Face · Sweep
Lips to ears: lymphatic drainage for the lower face
In the app: Lips to ears
Two flat fingers, one above your lip and one below, move the skin across your cheeks to the front of your ears, in short strokes. It is the first face move.
- Reps and rhythm
- 10 times (between 5 and 15), in 4-second cycles.
- In the routines
- 25 s
- Pressure
- Minimal: move the skin, not the muscle
How to do it
Position. On each side of your mouth, index finger flat above your upper lip and middle finger below your lower lip.
Direction. Move the skin outwards across your cheeks, in short stages, to the sideburn area in front of your ear. Your fingers carry the skin; they don't rub.
Reps and rhythm. 10 times (between 5 and 15), in 4-second cycles.
Your flat fingers glide slowly and very lightly over the skin in the direction of drainage. At the end they lift off gently and return through the air to the start. They never glide back the other way.
Where lymph from the mouth and jaw goes
The lower face drains towards the lymph nodes under the chin and jaw, and towards those in front of the ears.1 The NHS head and neck leaflet teaches it like this: above and below the lips, finishing in front of the ears, where your sideburns are.1 The Royal Devon one starts at the chin and the corner of the mouth, goes towards the ears and then down the neck, 10 times.2
How to do it right
- Index finger above your upper lip and middle finger below your lower lip, flat, on each side of your mouth.
- Drag the skin, do not rub. Your fingers glide very lightly outwards in short strokes, and when they reach the front of your ear they lift off and come back through the air.
- Your lips do not stretch. If your mouth gets pulled out of shape, you are pressing too hard.
What it does not do
It does not “sculpt” your jawline, get rid of a double chin or slim your face: there is no evidence that drainage makes you lose fat.3 What may change, briefly, is morning puffiness, which usually goes down on its own within a few hours anyway.4
Common mistakes
- Going towards the nose. The direction is always from the inside outwards.
- Using cream or oil. Your hand slips and the move is lost; cream goes on afterwards.
- Doing it without opening the neck first. What you move towards your ears needs somewhere to go.
Questions
Does it help with a double chin?
If it looks fuller in the morning because of puffiness, it may help it show less for a while. It does not reduce fat.3
Can I do it with a beard?
Yes. Your fingers stay flat and light: with a beard you notice the skin stretching less, but the move is the same.
The cues, step by step
They are the ones shown on screen in the Rinpa guided version, in time with the move.
“Fingers flat above and below your lips.”
“Move the skin outwards, towards your ears.”
“And release.”
“Keep your face relaxed.”
In these routines
Fresh face
5:00- 01 Belly breathing 0:40
- 02 Open the collarbone 0:45
- 03 Sides of the neck 0:25
- 04 Lips to ears 0:25
- 05 Nose to ears 0:45
- 06 Under the eyes 0:45
- 07 Down the neck 0:25
- 08 Belly breathing 0:50
Sources