Makeup can conceal dark circles, fake a post-holiday glow and brighten tired skin — but what it can’t do is depuff. Luckily, you can help deal with that problem yourself in minutes, at no extra cost. Enter the at-home lymphatic drainage massage — a technique legendary makeup artist Val Garland swears by for depuffing mature skin and making your skincare work harder.
With a career spanning more than 30 years, Val is more than well versed in the world of beauty. Her glitzy client list includes the likes of Helen Mirren and Kate Moss, and she regularly shares all the tips and tricks she uses to help mature skin look its best.
She says that face draining massage is something that can easily be incorporated into your routine, post-serum. ‘It’s best to wait a moment and let serum do its job,’ she says, in her latest Instagram tutorial. ‘So what better way to use that time than give yourself an lymphatic drainage massage?’
The name sounds more complicated than it really is. ‘It’s not about facial gymnastics,’ she reassures. ‘This is about reducing the puffiness and swelling in your face. True lymphatic drainage is very gentle, and on mature skin, it’s the perfect companion.’
Once your favourite serum has settled into the skin — Val recommends Weleda’s Blue Gentian & Edelweiss serum — your hands can do the rest. Starting with her middle and index fingers, she demonstrates a gentle pressing motion. ‘Work from the centre of your forehead out towards your temples,’ she explains. She repeats the movement further down the forehead, moving across the brow bone.
Using the same motion, she then works down the face. ‘Come down, start close to your tear duct under your eyes, and just gently roll your fingers across your face out towards the outer edge,’ she explains. She continues the technique along the nasolabial folds, beneath the lips and over the lymph nodes just below the ears.
Reaching the lymph nodes, she switches up the technique slightly. ‘Under your ears, you're then going to gently use circular motions and bring your fingers down to your clavicle.’
To finish the massage, she brings in her full hands. ‘Take your hands and just literally feather across the top of your face all the way down to finish the ritual. It's very gentle, it's a very light pressure. This massage will really help to push that serum in,’ she says, demonstrating a soft sweeping motion with her fingertips.
With the massage complete, her serum has fully settled into the skin — and in just two minutes her skin is left depuffed, prepped and ready for makeup. ‘You can see that it's really absorbed into my skin,’ she says. ‘As a mature woman, you want to be kind and treat your skin. By doing this gentle lymphatic drainage massage, you are really helping the product to deliver into the skin.’
In her own words: ‘You don't need tools, you don't need gadgets — all you need is your magic fingers.’
