For the past few years cold facial tools, like ice rollers have been THE thing to incorporate into your skincare routine. And that’s for good reason because ice rollers and cooling facial tools have incredible benefits for your skin. But what about warmth? I’ve always known that items like hot spa towels and heated massage rocks are great for muscle tension release and relaxation. When I attended the Thai herbal poultice facial massage course with Cecily Braden my eyes were opened to the concept of using warm facial tools for muscle release, lymphatic drainage, and to create nutrient and oxygen flow to the skin. The results I’ve been able to achieve for my clients using warm herbal poultice balls and warm gua sha tools are out of this world. It’s been really fun to incorporate these new elements into my facial treatments and play around with both cold tools and warm ones to create different results for different facial clients.

scrub me secret: as an esthetician, we have been taught for decades that we should keep any type of heat or warmth away from skin types with rosacea or ample amounts of redness. this is because direct or harsh heat can cause broken blood vessels, more redness, and/or skin irritation. I was really lucky to be paired with a partner that had rosacea for the herbal poultice class and I was able to practice using the warmth of the poultice to diminish her redness. There are ways to use warmth and heat to help alleviate redness and not make it worse.

Benefits of cold skincare tools:

helps to topically take away puffiness by constricting blood vessels and reducing inflammation.
helps to give skin a firmer/tighter feel.
blood vessel constriction makes pores appear smaller.
helps to topically reduce redness or flushing in the skin.
helps alleviate headaches.
feels really invigorating.

Ways to incorporate cold into your skincare routine 🧊

Ice roller

An ice roller is a facial roller that is specifically made to go in your freezer to be chilled. These rollers are meant to stay cold for the duration of your facial massage. Ice rollers are best for de-puffing underneath your eyes, contouring your jawline/neck, and relieving forehead pressure. Ice rollers are also nice for reducing redness. I personally like the Skinny Confidential, Hot Mess Roller the best; It stays really cold for a long time, and the weight provides a deep facial massage. I also use these little glass cryo facial globes often and I like those too.

Cooled jade or rose quartz roller

If you don’t own an ice roller but you do have jade or rose quartz roller then you’re in luck! You can fill a bowl of ice water and dunk your stone roller in it for 5-10 minutes before rolling it on your face/neck. You can also put your roller in the freezer overnight to cool it. It won’t stay cold for as long as an ice roller will but it will definitely do the trick for targeted areas like under the eyes or on your forehead. Want firmer feeling skin before leaving the house or having an important Zoom call? A chilled jade or rose quartz roller can help you achieve this! Cleanse your face, use your toner and serums, and then roll your chilled roller all over your face in upward and outward movements before applying your moisturizer and other products.

Cooled gua sha stone

A chilled gua sha stone is nice for treating a cystic pimple, bug bite, and areas with redness. You can chill a gua sha stone the same way you would a rose quartz or jade roller, by dunking it in an ice bath for 5-10 minutes or by putting it in the freezer. After your stone is nice and cool you can use the surface area of the larger flat sides to press onto the areas you want to treat. By pressing this cold stone on an inflamed area and keeping it there for a few seconds you can reduce inflammation. This helps take away some redness and reduces the size of cystic breakouts and bug bites.

Cold dunk

This is a skincare trick for instant firming of the skin and taking puffiness away from the eye area. Fill a large, clean bowl with water and ice. Then, wash your face and get ready to dunk! Fully submerge your face into the ice water for at least 15 seconds. After you’re done icing your face, pat it dry with a clean cloth. Then apply your serums, eye cream, and moisturizers.

scrub me secret: need to de-puff your eye area quickly but don’t have any facial rollers or gua sha stones? Take a clean, metal spoon and put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes to make it really cold. I like to wrap it in a cloth or paper towel before I chill it to make sure it stays as clean as possible. Then, unwrap your spoon and gently press it onto your eye area. This is so helpful for immediate de-puffing.

Benefits of warm skincare tools:

provide muscle release for jaw, neck, or head tension. this release makes these muscles more malleable and easier to lift with facial massage.
provides release that is helpful for lymphatic drainage.
creates circulation, oxygen, and nutrient flow in the skin; helping to anti-age.
provides deep relaxation.

Ways to incorporate warmth into your skincare routine 🍵

Before trying to use warm skincare tools at home I highly suggest visiting an esthetician or massage therapist trained in facial massage so they can guide you on the best and safest ways to use warm elements in your facial massage routine. If warmth or heat is incorporated into your skincare routine in the wrong way then you could end up causing yourself redness or broken capillaries.

Herbal poultice face massage

A herbal poultice facial treatment is a truly unique experience. Thai herbal poultice is a wellness tradition that uses a warm ball of herbs wrapped in muslin for various medicinal purposes; this practice dates back hundreds of years. Herbal poultice face massage is adapted from this Thai tradition. Herbs like java apple, hibiscus, geranium, and more are packed together and wrapped in a muslin cloth. This small ball of herbs is soaked in water and then steamed. Your skincare technician will be properly trained as to how to properly use the heat/warmth of the different sides and edges of the herbal poultice ball. This heated massage stimulates a great amount of lymph drainage and opens up pathways to allow nutrients to flow into the skin. The result is a more sculpted and absolutely radiant face.

Warm gua sha stone

Warmth helps with release, and when we are talking about facial massage release is something that we are aiming to achieve. When we can deeply release tight or tense face muscles we can lift them more easily. For example, if we loosen and release muscles in the jaw area then we can get a better lifting effect around the mouth and in the cheek area. The release of tension in the forehead and brow area makes brow lifting massage movements more effective. To warm your gua sha stone you can run it under hot water or wrap it in a clean towel or cloth that’s soaked with hot water. Before using the warm stone on your face and neck, gently tap it onto your jawline to make sure it’s not too hot for your skin. If it feels too warm, let it sit out for a minute and then try again. Once your stone is at a comfortable temperature glide it in upward and outward motions along your jawline, sides of face, brow, and forehead. You can use medium/firm pressure for this.

A warm gua sha stone would be really lovely and effective to use while following my facial contour massage tutorial video.

Warm facial roller

Your rose quartz roller or jade stone roller can also be warmed to use for facial massage. This promotes both relaxation and lymph drainage. Lymph drainage massage is all about releasing stagnant fluid that carries toxins and causes puffiness in the face. Warmth provides the release we need to open up pathways that allow the drainage we need. Warm your facial roller the same way you would a gua sha stone, by running it under hot water or wrapping it in a warm, damp cloth. Then, gently tap the roller onto your jawline to make sure it doesn’t feel too warm for you. If it’s too warm set it down for a minute and then try again. Once the roller is the correct temperature for you roll in downward motions underneath each ear (about 4 times on each side). These motions will activate lymph drainage. Then gently roll across areas that feel puffy or tender. Do this until your roller cools down to room temperature.

scrub me secret: radiofrequency is a clinical skincare treatment that uses radiofrequency waves to create a rise in temperature in the skin tissue. this type of treatment is said to have tightening and wrinkle-reducing results for the skin. There are different treatments at dermatologists’ and medical aesthetics offices that include radiofrequency and there are also radiofrequency devices that are sold for at-home use. If you end up trying the at-home device that I linked here I suggest using vegetable glycerin instead of their preparation gel.

So fun right?! I just love learning about new facial tools, skincare concepts, and wellness tricks that can provide us with the results we are looking for. I hope you took some new skincare tips and tricks away from this blog that you can pass along to your friends and family.🧡

Reach Your Skincare Goals with Cold and Warm Facial Tools