Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Facial exercises for puffy face

There are many reasons as to why a person may seem puffy in the facial area. This is mainly due to water retention. And water retention have many causes, it could be one of the reasons below:

- if your body does not have enough water, your body tissues will hold onto the water it's got, resulting in a 'swollen' effect, especially area your jawline and neck area.
- hormonal changes: it may be the time before or during your menstrual cycle.
- if you are on certain drugs like antibiotics, the pill or most anti-inflammatory drugs are common to cause water retention on the face area.
- Lymph nodes are blocked or not flowing smoothly.

Internal ways to reduce facial puffiness:
- drink lots of water. This prevents your body tissues from holding too much water. I find drinking a glass of warm water first thing in the morning with a squeeze of lemon juice really helps with bloating on my face, especially around the jaw line area. My face is usually quite bloated when i wake up, especially if i had a long night. I find doing this really helps and it has an immediate effect.
- Eat less salty foods.
- Avoid drinking too much alcohol.
- take liver tonics such as milk thistle pills. I am currently taking the ones from GNC and its working quite well. These pills aids to cleaning out the liver, it also helps with acne and works magic for hang overs!

External ways to reduce facial puffiness:
There are 3 ways you can do this, 1 is by using tools such as a facial roller, 2 is by doing facial exercises, and 3 is by getting massages done such as lymphatic drainage.

1/ Using tools
I have one of these facial rollers at home which i bought while i was in Asia. I can tell you that it does work to some degree, but the result is very temporary. I also found that it made my skin worse, either the rolling motion aggravated my acne or there are bacteria on the roller. So i would not recommend this method.


Another tool which i found to have helped with my facial fat is the clarisonic! Just another tick for this magical tool. The vibration acts as a gentle massager which helps with draining the lymph and helping it to flow smoothly. I will do a detailed review on it later on.


2/ Facial exercises

- Stick out your tongue and suck in your cheeks. Maintain that expression for a 10 seconds and then relax. Repeat this 10 times. Do this exercise 2 times a day and you will notice the difference.

-Look in a mirror while doing this exercise. Smile a wide as possible - while keeping your lips closed and your mouth corners turned up. Next wrinkle your nose and see your cheek muscle move upwards and feel these muscles work. Keep for 5 counts, relax and repeat 10 times.

-Sit upright, tilt your head back looking at the ceiling, lips closed and then start a chewing movement. Repeat chewing motion 20 times.


3/ Lymphatic drainage
Lymphatic drainage therapy consists of a manual massage, performed by a therapist. A lymphatic drainage massage primarily focuses on specific lymph nodes and points of the body, as well as the natural flow of the lymphatic system. Proponents of lymphatic drainage believe that the process will reduce blockages of the lymphatic system, which in turn promotes a healthier body.

2 comments:

  1. This is very helpful!!! Thx.

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  2. Lucille MaraschielloMay 9, 2010 at 3:07 AM

    Lucille M. Everyone is saying I've gained weight but I suspected it is only my high dose of anti-inflammatories I am on that has caused my face to puff up and look fuller. Thank you for the validation and help.

    ReplyDelete