If it's your first time coming for a Japanese facial lifting massage, the traditional technique used in the well-known Kobido, which for centuries was passed down from master to apprentice in Japan, it's normal not to know quite what to expect. So we'll explain it calmly: what happens during that hour, from the moment you lie down until you get up.

Before you come, a small favour

Come with a clean face, and that's it. The hands work directly on your skin. If you don't leave home without make-up, no problem: you can take it off at your leisure in the centre's bathroom. Just remember to bring your own products, as we don't have any.

First, getting to know your skin

You tell us what brings you here, how your skin feels, which areas concern you most and whether there's anything we should know, such as a recent cosmetic treatment. That way we know where to linger and with what pressure to look after you. Then you lie comfortably face up on the treatment table. If you're wearing earrings or a necklace, it's best to take them off so nothing gets in the way.

The lifting effect starts at the neck

Even though you've come for your face, we start a little lower down, and it isn't a detour: it's part of the lifting effect. By working on the neck, shoulders and décolletage we prepare the tissue and open the way for drainage, so the fluid we then move in the face has somewhere to go. And this is where the oval of the face and the neckline are defined, the frame that gives the face its shape. The hands start broad and slow, and along the way they release some of the tension we tend to carry in this area.

Your face, with calm and care

With the neck and décolletage prepared, we move up to the face, the heart of the session. We work over it slowly, from the jaw and the contour of the face to the mouth and cheeks, the nose and the delicate eye area, until we reach the forehead and temples.

The rhythm keeps changing, and that's part of its charm: very gentle moments, almost a caress that helps drainage; deeper ones that work the muscle to tone it and give it firmness; still pressures and quick taps with the fingertips that wake up the skin and bring back its glow. Quick doesn't mean hard: everything is done with care, and if anything doesn't feel pleasant, just say so.

Sometimes we use an essential oil, to help you relax even more or because it can be good for skin with wrinkles or spots. If we think it suits you, we'll mention it first.

And to finish, the head

Then the hands move up to the scalp and the base of the skull, with slow, sustained pressure: the part almost nobody expects and one of the most appreciated. We close with long, enveloping movements over the whole face, to bring you gently back to calm.

There's no rush to get up. Lots of people leave feeling sleepy, and for us that's the best sign.

Looking after yourself afterwards

You notice the change straight away, as soon as you get up from the table and right from the first session: you leave with a healthy colour in your face, with skin that's more radiant, lovelier and firmer, and with the lifting effect there for all to see. It's common for people around you to ask if you've had something done, which is why some people come for a single session before an event, such as a wedding or a celebration.

For the rest of the day, drink water, leave your skin free of make-up if you can, protect it from the sun and, if you can, treat yourself to a quiet afternoon.

And in all honesty: it won't take twenty years off you, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you smoke and mirrors. What you do take away is a difference you can see, and that you can see from day one. And it builds up: with each session the result improves, so the most common approach is to start with a cycle of five, one a week, and then maintain it with one session a month.

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You'll be seen by Joaquim.

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Tired legs, swollen ankles and fluid retention