Buccal facial massage: Does it really reduce puffiness and improve skin clarity?

Does the buccal facial massage really reduce puffiness, improve skin clarity and contour your jawline? Photo / Getty Images

Does the buccal facial massage really reduce puffiness, improve skin clarity and contour your jawline? Sinead Corcoran puts her face in the hands of an expert to find out.

I went to the dentist last week and she said my teeth are worn down from excessive grinding. I'm sure it's minimal, but I'm imagining my teeth now resemble dusty little stumpy tic-tacs. I'm also quite certain I grind my teeth due to my anxiety disorder, and I thought it must just be a daytime thing but after consulting with my fiance he informed me he frequently wakes in the night to the sound of my gnashing. Hideous. So, when I heard about buccal massage that helps to release the physical tension in the jaw muscle and release emotional tension, I was all in.

If you haven't heard of buccal massage, it is honestly cooked. A gloved-up person puts their hands inside your mouth and uses their thumbs and forefingers to massage the interior of the lips and cheeks, working their way to the jaw for full release. As opposed to a traditional facial where they just rub lovely oils on your face and you leave a glowy angel – this is more like a Thai massage-style pummelling.

Sinead Corcoran tries the buccal massage.

It's not painful exactly, but it is intense – especially around that area behind your back teeth. At first, I was a bit scared because of how intense it felt, but after a few minutes I felt this rush of pressure leave my jaw.

"We store a lot of stress in the jaw," explains Olga Krupysheva from Face Up Beauty, where I had my pummelling done.

"Once tension in the muscle is released, you get an emotional relief as well."

And relieved I was. After the session, my head felt about 10kg lighter, like I had taken out some dentures made of cement. I was also super-relaxed, and had the best night's sleep I'd had in months.

And it's not just a stress-reliever, Olga told me buccal massage reduces puffiness, contours the jawline, helps smooth smoking lines, increases lip volume and improves skin clarity by removing inner inflammation.

"After the session, my head felt about 10kgs lighter, like I had taken out some dentures made of cement. I was also super relaxed."

As a sceptical, chipmunk-cheeked vaper I didn't initially believe her – but you only have to look at this photo of me to see the difference.

Olga also explained to me that regular Botox can sometimes lead to blockages in the face, as Botox paralyses your muscles so the fluid can't move around. This can then cause puffiness around the cheeks and jaw. As someone who has been having my forehead jabbed with 'tox since I was 22, this was a shocking revelation. I'm 30 now, though with two small children in my house so I'm absolutely not stopping the Botox, but I am going to take more care when applying my skincare lotions and potions and really massage them in there to try to smoosh that fluid out.

I've never had a problem with my moon-like face, but now that I can see how svelte it looks after one pummelling, and how much tension it took out of my jaw. I'm absolutely adding this to my health and wellbeing regime. Plus, apparently, Meghan Markle has it done regularly and I'll do anything to look more like Meghan Markle.