We’ve all stood in front of the mirror, wondering why our face looks swollen after a long flight, a restless night, or a stressful week.
The first instinct?
Book a facial. Apply a mask. Reach for the ice roller, or even go as far as putting spoons in the fridge.
Most of our clients make an appointment for a lymphatic drainage session.
We have people contact the clinic every week wanting a lymphatic drainage treatment for the face, but if your face is puffy, generally, it’s not fundamentally about the face.
It’s what’s happening within your body.
All of the remedies above may work for a moment, but if your gut is inflamed or your lymphatic system is congested, the results won’t last.
We’re always being sold that beauty and how we look comes from the outside in, but the real glow and changes begin when we look inward.
Facial puffiness isn’t just a surface issue, it’s a signal. More often than not, it’s your body’s way of showing that things aren’t as balanced as they should.
As we’ve spoken about in previous articles, the lymphatic system is one of the body’s primary detoxification and an immune support network.
It circulates protein rich lymph fluid throughout the body, filtering it through lymph nodes to remove waste, bacteria, viruses, and toxins.
This continuous process is essential for maintaining immune balance, fluid regulation, and overall health.
When this system becomes sluggish, whether due to surgery, infection, lymph node removal, or chronic inflammation, or your system being compromised, fluid can accumulate. And one of the first places it shows? Your face.
Sure, heat and salty food can cause puffiness. But that’s usually short term. When facial swelling sticks around, there’s often something else causing the issue. This can include:
At Studio Australia Barcelona, we’re here to care for you, whatever your diagnosis or issue with a holistic approach that’s shaped around your history, health issues, symptoms and needs..
The health of your skin is a direct reflection of what’s happening beneath the surface. We remind our clients when they want lymphatic treatment for the face – your lymphatic system, your gut, and your skin are all deeply connected – this is why we start with the gut.
Around 70% of your immune system lives in the gut. So when your digestion is under stress from inflammation, poor diet, emotional strain, it doesn’t just affect your energy. It slows down your lymphatic flow, leading to fluid retention, dullness, and puffiness and this especially shows up in the face.
The foods you eat and the way you care for your body every day either support your body’s natural healing processes or create low-grade inflammation that silently builds up over time.
Inflammatory Triggers That Disrupt the System:
– Processed foods that burden the digestive tract
– Refined sugars that spike insulin and stress immunity
– Excess dairy that can trigger congestion and bloating
– Alcohol, which dehydrates and congests the lymph
On the flip side, small, mindful choices can help soothe the gut, reduce inflammation, and support healthy circulation.
Gut-Soothing, Glow-Supporting Allies:
– Just cooked leafy greens to support detox pathways
– Turmeric and ginger to calm inflammation
– Antioxidant rich berries to nourish from within
– Omega-3 rich fish to protect cellular health
– Fermented foods to restore gut flora and immune balance
Your lymphatic system thrives in an environment of rhythm, rest, and nourishment. With the right support, your body naturally knows how to restore balance, and your complexion will reflect it.
Tucked behind the stomach and near the lumbar spine is an often overlooked lymphatic structure: the cisterna chyli.
So what does cisterna chyli have to do with a puffy face?
It serves as the central collection point for lymphatic fluid in the lower body and abdomen.
But if it gets congested, because of things like inflammation, stress, lifestyle, constipation, or abdominal surgery, everything above it slows down too. That includes the fluid moving through your neck, jaw, and face.
This is why when you come to see Aline Tisato, our holistic physiotherapist, for a lymphatic treatment for your face puffiness she will always start your treatment at the root cause – your gut. Aline works with a unique combination of Qi Gong, Traditional Chinese Medicine, holistic physiotherapy, and lymphatic drainage techniques
Hormonal shifts, especially due to estrogen dominance during perimenopause or chronic stress, can also contribute to facial puffiness.
Unfortunately our lifestyle and environment today is full of synthetic estrogens in plastics and cosmetics, processed foods, and ongoing stress that can tip the body out of balance.
The lymphatic system plays a supporting role by transporting hormones like progesterone, which moves more easily through the lymph than estrogen. But if that system is sluggish, hormones can’t circulate or clear effectively.
This imbalance may show up as:
Supporting lymph flow is a valuable step in restoring hormonal balance, especially when conventional methods like medication or hormone therapy, address symptoms but not the underlying systemic congestion.
By stimulating the lymphatic system, we help the body clear excess hormones, reduce inflammation, and support the natural rhythms that keep your endocrine system in balance.
Ever notice your face looks puffier first thing in the morning, or around your cycle? It’s not just water retention. These changes are often linked to these natural biorhythms and hormonal fluctuations.
As estrogen and progesterone shift throughout the month, they can impact your lymphatic flow, fluid retention, and even digestive rhythm, especially if your system is already under stress.
