BLOG 123: HERE ARE 5 EYE MASSAGES TO LOOK LIKE YOU HAVE SLEPT LOTS (WHEN YOU HAVEN’T)

Here Are 5 Eye Massages to Look Like You Have Slept Lots (When You Haven’t)

Late evenings and sleepless nights can leave us looking tired and drained, especially around the eye area. So, today’s post looks at five simple eye massage techniques to use when you haven’t slept well.

Nothing beats a good night’s sleep. But when sleep is hard to find, the right facial massage moves can boost our circulation, reduce puffiness and dark circles, and leave our eyes looking bright and fresh once again.

This whole sequence should only take around five minutes, so it is easy to fit into your morning routine, even when you feel a little blurry from lack of sleep. Like any of my face yoga routines, you’ll see the benefits best when you do this routine regularly.

I suggest doing each move for around a minute. However, it is also vital to listen to your body and work to your own level. Choose a pressure that feels right to you, and feel free to spend a little longer on some of the moves if they seem especially beneficial.

The skin around your eyes is delicate, so we only need to press very lightly to get the benefits of this massage. Be careful not to drag at the skin as you move your fingers across it. Applying some eye cream before you start the massage will help your fingers to glide easily.

Make sure your hands and face are clean too before you start. And don’t forget to take deep, calming breaths through your nose as you do this routine. It will help to settle your mind after a sleepless night and brings plenty of fresh oxygen to rejuvenate your system.

1. TAPPING

For our first technique, take the index fingers on both hands and tap gently all around your eyes. Don’t tap over the eyes themselves though, just on the skin around them.

This boosts blood circulation, bringing nutrients and oxygen to your skin cells and removing waste that has built up overnight. It can help reduce dark circles and make the skin around your eyes look brighter. 

2. STROKE

Still using your index fingers, stroke very gently underneath your eyes. Start at your nose and move outwards to the outer corners of your eyes, then replace your fingers at your nose and repeat the action.

Be careful to keep your touch as light as a feather to avoid dragging at the skin as you stroke your fingers across.

This soothing move is lovely for relieving any stress or tension you are holding in your eye muscles after a sleepless night. Like the tapping, it also increases circulation and brings fresh blood to the area.

3. CIRCULAR MASSAGE

Next, use your index fingers to massage around your eyes in a circle. Start at your nose and come down across the top of your cheekbones, then up and over your eyebrows, and back down.

After thirty seconds or so, switch to take your circles in the opposite direction.

Again, we’re working with a featherlight touch here. If you struggle to keep your touch gentle enough, you could try using your ring finger instead – we naturally put less pressure on when we use this finger.

This technique boosts the lymphatic drainage system, which lies just below the skin. Even this light touch will help to remove the toxins and waste that contribute to puffy eyes and dark circles. And it feels wonderful too.

4. EYE MUSCLES

Form an ‘O’ shape with your mouth, tucking your lips around your teeth. Place your index fingers underneath your eyes horizontally, so that the sides of your fingers are against your skin and your fingertips are pointing to your nose.

Moving just your eyes, look up. Then, repeatedly flutter your eyelids to exercise the muscles around the eyes.

This move strengthens the muscles around the eyes, so they are lifted and less puffy. It might feel like quite hard work, at least at first. Like any exercise, the more you work the muscles the easier the movement will feel. 

5. CLOCK MOVE

Place your hands on your forehead, palms against your skin. Moving just your eyes, look around in a circle, as though you were looking at each of the numbers on a clock face in turn.

Your hands are there to help you keep your forehead still while you move your eyes. We tend to raise our eyebrows when we move our eyes, which can lead to lines on the forehead. This move strengthens the eye muscles and helps us to learn to keep our foreheads still.

This technique also wakes up your eyes after a restless night, so they look and feel brighter and more energised.

FINISH

Finish by closing your eyes and taking a few deep, calming breaths. Hopefully, you are now feeling more awake and ready to start your day.

This fast and simple eye massage routine can be done every morning and is especially beneficial on days when you haven’t slept well. 

If you want a quick reminder of the moves, I have a 15-second video on my YouTube channel. Don’t forget to subscribe while you are there – I share plenty of face yoga and facial massage techniques to support your journey to health and wellness.