0:01 Most people assume that a soft, puffy-l
0:03 looking face is due to genetics, a
0:05 higher body fat percentage, or just bad
0:07 bone [music] structure. But the cause is
0:10 often far simpler, fluid retention,
0:12 commonly referred to as bloating. A
0:14 bloated face reduces jawline definition,
0:15 makes the cheekbones look less
0:17 prominent, and rounds the midface
0:19 overall, often resulting in decreased
0:20 perceived attractiveness. But
0:22 fortunately, unlike genetics, this is
0:23 something that we have near total
0:25 control over. So, here are six
0:27 scientifically proven steps to deblow
0:29 your face. Step one, understanding that
0:30 bloating is mainly caused from the
0:32 inside. Most people tend to consume way
0:34 too much salt because it's already added
0:36 to nearly every processed food. And
0:38 therein lies the problem. Higher sodium
0:40 intake raises osmotic load. And water
0:43 follows salt to keep serum osmolality
0:46 stable. That is that your body will hold
0:47 more water which will often move into
0:49 the soft tissues first, especially the
0:51 midface and say the underey area. That's
0:53 why the American Heart Association
0:56 advised adults to limit sodium to 2,300
0:58 millig per day. but recommends 1500
1:00 milligrams as the optimal guideline. To
1:01 put that into perspective, just two
1:04 slices of white bread contain 300 to 450
1:06 milligrams of sodium. So, keep an eye on
1:08 your salt intake and avoid processed
1:09 foods wherever possible. The second step
1:11 is to increase the intake of sodium's
1:13 counterplay. According to Harvard's PH,
1:15 potassium has an opposite effect in the
1:17 body. It can help relax blood vessels
1:19 and increase sodium excretion. In
1:20 simpler terms, more potassium means your
1:23 kidneys flush out more sodium and with
1:24 it goes the water that's trapped in your
1:26 facial tissues. Sounds great, but here's
1:28 what most people tend to get wrong.
1:29 You've probably seen those Tik Tok clips
1:31 of influencers loading up on as much
1:34 potassium as they can. But overdoing it
1:36 won't actually debloat your face faster.
1:37 In fact, it can make things worse by
1:39 throwing off your electrolyte balance in
1:40 the opposite direction, which in turn
1:42 can cause your body to retain fluid as
1:44 it tries to restore balance, leading to
1:46 even more bloating. So, try to aim for
1:48 3,500 to 5,000 milligs of potassium
1:50 daily. And that's the range recommended
1:52 by the American Heart Association. The
1:54 best natural sources include salmon,
1:56 avocados, spinach, sweet potatoes,
1:58 bananas, and coconut water. Those
1:59 supplementation can also help. Step
2:01 three is to manipulate your lymphatic
2:02 system. You've probably seen influencers
2:04 scraping their face with gouasha,
2:05 claiming it's going to make them look
2:07 more snatched. And yes, even though
2:09 using a gouasha won't burn facial fat as
2:12 some sources claim, it actually can help
2:13 to debat the face by manipulating the
2:15 lymphatic system. The lymphatic system
2:17 is responsible for removing excess fluid
2:19 and waste from tissues. But unlike your
2:21 circulatory system which has the heart
2:23 to pump blood, the lymphatic system
2:25 relies entirely on movement and manual
2:26 stimulation. And when your lymph flow
2:28 becomes sluggish, fluid accumulates in
2:30 your face and that's where facial
2:31 massage tools come into play. Research
2:33 by Anatal found that facial massage
2:34 techniques like gouasha promote
2:36 lymphatic drainage and lead to
2:37 measurable reductions in facial
2:39 measurements. However, effectiveness
2:41 highly depends on one key principle. The
2:43 direction you move the tool matters more
2:44 than the pressure you apply. The
2:46 lymphatic system drains towards specific
2:48 nodes near your ears and neck. And these
2:50 are the drainage points. That's why you
2:51 should always move the tool upwards and
2:53 outwards towards the lymph nodes. If
2:54 you're not guiding fluid in their
2:56 direction, you're actually just pushing
2:57 water around your face without actually
3:00 draining it. Step four, avoid late night
3:01 carbs. You've probably heard that carbs
3:03 make you bloated, but that's actually
3:04 only half the story. The real issue
3:07 isn't carbs themselves, it's when and
3:08 how much you eat them. Research by
3:11 Fernandez Elias found that for every 1
3:13 gram of glycogen stored in muscle
3:14 tissue, your body holds onto
3:17 approximately 3 g of water. So a large
3:18 carb heavy meal doesn't just fill your
3:20 stomach, it literally pulls water into
3:22 your tissues. And this becomes a massive
3:23 problem when you eat large amounts of
3:25 carbs late at night. Because while you
3:27 sleep horizontally for 6 to 8 hours,
3:29 that excess water has nowhere to go but
3:30 your face. Gravity isn't working in your
3:32 favor anymore. So fluid accumulates in
3:34 the midface, under eyes, and jawline.
