Facial Massage Methods

Palm Eyes

Palming the eyes is a form of facial massage that does not require any rubbing. It is similar to reiki and other energy work massage methods. The treatment is a useful tool for those who prefer not to stretch the sensitive face on the skin, which can cause wrinkles. To palm the eyes, rub both hands together to work up some heat. Rest the palms of both hands over your open eyes. Hold them there for about 30 seconds

Wash Face

You can pull all the tension out of your face and head with a massage technique called wash face. Again vigorously rub the palms of your hands together to generate some heat. Then place both palms on your forehead and press them gently into the face. Slide the hands down the face until your fingertips touch the end of your chin. Circle your hands around the outside edges of your face as if you are washing it and your palms end up on your forehead once again. Repeat two or three times for ultimate relaxation.

Stimulation

Stimulate your face with more vigorous massage movements meant to increase circulation. Stimulation massage methods can help to revive tired skin, help to maintain clear healthy skin by increasing blood flow and energize you for a couple of hours. With your hand in a loose fist, use the back of your hand to roll the knuckles over your face. Start near the bottom of your chin and work your way up your cheeks to your temples and forehead. Stimulate the sensitive skin around the eyes by gently squeezing your eyebrows with your thumbs and index fingers. Start at the center of your eyebrows and work out.

Strokes

Start making strokes on your forehead with your hands flattened out in front of your face and fingers held closely together. Rub your right hand from the left side of your forehead across to the right. Use your left hand to reverse the process, moving your head gently back and forth while stroking. Repeat 10 times on each side, then move your hands down and repeat the process over your mouth. Then make two fists and place your thumbs on either side of your eyes. Draw your knuckles over your brows, letting your thumbs anchor your hands. Make 10 strokes. Make the stroking massage moves smoother by applying massage oil lightly to your hands.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/121967-facial-massage-methods/#ixzz2LoSPKnkZ

How To Do Self-Massage

Overview
Massage is one of the easiest ways to attain and maintain good health and well-being. Tension headaches, insomnia, aches and pains, tension and stress can all be easily alleviated with our hands.

Massage has amazing effects on the health of the person being massaged. It improves circulation, relaxes muscles, aids digestion and speeds up the elimination of waste products. These direct benefits, combined with the psychological benefits, quickly produce a feeling of well-being.

According to the American Massage Therapy Association, research shows that massage therapy provides several important health benefits, including:
• Improved blood circulation
• Muscle relaxation and improved range of motion
• Increased endorphin levels (the chemicals in your body that make you feel good)

How to Self-Massage
You can easily learn to massage yourself. Use self-massage to energize yourself before school or work in the morning, or to unwind in the evening. You do not need to undress, but you must be comfortable. Use massage oil if you are massaging on bare skin. Sit in a massage chair or on the floor, or lie down with your knees bent and your feet on the floor.

Shoulders
1. Stroke your right shoulder with your left hand. Starting at the base of your skull, stroke down the side of your neck, over your shoulder and down your arm to the elbow. Glide back to your neck and repeat at least three times. Then do the other side.

2. Make circular pressures with your fingertips on either side of the spine. Work up the neck and around the base of the skull. Then squeeze and release the flesh on each shoulder and at the top of your arms.

3. Loosely clench your left hand into a fist and gently pound your right shoulder. Keep your wrist flexible. This can be very invigorating if you are tired. Repeat on the other side.

4. Finish by stroking smoothly with both hands. Start with your hands on the side of your face and glide them gently down under your chin. Slide your hands past each other at the front of the neck, so that each hand is on the opposite shoulder. Stroke gently over your shoulders, down your arms and off at the fingertips. Repeat as often as you like. This hypnotic stroke can relieve headaches and tension.

Feet
1. Put one hand on the top of your foot and the other under the sole. Stroke smoothly from your toes to your ankles. Glide your hands back to your toes and repeat.

2. Support your foot with one hand and work on each toe individually. Squeeze each toe firmly, and gently stretch with a gentle pull.

3. With one thumb on top of the other, do a line of firm pressures down the center of the sole and lines on either side. Then, with one thumb, do circular pressures on the arch and ball.

4. Support your foot with one hand and make the other into a loose fist. Do knuckling movements all over the sole by rippling your fingers around in small circular movements.

