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10 best facial massage tools for sculpted, toned and soothed skin

Give your beauty routine a boost, with these rollers and gua sha tools that help your skincare work harder

Helen Wilson-Beevers
Friday 10 May 2024 13:49 BST
Tighten and smooth skin with these gadgets
Tighten and smooth skin with these gadgets (The Independent)
Our Top Picks

Facial massagers come in different shapes and sizes, with each focusing on specific techniques and skin concerns.

Massaging your face is a practice said to lift and tone skin, creating extra elasticity over time and reducing pesky puffiness.

Face massage tools work by assisting lymphatic drainage and reducing 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? We’re here to help you find out, as we’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 the best face massage tools

We sampled several facial massage tools over a month’s testing and explored different techniques with each. Our tester 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.

The best face massage tools for 2024 are:

  • Best facial massage tool overall – FaceGym weighted face ball: £33, Lookfantastic.com
  • Best budget facial massage tool – Green People jade gua sha massage tool: £14.50, Greenpeople.co.uk
  • Best facial massage tool for the eye area – Espa aventurine jade eye contour massage tool: £40, Lookfantastic.com
  • Best for a deep massage – Brushworks face sculpting zinc roller: £23.99, Amazon.co.uk

FaceGym weighted face ball

1 Face Gym.jpg
  • Best: Facial massage tool overall
  • Material: PVC
  • Why we love it
    • Includes a tutorial
    • Fun to use

This tactile face tool is like a mini gym ball that feels fun to hold and roll over skin, relieving stress at the same time. We scanned the included QR code to view a video tutorial that took us through a face, neck and shoulder massage technique. It’s designed for use on cleansed, dry skin before applying any products, so the massaging tool doesn’t slip.

We held the red 250g ball on our temples and rolled it over our skin in the palm of our hand. We then alternated between light and medium pressure levels, to lift and stretch the skin across the cheeks. We enjoyed rolling the ball over specific areas for a tension-releasing face massage that can also tighten and tone muscles with long-term use.

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Green People jade gua sha massage tool

9 Green People.jpg
  • Best: Budget facial massage tool
  • Material: Natural jade stone
  • Why we love it
    • Simple to use
    • Cooling

This mid-sized gua sha tool has two smooth curved edges and a scalloped one. It comes complete with an organic cotton pouch and imagery showing us how to move the tool from the inside of our face to the outside. We liked that it’s simple to use, and the facial massage involved is faff-free. We tended to use it with serum or oil and varied how much pressure we applied, depending on the area of focus and how our face was feeling.

Affordably priced, this gua sha tool is nice and cooling, and we enjoyed pressing it against our face to soothe hot and bothered skin.

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Lumity natural green jade facial roller

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  • Best: Refreshing facial massage tool
  • Material: Jade
  • Why we love it
    • Dual-ended rolling for reaching different parts of the face

This double-ended roller comes in a cardboard presentation box for safekeeping, should you prefer to store it away between uses, and the reverse of the packaging includes directions for use across the entire face. There’s a natural jade handle and two different-sized jade rollers – we found the smaller one ideal for reaching the nose and under-eye areas.

We used the facial roller with face oil and saw our tired skin look noticeably refreshed. The cooling jade feels soothing and helps bring down any early morning face puffiness, too.

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Espa aventurine jade eye contour massage tool

3 ESPA.jpg
  • Best: For the eye area
  • Material: Aventurine jade
  • Why we love it
    • Calming effect
  • Take note
    • On the small side (but didn’t feel fiddly to handle)

Packaged in a handy small drawstring cotton bag, this mini jade massager is shaped a bit like a doorknob and has been designed to target pressure points. We found dabbing both ends onto our temples brought a calming feeling and helped relieve tension headaches, while rolling sideways across our cheekbones soothed that area. We used the tool with and without skincare products and, despite the small size, it didn’t feel at all fiddly to hold or handle.

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Brushworks face sculpting zinc roller

Brushworks face sculpting zinc roller.jpeg
  • Best: For a deep massage
  • Material: Zinc
  • Why we love it
    • Ergonomic
    • Cooling

This zinc tool has a handle and two rollerballs to deeply massage skin. It comes with an instruction leaflet, and we found the versatile massager works vigorously across every area of the face, including the jawline, eyebrow, forehead, cheeks and nose. Plus, the tool’s curved handle creates an ergonomic shape, which we noticed was comfortable to grip. The kneading motion left our skin looking brightened, too.