3:36 And that's usually the reason you wake
3:38 up looking puffy some days and you just
3:40 can't figure out why. So avoid large
3:42 carbohydrate refeeds late at night,
3:43 especially within three hours of going
3:46 to bed. Step five is fixing your sleep
3:48 position. It's not just about what and
3:50 when you eat before bed, it's also about
3:51 how you position yourself in the bed.
3:53 Because your sleeping position can
3:54 either help drain fluid away from your
3:56 face or trap it there. And this is
3:58 something you can fix starting tonight.
4:00 A peer-reviewed study by Christensen and
4:02 colleagues investigated how gravity
4:04 affects the lymphatic system by changing
4:06 body position from super into standing
4:08 and found a significant increase in
4:10 lymphatic function when gravity assisted
4:12 drainage. So when you sleep face down or
4:14 on your side with your face pressed into
4:15 the pillow you are physically
4:17 compressing facial tissue for hours
4:19 restricting lymphatic flow and trapping
4:21 fluid exactly where you don't want it.
4:23 On the other hand, when you sleep on
4:24 your back with your head slightly
4:27 elevated at 15 to 30°, gravity naturally
4:28 promotes the drainage of fluids
4:30 downwards, preventing them from
4:31 accumulating in the soft tissues around
4:33 the eyes and face. In turn, this is
4:34 going to result in a leaner, less
4:36 bloated face in the morning. Step six is
4:38 cold exposure. Tik Tok presents cold
4:40 exposure as the ultimate fix for facial
4:42 bloating, which is partially true and
4:44 partially misleading. The physiological
4:46 mechanism behind it is called vasoc
4:48 constriction. When cold contacts facial
4:50 skin, thermal receptors signal blood
4:52 vessels to narrow, reducing local blood
4:54 flow and forcing fluid out of soft
4:55 tissues. Shin and colleagues found that
4:58 cryotherapy can control eyelid oadema,
5:00 demonstrating that cold application
5:01 directly reduces facial fluid
5:03 accumulation through vasa constriction,
5:05 but there's a critical limitation. Tik
5:07 Tok conveniently never mentions. This
5:09 effect is temporary, lasting only a few
5:12 hours before fluid reaccumulates. Cold
5:13 therapy doesn't address osmotic
5:16 imbalances, lymphatic dysfunction, or
5:18 glycogenbound water retention, but what
5:21 it does is temporarily displace fluid.
5:22 This might be useful immediately before
5:24 a date, job interview, or photo shoot,
5:26 and it's actually an acute intervention,
5:28 but not a real solution. In combination
5:29 with all of the other steps in this
5:32 video, cold exposure becomes part of a
5:33 complete system. Fix your sodium and
5:35 potassium balance. Stimulate lymphatic
5:37 drainage. Time your carbs correctly.
5:39 Sleep elevated. And use cold exposure as
5:41 your final tool for immediate results
5:42 when you need them the most. Hopefully,
5:43 you learned something from this video.
5:44 And if you'd like to have your face
5:46 analyzed and receive your custom glow-up
5:48 protocol, click the link in the
