HONEY ROLLING — A LYMPH SUPPORT PRACTICE FOR GLOWING SKIN

WHAT IS HONEY ROLLING?

Honey rolling is my riff on honey tapping, a practice I learned from a Jeanne Rose book about 30 years ago. Honey tapping is, in a nutshell, applying a thin layer of honey, then tapping with fingertips, as though you're typing or playing piano. It's a wonderfully stimulating and mildly exfoliating practice, and honey imparts a beautiful silken hydration to the skin.

After many years of practicing honey tapping, and several classes on lymphatic drainage techniques, I realized that I could achieve an utterly gorgeous lymph drainage effect with a minor alteration of technique. I started slowing down, using a rolling movement, with an emphasis on the lifting away from the skin. 

Like honey tapping, honey rolling begins with clean skin. Apply a medium-thin layer of honey. Using three fingers (not thumb or pinkie) of each hand, press the face with a slow, outward-to-inward rolling movement- index pressure leading to ring finger pressure in a slow, gentle wave. Before lifting fingers fully away from the skin, play with how much lift you can achieve.

For lymphatic extra credit, you may also pump the skin gently, wherever the tissue below your fingers feels bound or congested. The pressure should be gentle, with the directional focus on the upstroke. Play with how much, and for how long, you can lift the skin without losing contact. When you're done, remove the honey with a warm, damp washcloth or hop in the shower to rinse it off.

A NOTE ON HONEY

Make sure your honey is fluid in texture, not crystallized or whipped. You can warm a tablespoon of honey in the oven (190 for 5-10 minutes) or in the microwave (5 seconds at a time, stirring between, until it's fully liquid) until all the crystals are gone, then allow the honey to cool to room temperature before using. If it drips right off the spoon quickly, or bubbles form under the surface when it's on the spoon, it's way too hot! It should drip very slowly and appear smooth and uniform. You may use any type of honey, but make sure it's not pasteurized or diluted with corn syrup (or anything else). I prefer a floral honey like lavender, wildflower, or clover for this practice.