5. Still holding your foot with one hand, hack the sole with your other hand. Flick your hand away the moment you touch the foot, so that the effect is light and springy.

6. Stroke around the ankle with your fingertips, as you stroke up toward the leg and gently as you glide back. Finish by stroking the foot as you did at the beginning.

Hands
1. Stroke the back of your hand, pushing firmly up toward the wrist and gliding back gently. Then squeeze the hand all over, pressing it between your palm and your fingers.

2. Squeeze each finger and make circular pressures over the joints with your thumb. Then hold the finger at its base and pull it gently to stretch it, sliding your grip up the finger and off the tip.

3. Stroke between the tendons on the back of the hand with your thumb. Stroke in the furrow to the wrists, doing four strokes in each furrow.

4. Turn your hand over and support the back with your fingers. Do firm circular and static pressures with your thumb, working all over the palm and around the wrist.

5. Finish the massage by stroking the palm of your hand from the fingers to the wrist. Push into it with the heel of your other hand, then glide gently back and repeat.

Abdomen
1. This massage is ideal for menstrual pain. Start by stroking clockwise around your abdomen with one hand following the other in a circle, using the whole surface of your hands.

2. Knead all over your abdomen with your fingers and thumbs. Then roll onto your side to knead your hips and bottom. Turn onto your back and stroke around your abdomen again.

3. To wake yourself up after a massage, pummel your hips and bottom vigorously. Stand up and with loosely clenched fists, pummel the area very quickly. Flick your hands away as soon as you strike the skin.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/12454-do-selfmassage-/#ixzz2LoQYKuRz

Best Ways to Get Rid of Blackheads

Blackheads are often very much disturbing to you specially when it appears in your face, foreheads or chin. These is appear when the skin oil glands discharge excess skin oil combine with dust particles, old skin debris, bacteria or other impurities. 

You'll find many individuals who seriously look ways just to learn how to get rid of blackheads. Actually, it can be treated in a variety of ways, it just a matter of performing a regular routine. It is common to us as human instinct to look good, charming and appealing to our fellow mankind. Blackheads might be a great hurdle to ourselves showing to everyone which has a very confident and attractive personality. 

There are several stuff that you can try to prevent blackheads from appearing on your face. Just be sure that before starting to make use of, you have already the very best methods that truly works with no harmful effects such as skin burns. You will find a lot of products in the market promoting the way to getting rid of blackheads. 

What Can Cause Blackheads? 

No proper skin cleaning regularly is one of instances that blackheads appear. By just cleansing the face with soapy water, prevents the appearance of acne and blackheads. However, it is possible to some individuals experienced from blackheads even they do a frequent face washing.. Yes, that is because not just dust can cause blackheads, you must consider also the things below; 

Hormones - everybody knows that one major factors causing develop of blackheads is excess oil. Basically, hormones can increased the production of oil in your skin which give more chance to develop blackheads. 

Skin care and make-up - Some facial make-up can actually cause blackheads as this will absorb to your skin, mixed with your body's oil and can develop blook pores. 

Toxins - both whitehead and blackhead pimples development looks like it's a predisposed condition which is aggravated or increased when toxins combined. 

Tips on how to prevent blackheads 

Based on some dermatologist, there's actually no permanent treatment to stop blackheads, however this can be minimize by taking good care of your skin consistently. As is possible, avoid using creamy facial products. Facial cream can certainly increase the chances of sprouting blackheads. 

Furthermore, avoid using bar soap as it might cause clog the pores in your skin. It is best option also specially when you have oily skin using clay mask hat. Just make certain that it doesn't contain mint, peppermint or other irritating ingredients. In this way, the oil that may clog the poor will be absorbed. You can used oil absorbing papers as well as this can reduce oil in your pores. 

Better means to reducing blackheads in the face pack is the combination of rose water and fullers. Using rose water and fullers earth, this can make your face smooth and reduce excess oil on your skin. Mix equal parts of almond oil, lemon juice and glycerin and gently massage this combination to your spots, zits, pimples and blackheads. You'll see your blackheads vanishing slowly.


by: Mixzy Witz
Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/health/article_12501.shtml

Read More: Health First Blog

Massage in Older People

The nursing service for elders is an important part of community health. Pain, anxiety and insomnia are common problem in older people. Recent studies showed that various massage therapy can statistically significant improve physiological and psychological indicators of relaxation in older people. Harris and Richards indicated that massage may produce relaxation by tactile stimulation in body tissues causing complex neurohumoral responses in the hypothalamic-pituitary axis to circuit through the central nervous system pathway. The stimulus is distributed through the cortex, midbrain and lower brain and interpreted as a relaxation response.

