
10 best face massage tools for sculpted, toned and soothed skin
The best face massage tools come in various shapes and sizes, but all aim to lift and tone skin to create extra elasticity and reduce puffiness. When it comes to choosing the best tool for you, it all comes down to preferred techniques and skin concerns.
But how do face massage tools actually work? Well, it's all to do with lymphatic drainage, which helps reduce any toxin build-up. This, in turn, promotes healthier-looking and -feeling skin.
Popular picks include the flat stone gua sha, which is a Chinese massage tool designed to stimulate soft tissue circulation and increase blood flow. Other tools take the form of rollers, wands and even vibrating facial massagers. They're made from various materials, including amethyst, jade and zinc, for additional wellbeing benefits.
But what makes each option unique? I'm here to help you find out, as I've been busy testing a range of options. So, whether you're looking to firm up fine lines or indulge in some deep face-massage relaxation, keep reading to find the best facial massage tool for you.
How we tested
I sampled several facial massage tools over a month's testing and explored different techniques with each. I trialled massagers with simple instructions and video demonstrations to target tension, reduce puffiness and tone skin. From rollerball massagers to gua sha stones and electronic devices, read on for our list of the best facial massage tools to buy across all price points.
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
Helen Wilson-Beevers is a trusted reviewer with years of experience in beauty. She's written The Independent 's guides to the best eye creams, the best tinted moisturisers, and the best moisturisers for dry skin. Drawing on her expertise within the beauty realm, Helen knows what to look for when it comes to finding products that actually work.
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Reuters
5 minutes ago
- Reuters
Young South Korean women help propel liberal candidate Lee to victory
SEOUL, June 4 (Reuters) - Young women in South Korea voted in droves to help new liberal President Lee Jae-myung win Tuesday's election, reflecting the entrenched gender divide over politics in the country where more young men backed conservative candidates. Around 58% of women voters in their 20s and 57% in their 30s voted for Lee of the Democratic Party, a joint exit poll by three broadcasters showed, mirroring the 2022 presidential election, while a majority of their male peers picked Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party and Lee Jun-seok, another conservative candidate. Young women led the charge against former President Yoon Suk-yeol who was ousted in April by the Supreme Court after being impeached over his short-lived imposition of martial law, triggering the snap election. They outnumbered their male peers in massive anti-Yoon protests as they waved K-pop light sticks while braving near sub-zero temperatures in the winter. "I voted for Lee Jae-myung in part because I was a little nervous about candidate Kim Moon-soo climbing in polls towards the end of the election," said Moon Song-hee, a 32-year-old female voter in Seoul. Kim and his party had failed to distance themselves from Yoon, driving away people like her who were protesting outside parliament soon after the December 3 martial law declaration, she said. The women-led "revolution" is a starting point for making progress on gender equality that was reversed under Yoon, the Korea Women's Association United said in a statement. "This is not a simple regime change, but a historical achievement made by the fierce struggle of the people to restore the gender-equal democracy destroyed by the Yoon Suk Yeol regime," the group said in a statement. The issue of gender inequality has become a lightning rod in the country. South Korea has the worst gender pay gap in the OECD, with women earning about two-thirds of the income of men. Efforts to redress such inequalities have triggered a backlash among young men, amid perceptions of reverse discrimination, including disgruntlement at the compulsory military service that is not required for women, some experts say. Former leader Yoon tapped into anti-feminist sentiment by vowing to abolish the gender equality ministry and courted young male voters in the last election in 2022, losing a majority of young women's votes to Lee. The ministry has outlived Yoon, though without a minister. "I was baffled by the promise to abolish the gender equality ministry. To be honest, I didn't really think that women were on their minds for the past three years," she said after voting for Lee for the second time. Lee has vowed to expand the role of the gender equality ministry and strengthen punishment for violence against women. "Young people were driven to extreme competition to the point of fighting between men and women," Lee said as he was sworn in as president on Wednesday, blaming a lack of opportunities and stiff competition for driving a wedge between the genders. However, Lee has not been a vocal supporter of anti-discrimination legislation and when the Democratic Party first revealed his policies, a lack of gender issues drew criticism. The Korea Women's Political Network, an activist group, contended that Lee was ignoring gender equality out of fear it would hurt him at the polls, and after his victory, urged him to adopt some of Kwon's commitments. Kwon Seo-hyun, an 18-year-old freshman at Sookmyung Women's University said she took part in anti-Yoon protests following his martial law, but voted for Kwon Young-kook, the minor Democratic Labor Party's candidate. Kwon has called himself a feminist and was the only candidate who vowed to enact anti-discrimination laws. "One thing I am a bit frustrated about with mainstream candidates whether Lee Jae-myung or other conservative candidates is they lack policy on women or minority groups," she said. Gender equality was not among the key policy issues put forward during this election, a stark contrast from the 2022 vote. There were also no female candidates running in a presidential election for the first time in 18 years.


Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Chinese couple were part of years-long plot to smuggle biological pathogen into US - even once snuck dangerous material in shoe
A Chinese researcher accused of plotting with her boyfriend to smuggle a weapon of 'agroterrorism' into the United States may have successfully hidden pathogens in her shoe on a previous trip. University of Michigan postdoctoral fellow Yunqing Jian, 33, has been charged alongside Zunyong Liu, 34, for the sinister plot allegedly tied to the Chinese Communist Party. Liu arrived in the United States from China in July 2024 carrying four small baggies of Fusarium graminearum - a product responsible for causing billions of dollars worth of damage to livestock, wheat, barley, maize and rice globally each year. FBI boss Kash Patel issued a chilling warning after the first pictures emerged of Jian on Tuesday evening. 'This case is a sobering reminder that the CCP[Chinese Communist Party] is working around the clock to deploy operatives and researchers to infiltrate American institutions and target our food supply,' he said. If successful, the plot 'would have grave consequences... putting American lives and our economy at serious risk.' The duo have been charged with conspiracy, smuggling, making false statements and visa fraud. In a horrifying twist, the criminal complaint reveals that Jian may have been successful in smuggling pathogens into the United States years earlier. The research student, who reportedly had pledged her loyalty to the CCP, had indicated in messages to Liu that she previously carried a pathogen her shoe on a trip to America in 2022. 'Electronic evidence also shows that Jian has been involved in smuggling packages of biological material into the United States on prior occasions,' the complaint stated. Separately, messages revealed she had arranged for another associate from China to mail her a book with a plastic baggie of the substance hidden inside in early 2024. The horrifying revelations raise questions about what Jian and Liu were hoping to achieve with the pathogen. The complaint also revealed that Jian had received funding from the Chinese government to conduct similar work on the same pathogen while she lived in China. Her boyfriend is employed at a Chinese university where he also studies Fusarium graminearum. The pair had 'discussed the shipping of biological materials and research being done in the laboratory' before he arrived in the United States. Fusarium graminearum's toxins cause vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive defects in humans and livestock if consumed. 'The alleged actions of these Chinese nationals, including a loyal member of the Chinese Communist Party, are of the gravest national security concerns,' US Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr. said. In July 2024, Liu was turned away at the Detroit airport and sent back to China after changing his story during an interrogation about the red plant material discovered in his backpack, per the FBI. He initially claimed he knew nothing about the samples but later admitted he was planning to use the material for research at the lab, the complaint detailed. The FBI said authorities found a scientific article on Liu's phone that was titled, 'Plant-Pathogen Warfare under Changing Climate Conditions.' A week before he arrived in the US, Liu exchanged messages with his partner, who said: 'It´s a pity that I still have to work for you,' according to investigators. FBI agents visited Jian at the campus lab in February, as she told them: '100% no,' when asked if she had been assisting Liu with the pathogen at the lab. But her text messages suggested she was in fact studying the product prior to her boyfriend's arrival in the country. The agency said it found a signed statement on her phone expressing her support for the Communist Party of China. The university does not have federal permits to handle Fusarium graminearum. In a statement, the University of Michigan said it did not receive 'funding from the Chinese government in relation to research conducted by the accused individuals.' 'We strongly condemn any actions that seek to cause harm, threaten national security or undermine the university's critical public mission.' Gorgon Jr. described the allegations against the 'two aliens' as the 'gravest national security concerns.' Jian appeared in court Tuesday and was returned to jail to await a bond hearing set for Thursday. An attorney who was assigned only for her initial appearance declined to comment, the Associated Press reported. The US does not have an extradition treaty with China, meaning Liu's arrest is unlikely unless he returns. The charges come as the Trump administration seeks to crack down on international students on US campuses, vowing last week to begin revoking the visas of some Chinese students, including those studying in 'critical fields.' China is the second-largest country of origin for international students in the United States, behind only India. In the 2023-2024 school year, more than 270,000 international students were from China, making up roughly a quarter of all foreign students in the United States. 'Under President Trump's leadership, the U.S. State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.


Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Noble Panacea: quiet luxury's answer to skincare
We think so much about how to protect our skin that the UK skincare industry is now a £3.5 billion machine. But what are successful beauty brands doing to protect and preserve the potent ingredients within that skincare? Besides housing it in swanky bottles and fancy packaging, it seems not very much. That's where Noble Panacea differs. • This article contains affiliate links that can earn us revenue Founded in 2019, the luxury skincare label Noble Panacea was created by the late Sir Fraser Stoddart whose lifetime contribution to chemistry was recognised by many prestigious awards, including a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth in 2006, the Albert Einstein World Award of Science in 2007, and becoming a 2016 Nobel laureate in chemistry. To this day it is one of the only skincare brands whose founder has such extensive accolades. After four decades of research and thousands of experiments unlocking molecular secrets, Stoddart and his team found a way to engineer the molecules within skincare to unleash properties of the active ingredients inside. And so the Organic Super Molecular Vessels (OSMV), Noble Panacea's proprietary system, was born. Behind the fancy name, in reality it is a shell built from biodegradable, renewable carbohydrates and fatty acids. These encapsulate the active ingredients within skincare, protecting them from oxidation and environmental degradation, which can have a negative effect on efficiency. While there is no way of seeing these OSMVs (they are 10,000 times smaller than a skin cell to enable them to deliver ingredients deep into the skin), the clever chemistry allows ingredients to be protected at the individual molecular level. This helps them to preserve their integrity for optimal freshness and to prevent any cross-interaction. The science doesn't stop there. The OSMVs can also be programmed to release ingredients in an ordered sequence and to allow a long-term release through a carefully controlled, staggered, multi-layered method based on the ingredient profile and its skin benefits. 'Similar to pharmaceuticals, skincare has a therapeutic window where a continual and precise dosage is the most potent and effective,' the brand says. 'Too high of an ingredient dosage may turn it into a skin irritant, whereas too low may not be effective.' To put this into perspective, most other skincare products are absorbed immediately after application, without taking into account the skin's therapeutic window, and are therefore less efficient. Noble Panacea products are different as the OSMVs let the skincare work over time — programmed to be in keeping with when your skin is the most receptive to its ingredients. This is particularly significant when it comes to nighttime skincare. Named as being one of the most iconic innovations by Noble Panacea, The Overnight Chronobiology Peel is an intensive, leave-on treatment powered by the brand's OSMV technology. The brand claims it can improve the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, pores and uneven skin tone through a deep exfoliation. It is one of the few chemical peels on the market calibrated to the skin's natural overnight biorhythm. The overnight peel is designed to release a micro-dose of potent active ingredients in stages throughout the course of eight hours, each designed to target a specific cycle of your sleep. During the first stage (for example, 11pm to 4am), which is the time of cellular renewal, a controlled release of complex AHAs and BHAs are released to help remove dead skin cells and exfoliate the skin. In the second stage (when the peel has been applied for over 5 hours), the skin is in its maximum absorption phase, so the product releases a blend of the herb Gotu Kola for a soothing feel. Unlike other chemical peels, there is no need to follow up with a neutralising agent post application, nor is any downtime necessary the next day. Simply use the resurfacing treatment once a week to see the results. While lots of luxury skincare brands shout about the active ingredients inside their top secret formulations, what sets Noble Panacea apart is just how those ingredients are delivered into your skin. 'We do not believe in myths and hype,' the brand says. Instead it relies on highly efficacious, dermatologist and ophthalmologist approved products, which are optimised by its programmed OSMVs and rooted in molecular chemistry. Welcome to the next generation of science-backed skincare. Shop Noble Panacea's The Exceptional Overnight Chronobiological Peel (£280 for 8 doses) at Harrods