Because the face massager is made of zinc, it is already quite cold to the touch, but after being stored in the fridge, the chilliness was even more energising.

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Inlight Beauty amethyst gua sha

7 Inlight Beauty.jpg
  • Best: For aesthetic
  • Material: Amethyst
  • Why we love it
    • Fits nicely in the hand
    • Easy to clean

This heart-shaped amethyst gua sha tool arrived in a cotton pouch, complete with a wellness ritual leaflet, including useful step-by-step instructions. The amethyst shading is strikingly attractive from an aesthetic point of view, and the smooth stone fitted neatly in the palm of our hand.

As directed, we took a quiet moment and held the tool flat, using each side to target different face areas. We noticed the shape enables gentle placement on pressure points, and our face did feel rejuvenated after use. It’s also easy to clean with soapy water.

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Foreo bear

8 Foreo.png
  • Best: Luxury facial massage tool
  • Material: Silicone
  • Why we love it
    • Treatments are just a few minutes long
  • Take note
    • Expensive

To get started, we downloaded the Foreo app and created an account, which cleverly syncs with the device. The shape depicts a cute smiley face, and the mouth and eyes appear when it switches on. The bear ear spheres deliver a microcurrent, and we were able to choose the intensity before our massage. We applied serum first, as instructed, then selected one of the three treatment types – each is created for toning, firming or contouring skin and, handily, they’re only about two minutes long. As we moved the device around our face and followed the app instructions, we could feel a gentle buzzing. The tool glides over skin, hugging the face while it works.

Undoubtedly an investment buy, the massage sensation does feel suitably energising, and we liked the tailor-made touch of choosing different routines. The box includes a charger, case and stand.

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Ranavat kansa wand detoxifying facial massage tool

10 Ranavat.jpg
  • Best: For relaxation
  • Material: Copper and tin, wooden handle
  • Why we love it
    • Cooling
    • Copper and tin wand is said to purify the skin
    • Skin was left feeling toned and soothed

Kansa is a metal made from copper and tin and it’s associated with purifying the skin as part of ancient ayurvedic practices. The end of this wand is the kansa part, while its tapered handle is wooden and feels smooth to hold. We applied face oil before creating circular massage motions with the wand across our skin, after which we noticed a comforting coolness.

This tool is easy to use and will be a straightforward addition to any skincare routine, even if you only have five minutes to spare. We noticed how relaxed the massage tool left us feeling, and our skin seemed visibly more toned.

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Susanne Kaufmann obsidian face roller

11 Susanne Kaufmann.jpg
  • Best: For skincare absorption
  • Material: Obsidian stone
  • Why we love it
    • Has a nice weight to it
    • Premium appeal

This stylish black obsidian face roller has a wooden handle and is mounted in a steel frame that gives it a substantial weight for effectively massaging skin. The robust tool comes in a leather pouch with a silky lining that is luxurious and practical for storage. We noted the chic tool looks much like a piece you’d find in a premium spa, which is reflected in the high-end price.

We rolled it across our face after applying products and found they absorbed evenly and efficiently with the help of this massager. We saw hydrated skin that felt supple, too.

Although the obsidian face roller is currently out of stock, you can sign up to be notified once it becomes available again.

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ReVive revolve contouring massage roller

12 Revive.jpg
  • Best: Multi-tasking facial massager
  • Material: Zinc, aluminium, magnesium, copper
  • Why we love it
    • Double-sided for different areas of the face
    • Weight adds welcome pressure

We opened the sturdy presentation box to find a full instruction guide and storage pouch alongside this multi-tasking tool. There’s a double roller section and a smaller one, meaning you can use different sizes across various areas of the face.

The larger rollers grip and massage the skin while sitting flat on the surface, to offer a seamless glide across places such as cheeks, forehead and jawline. Meanwhile, the small roller is a miniature size for neatly reaching the eye area and under the browbone. Although the metal roller is heavy, we didn’t find it difficult to hold, and we noticed the weight adds welcome pressure when massaging the shoulders in particular.

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The verdict: Face massage tools

Our overall favourite is FaceGym’s weighted face ball, thanks to its tactile massaging effect and easy-to-follow exercises. Meanwhile, Ranavat’s kansa wand detoxifying facial massage tool added welcome relaxation into our skincare routine. Finally, Green People’s jade gua sha massage tool is an affordable buy that we found cooling and soothing on our skin.

For smooth, hydrated skin, these are the best moisturisers to use with your facial roller

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