From skin-brightening serums to collagen-boosting supplements, the beauty market is flooded with anti-aging products—and on top of all that, there’s always a new viral TikTok trend to keep up with. It can certainly be overwhelming to try and figure out which ones actually provides the best benefits for your skin. You may find yourself wondering if any of them are actually worth it. However, there’s one method beauty experts say you shouldn’t turn a blind eye to: lymphatic drainage.
To learn more about this ancient method that’s recently taken the skincare world by storm, we spoke to Hillary Clark, esthetician and Founder of Beauty HAC. She told us everything we’ve ever wanted to know about lymphatic drainage, from how it works to the benefits it offers and even how you can try it out for yourself. Read on to learn it all!
What is lymphatic drainage?
To understand exactly what lymphatic drainage is, it helps to first understand your lymphatic system. Clark compares this system to a housekeeper, "continually dusting and sweeping from head to toe, removing toxins from your body." She says this "housekeeper" is essential to both your circulatory and immune systems—which is the very reason your lymph nodes often get swollen when you're sick.
"The lymphatic system is made up of a large network of organs, glands, and vessels," Clark explains. "All of these are interconnected by lymph vessels, which carry the precious lymph fluid that is circulated throughout the body." Wow—thank you, lymphatic system!
However, this housekeeper sometimes needs a little extra push (either voluntary or involuntary) to keep all that fluid flowing properly. As Clark notes, "It depends on movement." When it comes to your body, this movement can come naturally from actions like walking, running, and jumping. The glands and vessels in your face, on the other hand, are not so easily stimulated by everyday activity. "Manual stimulation is required to reduce the puffiness in the face that contributes to puffy eyes, 'bloated' facial features (especially after salt, alcohol, or medicine), and a heavy jawline and neck," Clark explains. Who knew?!
Luckily, that's where lymphatic drainage comes in. When you use the right tools (and sometimes even your own hands) to help move things along, your immune system can more easily move toxins from your face, improve microcirculation, and bring nutrient-rich blood to the inner and outer layers of your skin. "When we move, the lymphatic system gets to work, and the real magic happens," Clark says. "That housekeeper? Now she’s emptying the trash. And this is what gets rid of dull skin, dark circles, puffy eyes, swollen ankles, jaundice—and all manner of diseases. That’s how your skin wakes up and begins to glow." Hallelujah!
What are the benefits of lymphatic drainage?
Before we get into exactly how to practice lymphatic drainage at home, let's take a look at some of the health and beauty benefits—there's a myriad! First and foremost, Clark emphasizes the fact that this method "supports the immune system by moving waste materials from the tissues to the lymph nodes where they can naturally be processed and dispelled from the body."
Additionally, she notes that it can do wonders for your overall appearance, especially if you want to maintain a more youthful face. One of the most widely celebrated pluses of this miracle-working trick is the fact that over time, it can lead to a more sculpted jawline and cheekbones. Lymphatic drainage also offers so many wrinkle-fighting advantages: not only will it reduce the puffiness that often expands and stretches your skin to create wrinkles, but it also relaxes the muscles that cause them. Plus, it can soften the fine lines and wrinkles that already exist on your face.
Using this method will also keep your eyes looking younger and more awake than ever, thanks to the fact that it helps lift your eyelids and even reduces puffiness and dark circles by removing stagnant fluid. When you throw in the fact that it's also known to help promote a healthy glow through improved microcirculation and boosted collagen and elastic production (which our skin naturally loses as we age), it's safe to say that adding this step to your daily routine will send your skin straight to anti-aging heaven.
How to do lymphatic drainage at home
If you want to try this anti-aging trick for yourself, there are several ways to go about it. If you have no tools available, it is possible to do a lymphatic facial massage with just your hands, but Clark warns that "tugging on your skin can stretch the skin and assist gravity." She notes that "because you want to move fluid in the face downward toward the lymph nodes located at the sides and base of the neck, you don’t want to pull down on the skin to move the lymphatic fluid." Got it!
There are several tools on the market to help you out with the process, from domed rollers to gua shas. Clark cites gua shas as the better of the two, since you may run into some issues with domed rollers. While these are great for a typical massage, "their shape can actually cause fluid and waste material to get trapped under the skin and in the lymphatic capillaries, rather than being released and moved towards the lymph nodes where it can be eliminated." And although a gua sha is a better option, you should still be careful not to pull and drag at your skin; using oil with this tool is helpful.
But for the absolute best lymphatic drainage possible without any risk of pulling at your face, Clark suggests using flat rollers like the kind she and her team at Beauty HAC developed alongside other experts. "Flat rollers evenly distribute very light pressure and gently sweep fluids through the capillaries where they can be eliminated," she explains. "We use this innovative flat head on our Beauty H-A-C System, so you can de-puff and activate lymphatic cleansing." Clark notes that products like these are "a more gentle and effective way to move your face," which can "remove stagnant fluid, sweeping the puffiness right out."
This facial rolling technique can be traced back to ancient times: "Asian and Egyptian beauty rituals document the utilization of facial massage (with and without rollers) as an essential part of their beauty ritual," Clark shares. "We’re just making it more modern with our innovative Beauty H-A-C Serums and cooling stainless steel heads ergonomically designed to sweep toxins and fluids from the eyes and face."
So, how exactly should you go about using these flat rollers? Clark provides some guidance: "Keeping in mind the capillaries, whenever you roll, you always want to sweep the roller outwards and down towards the lymph nodes—not back-and-forth on the face—unless you are starting with a facial massage and finishing with lymphatic drainage," she explains. Noted!
Once you start utilizing lymphatic drainage, it's likely you'll wonder where the technique has been all your life. "It feels a little like magic, but it’s based on real, honest-to-goodness science. You’re improving microcirculation, bringing nutrient-rich blood to the inner and outer layers of skin, while encouraging the lymph system to remove the trash," Clark concludes.
