We were early adopters of the jade roller, the buzzy beauty tool we’re seeing everywhere these days. If you’re still not sure what all the fuss is about, or you picked one up, but have no idea how to actually use it, this guide is for you.
Skim through to become a master jade roller or send along to a friend whose self-care and skincare routine could use a boost!
How To Use a Jade Roller
The jade roller — which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like — has been around since the 17th century and was originally used by Chinese royalty and high society members. Made from solid jade, rollers have one larger stone that rolls well on larger areas of the face (cheeks, jaw, forehead) and a smaller stone for harder to reach places (undereyes, mouth).
So, why bother rolling a spherical crystal over your face? Jade has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine for its purifying properties and ability to heal and restore skin. Perhaps more importantly, the lymphatic drainage and facial massage you’ll experience with a jade roller makes the tool a knife and needle-free stand-in for the sculpting effects of some plastic surgery.
Devoted rollers can’t get enough of the tool and, as converts ourselves, we can vouch for the jade roller’s effectiveness at decreasing puffiness, minimizing lines and making sure your daily serums are penetrating deeply into your skin.
By using a jade roller every day (sometimes twice a day if you’re feeling saucy), you’re actually giving yourself a gentle facial massage. That massaging motion not only increases circulation (hello, plump, firm, glowing skin), it also works to break up any stagnation in the lymphatic system that may be causing puffiness or blemishes and gives your neglected facial muscles some much-needed TLC. (Tense muscles = wrinkles, FYI.)
Prep To Use Your Jade Roller: Cleanse + Treat
You should only be using your jade roller on clean skin. The massaging motion of the roller helps product on your skin to sink in deeper and the same is true for old makeup and dirt. So before you even think about picking up the jade roller, wash your face.
If you’re going to roll in the morning to decrease any barely-slept-last-night puffiness, consider popping your jade facial roller in the fridge overnight. The cool jade will reduce swelling by shrinking blood vessels. It also feels amazing on tired skin.
Rolling at night? Go through your standard cleansing routine to remove all traces of the day and apply any serums and/or oils you like before bed. After giving them a minute to sink in, roll your heart out. The jade face roller will help skin drink them up before they have time to evaporate or rub off on your pillow.
How To Jade Roll
Now comes the fun part. There’s no right or wrong area of the face to start, but do make sure you’re rolling from the center, out. I also like to visually split my face in half using my nose as the divider and work on one side at a time to make sure I’m not missing anything:
+ The technique: Using gentle pressure, you’ll use the jade roller to roll one side of your face at a time from the center outward.
Pass over the same patch of skin 3-6 times, always moving from the center of your body or face outward.
When you need to return the roller to the starting point, pick it up and place it back at the start (don’t roll backwards).
+ The Sequence: Start at your chest just beneath your collarbone. From your chest, move up to the neck, chin/jawline, cheeks (from your nose out toward your ear), undereye and eyelid (use the small end of the roller here and very gently move from the inner corner of your eye out to the temple), eyebrow (switch back to the larger side and roll out and down, following the contour of your brow bone) and forehead (start in the middle and roll out)
+ switch sides: Now do the exact same thing on the other side of your chest, neck and face.
Finish with a soothing upward roll from between your eyebrows, up to the hairline.
The whole process should take two to four minutes, depending on how many passes you’re doing and how many areas of the face you’re hitting. As you’re working the jade face roller, you’ll see your skin start to flush — this is a good thing! It means circulation is increasing.
Don’t Forget To Clean That Roller
If you want to apply additional serum or moisturizer, go for it. If not, your final step should always always be cleaning the jade roller thoroughly with warm, soapy water. This thing is touching your face every single day: keep it clean.
Your jade roller is just the beginning. Check out our other favorite beauty tools here.