The result is swelling, puffiness, and a sense of heaviness that’s often most noticeable in the face.
Your lymphatic and hormonal systems follow rhythms:
Interruptions, like blue light at night, hormonal changes, or even late night snacking, can all disrupt that rhythm.
Morning swelling from overnight stagnation
Your lymphatic system slows while you sleep, especially if you’ve eaten late, consumed alcohol, or haven’t moved much the day before. This can lead to puffiness around the eyes and face first thing in the morning.
Mid-cycle or PMS-related puffiness
Hormonal shifts, particularly increases in estrogen and fluid retention during ovulation and the luteal phase, can affect both digestion and lymphatic drainage; this can make the face and body feel heavier or more bloated.
Travel and time zone changes
Long flights, disrupted sleep, altered routines, and dehydration can all block lymphatic flow, leaving you feeling sluggish, swollen, and out of rhythm for days after you arrive.
Prioritising sleep hygiene
Good sleep helps regulate your hormones and support detoxification. Aim for consistent bedtimes, a dark room, and calming pre sleep rituals.
Getting sunlight in the morning
Natural light early in the day resets your circadian rhythm, helps regulate cortisol levels, and supports your overall hormonal balance.
Avoiding screens 1–2 hours before bed
Reducing blue light exposure helps your body produce melatonin naturally, improving the depth and quality of your sleep.
Tracking your menstrual cycle
Understanding where you are in your cycle allows you to plan your schedule, movement, and self care practices in tune with your natural energy shifts.
MLD is a gentle, specialised massage technique that supports:
The specialist therapist uses slow, rhythmic pressure to stimulate natural detox pathways and reduce swelling.
This gentle focused treatment can offer visible results and deeper physiological support immediately.
By stimulating the delicate network of lymph vessels just beneath the skin, this treatment helps mobilise trapped fluid, reducing puffiness, especially around the eyes, cheeks, and jaw.
Lymphatic massage encourages better blood flow, which delivers more oxygen and nutrients to the skin. The result? A healthier, more even tone, and noticeable changes.
Clients often leave the treatment table feeling lighter and more awake. The results will continue to evolve for hours or days after the session.
Your lymphatic system plays a vital role in filtering out metabolic waste, environmental toxins, and inflammatory by products that build up in the body over time.
When lymph flow becomes sluggish these substances can accumulate and overwhelm the system. This internal congestion often shows up on the skin as breakouts, dullness, puffiness, or heightened sensitivity, especially in the face.
A lymphatic drainage treatment stimulates circulation, activates key drainage points, and encourages the body to release stagnant fluid and toxins naturally.
The result? A clearer complexion, reduced facial swelling, and a sense of internal balance.
By reducing puffiness and improving microcirculation, this treatment creates a more refined look, smoother jawlines, lifted cheeks, and visibly more defined contours. Regular sessions can gradually tone and support tissue resilience over time.
When lymphatic flow is healthy, the skin becomes more receptive. This means:
Gentle, rhythmic strokes used in lymphatic massage don’t just benefit your skin, they also calm the nervous system.
Many clients experience a parasympathetic “reset” during their treatment, feeling lighter, more grounded, and more at ease.
Whether it’s a facelift, rhinoplasty, or a dental procedure like a root canal, facial and cranial surgeries can leave you swollen, tender, and out of sync.
Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) is one of the most effective ways to support your body’s healing process.
Aline Tisato, is a specialist in post-operative lymphatic therapy and customises each session to:
While nothing replaces the precision of a professional session, you can incorporate gentle lymphatic massage into your skincare routine each day to help maintain flow and reduce ongoing puffiness.
Daily Lymphatic Facial Skincare Routine:
Bonus Tips:
Pro tip: Keep a chilled gua sha tool or jade roller in the fridge for an extra refreshing effect, especially in the morning.
Facial Puffiness as Insight, Not Imperfection
At Studio Australia Barcelona, we treat:
True beauty isn’t something you apply, it’s something your body creates. It begins in the gut, flows through a healthy lymphatic system, and radiates outward from a body that’s nourished, supported, and in balance.
When your internal systems are flowing freely, your vitality naturally shines through.
Book your in-person or online appointment today
Sources
https://www.drsonyajensen.com/blog/the-relationship-between-hormones-and-the-lymphatic-system
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36206050
https://silvermirror.com/why-our-lymphatic-facial-is-the-key-to-de-puffing-your-face
https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpheart.00375.2022
https://cancerrehabpt.com/blog/how-to-reduce-swelling-on-face
Get monthly updates with wellness tips, holistic health insights, and expert guidance. Start your journey to a better well-being and healing today!
