Lymphatic drainage for the face: how to do it at home, step by step
Five minutes, flat fingers and a very light touch. This is the facial lymphatic self-massage NHS lymphedema services teach, put in order so you can do it every morning.
Do it guided now 5 minFree, no sign-up. The gesture on video, the direction drawn over it and the pace, step by step.
8 min read Sources ↓
8 steps Breathe · Neck · Face · Neck · Breathe
Why you start with the neck
Lymph from the face does not go just anywhere. It drains to the nodes in front of your ears and under your jaw, runs down the sides of your neck and ends in the hollow just above the collarbone, where it returns to the blood. That is why NHS self-drainage leaflets never start with the face: first you open that way out, and only then do you move the skin of the face toward it.1
The other rule is pressure, far lighter than you would think. The skin is stretched as far as it naturally goes and released, without going red. “If you can feel your muscles underneath your fingers, then you are pressing too hard,” as the West Suffolk leaflet puts it.1 No oil or cream: your fingers should carry the skin, not slide over it.
Lymphatic drainage face massage, step by step
Sit up straight, in front of a mirror if it helps. Clean hands, no rings, and no cream on your face.
Step 1 · 5 breaths
Belly breathing
Rest your hands on your belly. Breathe in through your nose, feeling your hands rise, and breathe out slowly. Leave a short pause between breaths so you do not get dizzy.
Step 2 · 10 times
Open the collarbone
Place your index and middle fingers, flat, in the hollow just above each collarbone. If you cannot find it, shrug your shoulders for a moment. Stretch the skin down and in, as if drawing a J, and release.
Common mistake: rubbing up and down. Your fingers stay on one spot and move the skin with them, about a centimeter, no more.
Step 3 · 10 times
Sides of the neck
Flat hands on the sides of your neck, just below your ears. Stretch the skin back and down, and release. Slowly, keeping a rhythm: two seconds stretch, two seconds release.
Step 4 · 10 times
Lips to ears
On each side of your mouth, index finger flat above the upper lip and middle finger below the lower lip. Move the skin outward across the cheeks to just in front of your ears, and release. Your lips do not stretch.
Step 5 · 10 times
Nose to ears
Fingers flat on either side of your nose, on the upper cheekbone. Glide them slowly outward across your cheeks to just in front of your ears. Lift them gently and start again beside your nose.
Common mistake: wrinkling the skin or squinting. If the skin folds, you are pressing too hard.
Step 6 · 10 times
Under the eyes
Rest the flat part of your ring finger on the bone under your eye, next to your nose. Move the skin slowly along the edge of the bone toward your temple. Barely any weight, always on the bone and never on the eyelid.
Step 7 · 10 times
Down the neck
Finish as you started: flat hands on your neck, little finger under the ear, and move the skin down toward your shoulders. Halfway through, move your hands a little lower. What you moved from your face carries on toward the collarbone.
Step 8 · 3 breaths
Breathe to finish
Hands back on your belly, breathe slowly. Last breath: notice how your face feels now.
By area: under the eyes, cheeks, jawline and double chin
- Under the eyes. With your ring finger, on the bone, towards the temple: the NHS leaflet asks you not to press hard around the eye.1 It helps with morning puffiness, not dark circles. It is all in lymphatic drainage under the eyes.
- Cheeks. From the nose to the front of the ears, in short strokes.1 It is the nose to ears move.
- Jawline and double chin. Above and below the lips towards the ears, then down the neck.1, 2 It may make morning puffiness show less for a while, but it does not sculpt your jawline or remove fat.5 It is the lips to ears move.
- A puffy face when you wake up. Why it happens and the 5-minute routine, in puffy face in the morning.
When not to do it
And stop at any point if you feel pain, if your skin stays red or marked, or if you feel dizzy.
What to expect, and what not to
Most likely, a fresher, more relaxed-feeling face, especially in the morning, when some puffiness is normal. It is temporary and it is a feeling: there are no trials measuring changes in the faces of healthy people.5 Lymphatic drainage does not slim your face, sculpt your jawline or flush out toxins.5
Where there is evidence is its clinical use, in people with lymphedema and as part of treatment with compression and exercise.3 And one finding points the same way as the leaflets: in a mouse study published in Nature in 2025, very light stimulation of the face and neck increased drainage toward the neck nodes, while stronger pressure reduced it.4 We do not yet know whether the same happens in people, but the practical lesson matches: lighter is better.
Questions
How long does it take?
About five minutes, with ten repetitions per step. If you only have three, do the short version: collarbone, nose to ears, under the eyes and down the neck.
Morning or evening?
Morning, if you are after a fresher-feeling face when you get up. In the evening it works as a slow ritual to wind down.
Can I use a gua sha or a roller?
Yes, in the same direction and with barely any weight. The tool does nothing your fingers cannot: what matters is direction and lightness.
How often?
Clinical leaflets suggest daily. Because it is so gentle, doing it every day is fine.
Sources
- 1.West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (2020). How to do self-lymphatic massage on your head and neck.
- 2.Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Trust. Head and neck simple lymphatic drainage (SLD).
- 3.British Lymphology Society (2022). Lymph Facts: self lymphatic drainage.
- 4.Jin H. et al. (2025). Increased CSF drainage by non-invasive manipulation of cervical lymphatics. Nature. Mouse study.
- 5.UCLA Health (2026). Lymphatic drainage massage: separating fact from fiction.
- 6.Kharsa A. et al. (2025). Carotid sinus hypersensitivity. StatPearls.
- 7.Cleveland Clinic (2024). Lymphatic drainage massage.