Researches in different settings support that back massage and hand massage can effectively promote relaxation in older people.  Hands and feet are the most massaged places on a senior and are the most popular in elder people due to the calming and relieving nature of it.  Massage also can reduce the using of the medical and pharmacological intervention in nursing home to release the back pain and anxiety in seniors.

Remedial massage therapy is also used in treat dysfunction in older people.  There is growing demands of massage therapy for older people. More and more long term care facilities are seeing the value of massage for frail elders who suffer dementia and the dying. Eldercare and retirement communities are discovering the value of massage therapy. Massage is recommended as a skilled intervention and is providing an additional level of comfort and allows one-on-one focused attention with the resident.

A variety of modalities and methods have been performed in older people with chronic dysfunctions such as Parkinsons disease. Chaitow reported that myofascial release, position-release techniques can significant increase the stride length, cadence and maximum velocities of upper and lower extremities in older people with Pakinson’s disease after a single massage therapy.  It in important to choose appropriate and safe techniques and modalities when providing massage therapy for elder people. Meanwhile, special care must also be taken with the elders due to their range of motion, mobility. 

Massage for Old People

Massage for back pain: almost evidence-based!

Low back pain is a huge health problem, and massage therapists claim to get good results when treating low-back pain. Indeed, low back treatments are the bread and butter of the profession. I guess that about 75% of massage purchases are for back pain. The amount of money that patients around the world spend on massage for back pain must be simply huge, certainly at least in the tens of millions annually and probably much more. As with chiropractic care, massage therapists might not have much of a business model if people didn’t have low back pain.

So it had better work!

And, fortunately, the evidence seems to suggest that it does. Over 20 years, an accumulation of scientific evidence has been adding up to a nice conclusion: that massage therapy probably does work for low back pain. That’s the finding of a comprehensive review of the science, from a 2008 review by Furlan et al.

Massage is beneficial for patients with subacute and chronic non-specific low-back pain in terms of improving symptoms and function … The beneficial effects of massage in patients with chronic LBP are long lasting (at least one year after end of sessions).

That glowing conclusion was based on just 13 trials (about 1600 participants), and the best of data of the lot is merely okay. But massage “wins” anyway. Massage mostly performed quite well in these tests. And, better yet, the results were also positive in the more rigourous tests.

The largest study of massage for low back pain ever done was published in 2011, and its very credible authors — medical back pain experts Daniel Cherkin and Richard Deyo, in particular — did conclude that “Massage therapy may be effective for treatment of chronic back pain, with benefits lasting at least 6 months,” but those results were uncertain due to a major flaw, and somewhat overstated. It seems to me that the results actually damn massage with faint praise. If massage is good for back pain, shouldn’t the results have been a more a bit more impressive? Despite its “positive” results, this study is a bit of a mood dampener.

So, is massage therapy for low back pain “proven” to be effective? Ha! Obviously not by a long shot. But the science is off to a good start — much better than most other popular low back pain therapies. It’s genuinely promising. 

Does Massage Therapy Work?

by Paul Ingraham, Vancouver, Canada

Massage in Women and Babies

Massage therapy are also used as a alternative medicine to improve women’s health. Massage in pregnancy is essential for the mother and baby. The goals for a pregnancy massage are to help women to alleviate stress, promote relaxation and prepare muscle and joints for childbirth. The specific techniques will help to relieve the low back pain, swelling of hands and feet, cramps, sciatic pain and insomnia. Massage can keep the body healthy, physically, medically and emotionally. Feeling healthy is all aspects make for a more pleasant pregnancy, health delivery and a happy baby.

Meanwhile, infant massage is also a great way to bond parents with baby. Researchers are finding that massage may promote better sleeping, relieve colic, and perhaps even enhance an infant’s immune system, motor skills and intellectual development. Teaching mothers to massage their newborn infants my promote maternal-infant bonding and attachment by helping the mother become more sensitive to her infant’s cues and promoting reciprocal and positive maternal-infant interaction pattern.  Serrano  et al. reviewed 9 studies of massage interventions for healthy-term infants younger than 6 months and all 9 studies suggested that massage had a positive effect on mother-infant interaction, improved infant sleep, and reduced infant crying.