We’ve all stood in front of the mirror, wondering why our face looks swollen after a long flight, a restless night, or a stressful week.
The first instinct?
Book a facial. Apply a mask. Reach for the ice roller, or even go as far as putting spoons in the fridge.
Most of our clients make an appointment for a lymphatic drainage session.
We have people contact the clinic every week wanting a lymphatic drainage treatment for the face, but if your face is puffy, generally, it’s not fundamentally about the face.
It’s what’s happening within your body.
All of the remedies above may work for a moment, but if your gut is inflamed or your lymphatic system is congested, the results won’t last.
We’re always being sold that beauty and how we look comes from the outside in, but the real glow and changes begin when we look inward.
Facial puffiness isn’t just a surface issue, it’s a signal. More often than not, it’s your body’s way of showing that things aren’t as balanced as they should.
As we’ve spoken about in previous articles, the lymphatic system is one of the body’s primary detoxification and an immune support network.
It circulates protein rich lymph fluid throughout the body, filtering it through lymph nodes to remove waste, bacteria, viruses, and toxins.
This continuous process is essential for maintaining immune balance, fluid regulation, and overall health.
When this system becomes sluggish, whether due to surgery, infection, lymph node removal, or chronic inflammation, or your system being compromised, fluid can accumulate. And one of the first places it shows? Your face.
Sure, heat and salty food can cause puffiness. But that’s usually short term. When facial swelling sticks around, there’s often something else causing the issue. This can include:
At Studio Australia Barcelona, we’re here to care for you, whatever your diagnosis or issue with a holistic approach that’s shaped around your history, health issues, symptoms and needs..
The health of your skin is a direct reflection of what’s happening beneath the surface. We remind our clients when they want lymphatic treatment for the face – your lymphatic system, your gut, and your skin are all deeply connected – this is why we start with the gut.
Around 70% of your immune system lives in the gut. So when your digestion is under stress from inflammation, poor diet, emotional strain, it doesn’t just affect your energy. It slows down your lymphatic flow, leading to fluid retention, dullness, and puffiness and this especially shows up in the face.
The foods you eat and the way you care for your body every day either support your body’s natural healing processes or create low-grade inflammation that silently builds up over time.
Inflammatory Triggers That Disrupt the System:
– Processed foods that burden the digestive tract
– Refined sugars that spike insulin and stress immunity
– Excess dairy that can trigger congestion and bloating
– Alcohol, which dehydrates and congests the lymph
On the flip side, small, mindful choices can help soothe the gut, reduce inflammation, and support healthy circulation.
Gut-Soothing, Glow-Supporting Allies:
– Just cooked leafy greens to support detox pathways
– Turmeric and ginger to calm inflammation
– Antioxidant rich berries to nourish from within
– Omega-3 rich fish to protect cellular health
– Fermented foods to restore gut flora and immune balance
Your lymphatic system thrives in an environment of rhythm, rest, and nourishment. With the right support, your body naturally knows how to restore balance, and your complexion will reflect it.
Tucked behind the stomach and near the lumbar spine is an often overlooked lymphatic structure: the cisterna chyli.
So what does cisterna chyli have to do with a puffy face?
It serves as the central collection point for lymphatic fluid in the lower body and abdomen.
But if it gets congested, because of things like inflammation, stress, lifestyle, constipation, or abdominal surgery, everything above it slows down too. That includes the fluid moving through your neck, jaw, and face.
This is why when you come to see Aline Tisato, our holistic physiotherapist, for a lymphatic treatment for your face puffiness she will always start your treatment at the root cause – your gut. Aline works with a unique combination of Qi Gong, Traditional Chinese Medicine, holistic physiotherapy, and lymphatic drainage techniques
Hormonal shifts, especially due to estrogen dominance during perimenopause or chronic stress, can also contribute to facial puffiness.
Unfortunately our lifestyle and environment today is full of synthetic estrogens in plastics and cosmetics, processed foods, and ongoing stress that can tip the body out of balance.
The lymphatic system plays a supporting role by transporting hormones like progesterone, which moves more easily through the lymph than estrogen. But if that system is sluggish, hormones can’t circulate or clear effectively.
This imbalance may show up as:
Supporting lymph flow is a valuable step in restoring hormonal balance, especially when conventional methods like medication or hormone therapy, address symptoms but not the underlying systemic congestion.
By stimulating the lymphatic system, we help the body clear excess hormones, reduce inflammation, and support the natural rhythms that keep your endocrine system in balance.
Ever notice your face looks puffier first thing in the morning, or around your cycle? It’s not just water retention. These changes are often linked to these natural biorhythms and hormonal fluctuations.
As estrogen and progesterone shift throughout the month, they can impact your lymphatic flow, fluid retention, and even digestive rhythm, especially if your system is already under stress.
