beauty

Turn your at-home cleanse into a facial in just two minutes.

Image via iStock.

For most of us, professional facials and spa treatments are a luxury reserved for special occasions. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get professional-looking (and feeling) results from your at-home cleanse.

Once you’ve found the right products for your skin type, the next step is learning how to apply them to ensure you’re getting the best results possible. While most of us operate a quick slather, rub and rinse routine, celebrity facialist and Sanctuary Spa Skin Expert Nichola Joss says adding in a massage will work wonders.

“I always recommend that you should massage all products in to your skin – massage your cleanser and day cream in to skin for a couple of minutes each to get the real benefits by pushing the products deeper into the skin,” she says.

In the evening, complement this by using a facial oil, spending three to four minutes massaging in to the skin for the best results.

“A regular facial massage will help improve the radiance of the skin by stimulating the blood circulation to the face, while also increasing the lymph flow which helps to remove toxins and make the skin look more radiant,” she explains. We’re in. (Post continues after gallery.)

 

Facial massage movements and lymphatic drainage can also have an anti-ageing effect by helping to increase skin cell turnover which slows down as you get older.

The best part? It can be done in less than two minutes.

How to master the facial massage (thanks to Nichola Joss).

1. After cleansing, start with small circular motions using the fingertips, working from the centre of the face outwards and upwards.

2. Draw your thumbs down the sides of the neck and under the  ears to stimulate the lymphatic system.

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Draw your thumbs down the side of the neck. Image via iStock.

 

3. Go over again using deeper massage movements for drainage, as well as to de-puff, de-stress and relax the muscles.

4. To work on the inside of the mouth, massage along the inner jaw line to the back of the jaw, up and under the cheek bone area and around the outer jaw muscle and along the upper lip line.

However it's important to remember that this particular massage is not meant to be a relaxing, fall-asleep type routine but rather an energising one. That said, it shouldn't leave your skin red and blotchy, so do take care not to be too firm.

What does your cleansing routine involve?