Massage has been recommended to women in different age groups to improve their health. In last few decades, the female role models have changed dramatically. Stress has become increasingly implicated in a variety of physical and emotional disorders or complaints, which in turn are usually linked to changing social or occupational demands. Massage therapy has also proven to have a profound effect on women’s emotional wellbeing. One of the immediate benefits of a massage therapy is the wonderful feeling of deep relaxation and peace. In a survey among middle age women with menopause symptoms in Sydney, massage therapy was rated as the most effective therapy.  Ninety four percent of respondents considered the massage therapy moderately to very effective in alleviating menopause symptoms. The most common symptoms troubling women using massage are often associated with stress such as tenseness, sleeping difficulties, pains. Massage has been noted to decrease cortisol levels, increase serotonin and dopamine levels and reduce blood pressure and heart rate.  Massage can improve general wellbeing and quality of life by reducing the stress in modern women.

8 Tips To Manage Your Dry Skin

To maintain healthy and good-looking skin, you will need to follow several precautions by adhering to a good regimen of skin care and management. Here are some timely tips and suggestions to manage your dry skin:

Things that you should do:

1.  Always use a non-commercial and safe soap with a very low alkaline content. Excessive alkali in your soap may cause your skin drying out very quickly.

2.      Ensure that you are drinking lot of water to maintain the required amount of water in the body. Water is an absolute necessity for providing hydration in your skin. Water can also keep your skin soft, supple and clear. Lack of moisture is the main cause for dry skin with lots of cracking and chapping. You may need to drink at least eight glasses of water every day.

3.      Good eating habit and a healthy living style is also a critical factor. You will need to eat properly to maintain good and healthy skin condition. A good and nutritious diet is also an essential factor for managing your skin. Make it a point to eat at least five portions of fruits and green vegetables everyday to maintain your vitamin levels. If you are short of required nutrients, you can take multivitamin tablets.

4.      You must be able to sleep for at least 8 hours every day. Sleep is very essential for your skin.

5.      Hot water could be very dangerous for your skin. Hot water can destroy your skin layers. Always use warm water for bath and face wash. Restrict your bathing for lesser than five minutes.

6.      Regular exercise and a strict working regimen will help a neat and unhindered flow of fresh blood and oxygen to your skin cells. This will help you create a glowing and radiating skin. 

7.      Winter is also a cruel month for your skin. You can use a humidifier to keep water from going out of the skin cells.

8.      Do not rub your skin with a rough towel. Instead, use a soft towel by gently patting the upper layers.

The author, Kenith Smith is also the founder of www.dryskinpro.com

Remedial Massage in Work Related Stress, Pain and Discomfort

In modern society with high rhythm life style and stressful work environment, for many people, work poses primarily psychological and emotional demands, instead of physical demands, and the pace of work is more and more dictated by patients, clients, customers and so on. Work related musculoskeletal injuries (MSI) have become a serious problem in workplace in different occupations such as healthcare professions, police and teachers. Existing researches have provided strong support for the effects of remedial massage for chronic low back pain, shoulder pain and headache.

The practice of massage therapy has been defined as the assessment of soft tissue and joints of the body and the treatment and prevention of dysfunction, injury, pain and physical disorders of the soft tissue and joint by manual and physical methods to develop, maintain, rehabilitate or augment physical function to relieve pain and promote health. Massage therapy had been describe as having 4 principal goals of treatment: (1) to promote relaxation and wellness; (2) to address clinical concerns; (3) to enhance posture, movement, and body awareness; and (4) to balance and “move” subtle energy reported that people who received massage therapy had significantly reduced back pain symptoms comparing with the control group. Massage therapy is recognized as a safe therapeutic modality without risks or adverse effects. However, there are contraindications, such as applying massage over an area with acute inflammation, skin infection, nonconsolidated fracture, burn area, deep vein thrombosis or active cancer tumor. So it is important for a massage therapist to take a detailed case history and determine the best form of treatment before performing the massage for the clients .

