BLOG 107: STRESSED FACE? TRY THESE 5 FACIAL ACUPRESSURE POINTS

We’ve all come through an incredibly difficult year and a half, so it is no surprise that many of us are feeling tired, stressed, and overwhelmed. In times like these, small daily acts of self-care are more vital than ever to help us get our balance back and find a sense of calm again.

Today’s post looks at five facial acupressure points you can use to relax your mind and release tension and stress from your face and skin. If you’ve noticed that your skin looks dull, tired, or unhealthy, these points are brilliant for waking up the skin and getting the energy flowing freely again.

The technique is simple, and it takes less than 10 minutes to activate all five acupressure points. No matter how busy and overwhelmed you are feeling, this short routine can slot into your day whenever you have a few minutes to yourself.

Many people like to do face yoga at the beginning or end of the day, as part of their usual skincare routine. But you don’t have to limit yourself to just these times. These simple moves can be done whenever you need a moment of peace to find your centre again.

Always make sure your hands are clean before beginning any face yoga routine. Ideally, you’ll also have a clean face, but these are only small movements, so you can also do this sequence with makeup on if you want to release tension during the day.

You might want to apply a tiny bit of facial oil or serum to each acupressure point as you move through the sequence. This helps your fingers to move smoothly over your skin. The massage also allows the serum to penetrate deeper into your skin, so you’ll get greater benefits from the product too.

I prefer to use my own serum, Fusion by Danielle Collins. Developed by multi-award-winning skincare specialist Wendy Stirling exclusibly for us, this organic, botanical seed oil serum is specifically designed for face yoga and facial massage. 

It absorbs slightly less quickly than most serums, giving you a beautiful glide as you massage your face. However, it is also non-greasy and packed full of organic botanical oils to boost the health of your skin.

THE TECHNIQUE

We’ll be using the same technique for all except the final acupressure point, so I will explain it first and then run through the five points we’ll be targeting today.

Place the index finger of one hand on the relevant acupressure point. Taking deep, slow breaths, gently press on the point. You might want to close your eyes.

Choose a pressure that is right for you. There is no need to press too hard. I always encourage you to work very intuitively with any face yoga routine. What your face needs will change from day to day, so take a pause to connect with yourself and feel into what will work best for you at this moment.

As you press on the point, bring your focus to your breath. Concentrate on the rise and fall of your abdomen as you inhale for a count of four and exhale for a count of six. 

Focus on letting go of stress and tension. Relax your face as much as you can. When thoughts or emotions come up, notice them and let them go, bringing your attention back to the present moment.

When you are ready, start to move your index finger in a small circular motion to massage the acupressure point. Continue in one direction for a few breaths, then switch to the other direction.

Stay with each point for as long as you feel you need to, then move on to the next. Sometimes you might sense that you should stick with a particular acupressure point for longer than the others – as I say, I encourage you to listen to your intuition as you run through this sequence.

Don’t forget that there’s a slightly different technique for the final acupressure point, which I will explain when we get there.

POINT 1: THE THIRD EYE

The first acupressure point we are working with is the third eye point. It is located just between your eyebrows. You might feel a slight indent at this spot.

The third eye point is renowned for its ability to calm the mind and release stress. It also helps to reduce eye strain – something many of us experience in our increasingly digital world.

When stress keeps you awake at night, the third eye point is known for alleviating insomnia and helping you get a better night’s sleep.

There are aesthetic benefits to stimulating this acupressure point too. The massage and gentle pressure bring fresh blood to the skin’s surface. That blood brings with it plenty of nutrients and oxygen to nourish the skin cells and help your skin look healthy and vibrant again.

And if you are experiencing the vertical number 11 lines that often appear between the eyebrows, activating the third eye point is good for reducing those too.

POINT 2: THE TEMPLES

The next point in our sequence is our temples. This is a beautiful one to use if you are experiencing headaches because of stress or sleepless nights.

Like the third eye point, the temples also help with eye issues and eye strain. Stimulating this point helps to boost the circulation to the sides of the face and the eye area.

As well as reducing stress, this point’s ability to get blood and energy flowing to the eye area is great for anyone experiencing puffiness or dark circles under the eyes. This can often happen when we are tired and feeling under pressure.

POINT 3: UNDER THE NOSE

Our third acupressure point is located between the nose and the upper lip. This is another point well-known for its ability to calm and relax the mind. It helps to engage the parasympathetic nervous system, moving us from fight-and-flight to rest-and-digest.

At the same time as helping us find calm, this acupressure point is good for restoring our focus and mental energy. If stress has you feeling tired and foggy, this is a great point to use.

POINT 4: INDENT OF THE CHIN

The next acupressure point is found underneath your lower lip in the indent of your chin. This one is especially good for reviving dull and tired skin, so it is excellent to use when you notice that stress is affecting the health of your skin.

As one of the thirteen ‘Ghost Points’, this acupressure point is also known to be effective in relieving dark thoughts and releasing trapped emotions.

POINT 5: ON THE HAND

Our final acupressure point isn’t actually on the face at all but on the hand. However, it is a point that is strongly linked with the face and is also known to help with headaches and stress.

This point is located on the fleshy part of the hand between the thumb and index finger. 

You might remember that we’re using a slightly different technique for this point. Start as before by using your index finger to press gently on the spot. But instead of doing a circular massage, take your thumb to the point and squeeze and pull upwards. Lift off and repeat the move.

If you’d like to see what this technique looks like in practice, you can see the entire routine over on my YouTube channel.

LEARN MORE…

For those who want to dive deeper into facial acupressure, massage, and Face Yoga, and to share their knowledge with others, I run two teacher training courses that can help you learn more.

The first is my established course in Face Yoga, which has been run since 2011 and has a community of thousands of graduates worldwide. The second course in Facial Gua Sha launched last year and is run in partnership with the lovely team at Hayo’u, the market leaders in Gua Sha.

You can choose to study both simultaneously or opt to do them separately. Find out more via my teacher training pages.