of us think about our overworked facial muscles.

Squinting at screens, or clenching your jaw puts a lot of strain on the face that needs releasing; but have no fear - we have just the tools to help.

There are few things more satisfying and soothing than rolling these devices - whether manual or electronic - across your face. The therapeutic process is not only a stress release but has a real, noticeable impact on your complexion by encouraging blood circulation, reducing puffiness, toning and minimising the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. These products also make your skin more susceptible to your hard-working lotions and potions so you get real bang for your buck by maximising the efficacy of the active ingredients.

Celebrity facialist (Irina Shayk, Gigi Hadid and Rooney Mara are regular clients to name but a few) and founder of 001 Skincare Ada Ooi explains, “Massaging regularly helps to release fascia and muscle tensions to avoid the formation of habitual lines, they also facilitate microcirculation and lymphatic drainage to bring the skin back to life.”

She also stresses the positive mental side effects, “Massage stimulates our brain to release endorphins that help us relax our mind that can lead to releasing any tension in our muscles and the skin around them. It also stimulates dopamine - the happy hormone that rewards our brain, giving you a positive response to feel good about yourself and what you’re doing”. “In return”, she adds “you’ll see better skin especially if you use moisturiser or massage oil at the same time.”

You may already be familiar with jade rollers as a fixture in online skincare tutorials but technology both old and new go far beyond this manual tool that we know and love.

For the salon experience from the comfort of your own home, there are a slew of hi-tech devices that use vibrations to release tension as well as quartz stones that hark back to ancient Chinese, Green and Egyptian medicine - namely Gua Sha - that revitalise your complexion, increases the skin elasticity and stimulates cells to give you razor-sharp cheekbones and a defined jawline.

Golden rule: always roll upwards in one direction and keep the stones, rollers or ice globes in the fridge to optimise the cooling and soothing effects.

Nuface Trinity Facial Training Kit
Use morning or night for just five minutes and you’ll instantly see results with NuFace’s Trinity. The hi-tech device uses microcurrents to stimulate areas of the face with contouring and toning effects. The product will also minimise the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles where the results become more pronounced and long-lasting with continual use. When your skin is looking lacklustre or tired, this will help fake that eight hour snooze effect by reviving and depuffing. This is a small change you can make to your beauty routine that will make a huge difference to your facial muscles.

RéVive RéVolve Contouring Massage Roller
After a long, stressful day, we like to come home (or step away from our WFH set-up), take off all our makeup and roll our face till the stresses melt away. The RéVive RéVolve Contouring Massage Roller is one of the best in the game. It feels cold and soothing when it comes to contact with the skin and has an immediate de-stressing benefit. The act itself is hugely therapeutic but you will also notice the reduction in puffiness for a more contoured look. Golden rule: always roll in one direction and use the roller around the forehead, neck and shoulders and the smaller reverse side around the more delicate eyes and lip areas.

FRAÎCHEUR PARIS Ice Globes - Coral Glitter
A beauty editor’s best-kept secret, this may be one of the best hacks in the game and it couldn’t be more simple to introduce into your regime. Put your Ice Globes in the freezer for 20 minutes or so and take advantage of the cryotherapy-esque treatment for the comfort of your own home (without the steep spa price tag). The globes are crafted from glass with an anti-freeze liquid that just so happens to be glittery - bonus brownie points.

But more importantly, when placed on your skin, they brighten your complexion, encourage circulation, reduce the appearance of dark circles and are a godsend to sun burnt skin. They also work to encourage the healing process of scars even those pesky acne ones.

White Lotus Rose Quartz Gua Sha
With origins in Chinese medicine, ‘Gua Sha’ is a scraping technique using a rose quartz stone that increases blood circulation, while refining and contouring the skin. While you’ll find stones at every price point, look out for ones like this from White Lotus that are crafted entirely from the highest grade natural rose quartz - this ensures the product stays cool and maximises the tightening and toning effects. It also comes in a luxurious silk-lined box so makes a great gift for the skincare enthusiast in your life.

Herbivore Jade Facial Roller
Whether you stay up to date with the latest beauty innovations or take a more simplistic approach to your skincare regimen, you will have likely seen or heard of a jade roller - from your Instagram feed to the pages of glossy magazines. The origins also stem from Chinese medicine to both destress with the therapeutic rolling process, while also to brighten your complexion. It’s an inside and out kind of beauty gizmo.

Herbivore’s roller is one of the best we’ve ever used for the dual-ended construction, cooling jade and the ease in the mechanics of the actual rolling process. Apply your favourite lotion or potion to your skin and roll the piece over your skin in one direction (upwards!). For an even more satisfying application over summer, keep the roller in the fridge. This is a durable option and so is an immediate investment for long term use.

MZ Skin TONE & LIFT Germanium Contouring Facial Roller
From the brand behind one of ES’ Best rated LED face masks comes this roller that is crafted with germanium and gets to work contouring the face and reducing puffiness. It couldn’t be easier to use, simply roll over your skin to improve the tone and texture. You will notice that your complexion appears more radiant and it encourage the body’s natural curative abilities and so it can better defend itself against external aggressors like pollution or blue light.

001 Skincare London CRYOpress Ice Facial Massager
Recreate the cryo part of your favourite facial at-home with 001 Skincare’s massager. With the satisfying roll of the massager, you are giving your complexion a major boost. It maintains a temperature of -8 to -25 degrees, which stimulates lymphatic draining, soothes inflammation and redness and encourages circulation so your skin looks happy, healthy, fresh and radiant. With continued use, the results become better and more long-lasting. It’s no wonder that one sells every two minutes and it has an extensive celebrity fan base that includes Jennifer Aniston and Gigi Hadid. If it’s good enough for Jen...

Sensica Sensilift Mini
Bring your beauty kit in line with the 21st century with this tool that uses radio frequency to fine-tune skin. For those who take a no-nonsense approach to their skincare, this product needs only to be used once a week and just for five minutes - easy! It penetrates into the dermal layers for an effective treatment that is far more than just skin deep. The Sensilift encourages a boost of collagen for greater skin elasticity as well as tightens and smooths with impressive reductions in the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It is entirely painless with zero downtime and totally safe.

Nurse Jamie UpLift Facial Massaging Beauty Roller
There’s been a huge surge in interest in workouts for the face. This tool comes from renowned label Nurse Jamie that is beloved by A-listers like Kim Kardashian and combines the expertise from the Hollywood-based expert to UK shores. It is constructed with 24 massaging stones with tourmaline quartz that, when rolled over the skin, has a tightening and toning effect. The massage roller works to release muscle tension and boost collagen production at the same time.

Verdict
The Nuface Trinity Facial Training Kit may seem costly but it’s the easiest and most fool-proof method on this list to instantly revive your complexion and release muscle tension. For manual massaging and toning, you can’t go wrong with Herbivore’s Jade Facial Roller.