Remedial massage is also an effective intervention to reduce work related anxiety, depression and improve job satisfaction and work place morale. In a recent study in Healthcare professions in Canada, A few researchers reported that people in different age groups from 20 to 62 years showed a significant decrease in back pain severity after 4 weeks massage therapy. Meanwhile several study showed a trend toward improvement of quality of life and job satisfaction associated with the massage intervention.  Massage also may save money by reducing health care provider visits, the use of pain medications. 

Ways to make your skin healthy

The primary step to keeping your skin healthy is preventing damage. Pollutants, air, sun as well as by just natural aging can certainly mortify the form of your skin. Frequent grumbles incorporate dry along with itchy skin, sagging, wrinkles, color alterations, together with age spots. Luckily, there are various methods that you can readily apply in order to maintain a healthy skin, feeling and looking at its most excellent appearance. 

Keeping yourself fit, having enough rest, as well as getting healthy diet can set the basis for fine-looking and vigorous complexion. Moreover, a proper diet is not only the excellent way in attaining good health in general but it as well assists you to guarantee that your skin will get all of the vitamins and minerals, along with the nutrients that it requires to preserve and fix itself. 

Another way to keep your skin healthy is to apply the right skin care products to your skin. The best anti aging skincare products that can aid you to hydrate the skin are now available at your favorite skin care product store online. Having a clean skin by using the best skin cleanser is also a great way of preventing skin damages. 

One of the most essential ways to protect your skin is to keep it away from the harmful rays of the sun. Ultraviolet radiation harms the skin as well as it can result to wrinkles, premature aging, age spots or even cancer as well. An individual should really get further preventative measures in order to be certain that his or her skin is not totally exposed under the harmful rays of the sun. Do not fail to remember that one should apply a natural sunscreen, or a moisturizer that includes sunscreen (with minimum of SPF 15) every day. Although, it does not mean that you should not go out at all during the day, as if you are like a nocturnal creature. Your skin also needs some sunlight every day. A 10 to 15 exposures at sunrise or sunset will be alright. 

In addition to that, a variety of fine skin care products such as an all natural moisturizer is one of the essential components for a vigorous complexity. Keep on moisturizing all through the day to keep your sensitive skin vigorous. Your hands as well as your face is especially vulnerable to everyday dent, and might require it to be moisturized further.

by: Chloe park
Article Source:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/health/article_12502.shtml

Facial Massage

Facial massages can be completed at home or are treatments offered at spas by massage therapists. To begin a facial massage, the first step is to cleans the face thoroughly and remove any makeup. A good cleansing and scrubbing will exfoliate the skin, removing any dead skin cells on the face. Usually the therapist will then apply a small amount of massage lotion, moisturizer, or massage oil to the face which will be absorbed into the skin during the massage. This is important because the oil provides a slippery surface for the massage so that the fingers do not pull or stretch the skin.

Generally, pure vegetable oil or nut oil is good for facial massages. Pure vegetable oils provide great moisture to the skin and have long-lasting effects because they are absorbed by the skin more slowly without clogging pores. Different skin types will require different types of oils. Skin that is very dry will benefit the most from vegetable oils that are rich in saturated fatty acids. These are thicker oils that are absorbed more slowly and maintain moisture longer. Oily skin types need oils that contain polyunsaturated fats which are thinner oils and are quickly absorbed by the skin. Sometimes oils may not be needed at all if a client has extremely oily skin.

A typical facial massage session doesn’t usually last longer than 20 minutes. Massage that lasts too long or too often may actually stretch or lengthen the facial muscles. Special care must be taken as well for people with sensitive skin. Sensitive skin is more easily damaged or irritated so the therapist must be careful not to exert too much pressure during the massage.

The therapist uses gentle touch to massage the face. Pressure should never be exerted, especially on the neck area. The therapist works to increase circulation and reduce tension in the face by softly working the different areas of the face. The forehead and nose are targeted to reduce the appearance of horizontal lines. The nostrils are massaged to unclog pores and prevent blemishes. The mouth and cheeks are rubbed to help prevent wrinkles and sagging of the facial muscles. The area around the eyes is massaged to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and heavy bags under the eyes. The chin and neck are targeted to promote muscle tone and prevent sagging skin. This is good for preventing the dreaded double chin. Finally, the ears are gently massaging and pulled because they have pressure points that stimulate other areas of the body. The movement of the fingers is always done in an upward motion, which when done regularly, facial massage will keep your skin looking tight and youthful.