The result is swelling, puffiness, and a sense of heaviness that’s often most noticeable in the face.
Your lymphatic and hormonal systems follow rhythms:
Interruptions, like blue light at night, hormonal changes, or even late night snacking, can all disrupt that rhythm.
Morning swelling from overnight stagnation
Your lymphatic system slows while you sleep, especially if you’ve eaten late, consumed alcohol, or haven’t moved much the day before. This can lead to puffiness around the eyes and face first thing in the morning.
Mid-cycle or PMS-related puffiness
Hormonal shifts, particularly increases in estrogen and fluid retention during ovulation and the luteal phase, can affect both digestion and lymphatic drainage; this can make the face and body feel heavier or more bloated.
Travel and time zone changes
Long flights, disrupted sleep, altered routines, and dehydration can all block lymphatic flow, leaving you feeling sluggish, swollen, and out of rhythm for days after you arrive.
Prioritising sleep hygiene
Good sleep helps regulate your hormones and support detoxification. Aim for consistent bedtimes, a dark room, and calming pre sleep rituals.
Getting sunlight in the morning
Natural light early in the day resets your circadian rhythm, helps regulate cortisol levels, and supports your overall hormonal balance.
Avoiding screens 1–2 hours before bed
Reducing blue light exposure helps your body produce melatonin naturally, improving the depth and quality of your sleep.
Tracking your menstrual cycle
Understanding where you are in your cycle allows you to plan your schedule, movement, and self care practices in tune with your natural energy shifts.
MLD is a gentle, specialised massage technique that supports:
The specialist therapist uses slow, rhythmic pressure to stimulate natural detox pathways and reduce swelling.
This gentle focused treatment can offer visible results and deeper physiological support immediately.
By stimulating the delicate network of lymph vessels just beneath the skin, this treatment helps mobilise trapped fluid, reducing puffiness, especially around the eyes, cheeks, and jaw.
Lymphatic massage encourages better blood flow, which delivers more oxygen and nutrients to the skin. The result? A healthier, more even tone, and noticeable changes.
Clients often leave the treatment table feeling lighter and more awake. The results will continue to evolve for hours or days after the session.
Your lymphatic system plays a vital role in filtering out metabolic waste, environmental toxins, and inflammatory by products that build up in the body over time.
When lymph flow becomes sluggish these substances can accumulate and overwhelm the system. This internal congestion often shows up on the skin as breakouts, dullness, puffiness, or heightened sensitivity, especially in the face.
A lymphatic drainage treatment stimulates circulation, activates key drainage points, and encourages the body to release stagnant fluid and toxins naturally.
The result? A clearer complexion, reduced facial swelling, and a sense of internal balance.
By reducing puffiness and improving microcirculation, this treatment creates a more refined look, smoother jawlines, lifted cheeks, and visibly more defined contours. Regular sessions can gradually tone and support tissue resilience over time.
When lymphatic flow is healthy, the skin becomes more receptive. This means:
Gentle, rhythmic strokes used in lymphatic massage don’t just benefit your skin, they also calm the nervous system.
Many clients experience a parasympathetic “reset” during their treatment, feeling lighter, more grounded, and more at ease.
Whether it’s a facelift, rhinoplasty, or a dental procedure like a root canal, facial and cranial surgeries can leave you swollen, tender, and out of sync.
Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) is one of the most effective ways to support your body’s healing process.
Aline Tisato, is a specialist in post-operative lymphatic therapy and customises each session to:
While nothing replaces the precision of a professional session, you can incorporate gentle lymphatic massage into your skincare routine each day to help maintain flow and reduce ongoing puffiness.
Daily Lymphatic Facial Skincare Routine:
Bonus Tips:
Pro tip: Keep a chilled gua sha tool or jade roller in the fridge for an extra refreshing effect, especially in the morning.
Facial Puffiness as Insight, Not Imperfection
At Studio Australia Barcelona, we treat:
True beauty isn’t something you apply, it’s something your body creates. It begins in the gut, flows through a healthy lymphatic system, and radiates outward from a body that’s nourished, supported, and in balance.
When your internal systems are flowing freely, your vitality naturally shines through.
Book your in-person or online appointment today
Sources
https://www.drsonyajensen.com/blog/the-relationship-between-hormones-and-the-lymphatic-system
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36206050
https://silvermirror.com/why-our-lymphatic-facial-is-the-key-to-de-puffing-your-face
https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpheart.00375.2022
https://cancerrehabpt.com/blog/how-to-reduce-swelling-on-face
Get monthly updates with wellness tips, holistic health insights, and expert guidance. Start your journey to a better well-being and healing today!
Get monthly updates with wellness tips, holistic health insights, and expert guidance. Start your journey to a better well-being and healing today!
