Everything You Should Know About Face Sculpting, Meghan Markle's ...

What is Face Sculpting?

Meghan Markle is a big fan! The inner facial, or Face Sculpting, consists of resculpting the face from within. "Intrabuccal massage is an innovative approach which brings an immediate and non-invasive anti-aging response, ideal for those who don't want to resort to hyaluronic acid injections or Botox (or who want to space them out)", Delphine Langlois tells us, the Parisian facialist who figures among the rare group trained in this technique in France, by the master Yakov Gershkovich. During the procedure, the expert literally plunges their fingers into your mouth, to exercise an internal and external response. "The muscles are laid one over the other via the mouth — from there you can deeply plump the skin and create a double massage effect." It also allows for a tailor-made approach, targeting the most-needed areas. 

What happens during the procedure?

The one-hour treatment is divided into two steps:

1. Muscle stretching

"The first 40 minutes are dedicated to "muscle streching" which aims to stimulate the facial muscles (57 in total!) to oxygenate and stretch them. It's a deep tissue massage for the muscle fibers, which unblocks tensions accumulated on the face — wrinkles are formed according to facial contractions. For this first part, I warm up the muscles, stimulating blood flow while sculpting according to the morphology of the face. The oval is redrawn and toned, while cheekbones are lifted. I can therefore counteract the loss of bone mass in the face with age."

2. The buccal massage

"The next 20 minutes revolve around the buccal massage. I slip on my gloves and plunge the index finger into the mouth, working the subcutaneous muscles as well as the exterior (tapping, vibrations, muscle stretches…). This double massage works on the muscle joints around the mouth, plumping the nasolabial fold and the lines around the mouth. By slipping the thumbs under the lower lip, I can also work the oval of the face (the chewing muscles). The contours around the mouth are the most easily time-marked zone, because the muscles there are very powerful."

Photographe : Thomas Lagrange / Réalisation : Virginie Benarroch / Coiffure : Gareth Bromell / Maquillage : Mayia Alleaume

What are the effects?

Anti-aging

"Body movement works where creams have no impact. By stretching the muscle fiber with my finger in the mouth, I also perform an indirect mechanical action on the skeleton (stretching), which stimulates the osteoplasts, and avoids them aging too fast. Everyone knows the skin and muscles age, but bone also ages. With time, the skeleton becomes finer and the oval of the face relaxes.

Massage also works on a circulatory level, as it boosts our fibroblasts (collagen and elastin) to avoid premature wrinkling. This isn't perceptible but circulation and cellular synthesis are revived.

The plumping effect is also impressive on the nasolabial fold, lines around the mouth and on the lips themselves.

Tensions relaxed

"This massage technique also allows us to more deeply penetrate the chewing muscles, in order to relax this zone of tension, particularly affected by people with stressful lifestyles. Stress creates a blockage around the neck muscles and trapezius, before resting in this area. Through massage, I stretch the muscle fibers and work out the knots, causing a relaxing effect. Facial tensions, as well as emotional tensions, are undone. This technique also works for grinding your teeth. And in spite of preconceptions, the massage is actually very pleasant to receive!"

Radiant skin

"The technique is also effective at the lymph level, which has a tendency to stagnate around the face; therefore, this procedure also has an impact when it comes to the quality and look of the skin. Radiance improves, skin is firmer, the ‘swollen’ effect diminishes. When the flow of lymph is improved, eye contours are less pronounced. Exit puffy eyes and eye bags."