Three Skin Care Tools (All Under $20) That Helped My Skin
My skin was usually pretty clear (with occasional breakouts and redness) until my Lyme symptoms started getting worse. My face became super puffy, and when I started treatment, I broke out on my face and neck. For months while I was detoxing, my face was constantly covered in acne, and no amount of makeup could cover it up. Months later, my skin started to clear, but I still had breakouts along my jawline that I couldn’t get rid of, and my face was still puffy. I have been using these products for a while, and they helped me so much with puffiness and breakouts. I linked each tool I use in the headline.
Silicone Facial Cupping Therapy Set
Cupping for my back has helped with pain and circulation, so I was curious to try cupping for my face. With cupping, the practitioner would normally leave cups on my body for 10 minutes or so, but with facial cupping, you are moving the cups along your face. Facial cupping claims to prevent wrinkles, improve lymphatic drainage (which I thought would help the puffiness), and stimulate the production of collagen (I already take collagen powder, but more collagen doesn’t hurt!) This set comes with two large cups and 2 small ones. It takes a couple of tries to get used to, but I followed the instructions in the packet (I put a moisturizer on my face to start- I like this one) and then glided the cups along my face according to the diagram. I have been doing this for about a year now, along with using a jade roller (which I will talk about below.) I use the cupping set for about a minute each morning.
My friend got me a jade roller as a gift, and I started using it at the same time I started cupping. Similar to cupping, jade rolling claims to smooth out wrinkles and improve lymphatic drainage. It can also relieve tension by running it along your jawline. I keep mine in the freezer because that helps with tightening pores. Here is a great article explaining how to use it. I use it for about a minute each morning.
I had heard of gua sha, but didn’t start practicing it until a few months ago when I was visiting my parents, and my dad’s physical therapist told me to use it for pain and to keep my skin healthy. She raved about it and said she regularly uses it on her skin (and her skin looked amazing!) Gua sha is a Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment that involves scraping a tool along your skin. Gua Sha relieves tension in the facial muscles, boosts circulation, and stimulates lymphatic drainage. I bought a set (to share with my mom, who wanted it too!), took this one, looked up a tutorial on how to use it, and started adding it to my skin care routine. This gua sha tool has a “V” shape on one end that I use along my jawline to massage it (I tend to get pain and tension in that area.) I use it a few times a week.
Since I have begun to use these tools, the puffiness in my face went away, the acne on my jawline disappeared (this was an unexpected but exciting discovery. I recently read this article which explains why this may be the case) and my skin is smoother, brighter, and healthier-looking. Here are my before and after pics. The first pic is when my Lyme symptoms started to become debilitating, and my face became really puffy. The second pic is after a year of using these tools.
