Facial Massage - Gallbladder Meridian Implications on Face Lifting Buccal Massage

Facial massage needs can change with the season.  An understanding of Traditional Chinese Medicine concepts can help you understand what you are feeling when applying facial massage techniques, and provide information on how to structure your treatment plan.

We are several weeks into the new year, smack in the middle of Winter.  This season in Traditional Chinese Medicine is the season of rest, reflection and restoration, and the organ system is Kidney.

But I’m noticing quite a bit of gallbladder ki (energy) imbalance in my clients this season.  For my facial massage clients, this specifically means;

•  pain and tenderness on the sides of the head over the parietal and temporal regions
•  tenderness above the eyes
•  deeper wrinkles at the lateral eyes
•  tightness at the midpoint of the shoulder and c7 (GB21)
•  stiffness and tenderness behind the ears

I wondered why this was a presentation in winter when I’m more involved with Kidney energy imbalance, but took a minute to review the history and consultation for these clients to piece together the why this could be the issue.

All of these clients are dynamic career women.  They describe their jobs as “high pressure” and “lots of work”.  They “love” their jobs and strive to succeed.  One was recently promoted and one started in a new company.  Although they all enjoy their careers, they are pushing hard to make it work, to do well, to prove their worth.  And with all of these women, there are responsibilities, usually family, at home, which adds to the stress levels.

If this tension is not addressed before attempting face lifting (including Buccal massage), its hard to get a good and lasting result.

So I chose the following as part of my treatment plan;

•  warm basalt stones to address the tightness of the shoulders (and neck) and promote better flow of blood and ki from the head.  There was no direct pressure on GB21 until after the circulation improved (and I cleared that pregnancy was not an issue)
•  warm gua sha stone friction to warm up the sides of head at the parietal and temporal regions - I used 2 stones but worked each side a little differently which means that one stone was stationery while the other was active.  This helped the client understand the differences present in each side
•  after circulation and flexibility of the tissue of the scalp was improving, I added manual fascial stretches of the ears by pushing forward on the backs of the ears to the point of resistance, then held until I felt a release - then pushed slightly more forward.  This can be intense for the client, so going slowly and carefully is important.  Guided breath with the client can also be useful here.
•  Then gradually increased the degree of intensity of acupressure holds above the brows in the little hollows, and at the sides of the eyes, again in the little hollows.

Once this was completed, I could continue with Buccal massage and myofascial release for face lifting.  These techniques were more successful and the facial tension easier to release after some prep work.

Additional tip: don’t use your own Gallbladder energy to “push” a result.  Use facts from the consult, patience, strategy and very importantly, intuition, to accomplish your facial massage goals.  You’ll feel much better in your body, and your client will be happy with the session and the results.

If you have topics you'd like to see covered in this blog, or questions about our Buccal Massage Training Programs, email us at [email protected] 

Joanna Tringali

Licensed Esthetician and Massage Therapist