How To Depuff Your Face, According To A Beauty Editor

Puffy eyes, a heavy jawline and skin that feels tight after every shower: water has a lot to answer for. Beauty editor Olivia Falcon knows how to depuff your face, and it starts with the way you hydrate, brush and bathe. Here she shares the tools and treatments that have made a visible difference, from the lymphatic brush she rates far above gua sha to a filtered shower head and the Icelandic skincare range she has waited a decade to buy in the UK.

How To Depuff Your Face & Boost Circulation

My number one beauty rule? Stay hydrated and drink two litres of water per day for a glowing complexion. I’m currently supercharging my glass with Zooki Electrolytes+ skin radiance sachets, a palatable pomegranate flavour with magnesium, which helps retain water in the cells. But what happens if, like me, you are susceptible to water retention – which manifests in my face with puffiness around the eyes and a heavy jawline?

With so many face tools out there it’s hard to know what works, but US-based aesthetician Cecily Braden is having a moment with her lymphatic brush, a must-have patented design that moves fluid through the face and neck. Far superior to gua sha tools, which leave me red, blotchy and tender, the brush gently yet effectively tackles dark circles, puffy cheeks and a heavy lower face, giving a streamlined contour. Pro tip: use on clean, dry skin and spritz regularly with the ISOCLEAN makeup brush cleaner, which leaves zero residue on the brush or your face.

After washing with London’s hard water, my skin feels tight and dry, but two small changes have made an enormous difference. First, I have invested in Hello Klean’s new shower head, which removes heavy metals from water by trapping iron, copper, zinc, chlorine and even arsenic and mercury in its filter, improving water purity without harsh chemical treatment. It reduces limescale, which can make hair lank and skin flaky, and has a built-in temperature alert to avoid the water getting too hot and stripping oils from the skin.

I have also discovered Blue Lagoon Skin Science, a brilliant skincare range powered by silica, algae, minerals and healing geothermal seawater found in the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, which has just become available to buy in the UK. I visited the lagoon for a spa weekend about ten years ago and have never forgotten how soft my skin felt after one dip. I can report using the BL+ cream (from £70) on my face has really helped smooth crow’s feet; three weeks in and I have much less eye crinkling when I smile. I’ve also been using the silica mud mask (from £38) on my teenage daughter’s eczema with great effect – a blessing as my previous attempt to smuggle some home from Iceland ended in a volcanic eruption in my wash bag.

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