How to de-puff your face in just 90 seconds with a simple at-home ‘slimming’ massage

WAKING up with a face that looks a little puffier than usual can really set your day off on the wrong foot.

Not only may you feel uncomfortable with how you look, but you might find that your make-up doesn’t sit right, making you even more self-conscious. 

Whether you had a late night, enjoyed too many alcoholic drinks or simply ate inflammatory foods too close to bedtime, a puffy face can be caused by several things.

Luckily, there are ways to de-puff so you can leave the house feeling yourself again. 

Izabela Pawlitka is an aesthetic therapist and skincare specialist at .

With over 20 years of experience in treating skin, Izabela says that one of the best ways to de-puff your face is with a facial massage.

You could book to see a specialist for a facial massage, but this isn’t just costly, it also requires more time.

Instead, Izabela has put together a 90-second routine which you can do at any time, to help reduce puffiness and achieve a slimmer profile. 

Izabela explains: “A facial massage improves blood circulation in the face; when blood isn’t flowing properly, it can lead to a swollen look.

"A facial massage can also help to tone and lift the face.”

Before you do your facial massage, to avoid any dirt transferring from your hands to your face, make sure you wash hands thoroughly and remove any make-up from your face.

You could also do this massage with a facial moisturiser to help hydrate skin at the same time.

The de-puff routine

In Izabela’s 90-second de-puff routine, she starts by repeatedly pressing on the collarbone area using both thumb and forefingers.

Do this several times before massaging the left side of the neck in an upwards motion using the four fingers of each hand.

Then, move to the centre and then to the right side. Aim for five to six small upward strokes on the left, centre and right.

Next, take your hands and repeat the upward strokes, reaching across your whole neck area and cupping your chin at the top of the stroke. 

Now, take your thumbs starting from underneath your chin in the centre, then drag your thumbs to the back of your jawline, up to your ears. Repeat this several times. 

Once you’ve done this, clench your hands and drag the front of each fist (where your thumb and forefinger lie) from the bottom of your chin, up to the sides of your jaw, near your lower ears. 

Next up, you’re going to do the similar upward strokes that you were doing on your neck, but instead, you’ll be doing this on your left cheek, rubbing your hands upwards towards your left eye.

After a few upward strokes, take your fingers and massage your cheek across from the top of the left side of your nose, towards your left ear. 

Then repeat all of this on the right side, making sure you add pressure as you rub your hands up and across your cheeks. 

Now, take your two forefingers and place them on either side of your nose, towards the top.

Drag them all the way under your eye socket and up towards the outer corners of your eyes. 

Repeat this several times before taking the thumb and forefinger of each hand and grasping the inside of each eyebrow and dragging the thumb and forefinger along the brow to the outer edge. 

Next, take your fingers and make upward strokes on your forehead, much like Izabela demonstrates.

You’ll likely drag your eyebrow up slightly as you do this, which is fine.

Move these strokes to the left side of the forehead and then slowly to the right side, to make sure the entirety of your forehead benefits from this facial massage. 

Now, take the inner sides of each hand and place them on your forehead.

Then drag your hands, side-on, across your forehead down to your temples. 

To finish off, place both hands flat on your face, and move them back towards the sides of your face, moving across and upwards slightly, to help lift the skin. 

Why the puffy face? 

Allergic reactions can cause your face to look puffier than normal, and this includes allergies such as hay fever.

Another cause of a puffy face is sleep deprivation.

If you’ve been burning the candle at both ends, it could end up showing on your face, as a study published in the found.

Scientists discovered that the faces of sleep deprived individuals were perceived as ‘having more hanging eyelids, redder eyes, more swollen eyes, darker circles under the eyes, paler skin, more wrinkles/fine lines, and more droopy corners of the mouth’. 

Aim to hit the pillow at a time that allows you to get seven to nine hours of sleep, and be sure to wind down properly before bed to give yourself the best chance of a good night’s kip.

You might want to read a book, listen to a podcast or do some yoga.

In response to dehydration, the body tries to retain as much water as possible, leading to puffiness, especially in areas like the face and extremities

Andy DalyNutritionist

Andy Daly, nutritionist at , explains that "a puffy face or facial bloating is often caused by water retention, inflammation, or dietary factors".

Water retention can be caused by a high sugar intake, so it’s best to limit high consumption of foods such as sweets, chocolate, pastries and cakes.

White carbs such as white rice and white bread can also lead to water retention.  

Alcohol and salty foods such as crisps are other potential puffiness triggers. 

“In response to dehydration, the body tries to retain as much water as possible, leading to puffiness, especially in areas like the face and extremities," he says.

"This fluid retention can cause a swollen appearance, especially the morning after consuming alcohol.”