8 Ways To Naturally Wake Up Your Face

Whether we've stayed up later than usual (or had an extra glass of wine) the night before, were forced to wake up extra early that morning, or just need a little extra pick-me-up for whatever reason, we've all experienced waking up and being greeted in the mirror with a less-than-fresh face.

We recently saw a video of Chriselle Lim with a new tip for waking up your face and improving skin that we hadn't heard of before, and it spurred the idea to put together a list of all of the best ways to naturally wake up your face immediately – no needles, appointments, or potentially toxic beauty products required.

You may have heard of some of these tips but haven't actually tried them yet, and some may be completely new. Read on for 8 amazing ways to naturally wake up your face that are SIMPLE. CLEAN. CHIC. approved.

1. WARM IT UP

Warming up your face with some quick exercise in the AM is a great way to naturally wake up your skin (and your body). We love spending 5-10 minutes on a rebounder (aka mini trampoline) in the morning while listening to the news or a podcast. It gets the blood flowing, it's great for lymphatic drainage, and as an extra bonus it's purported to give you similar get-fit benefits to running, but is way more fun in our opinion. Some simple yoga poses, especially ones where your face is upside down like downward dog, are also great. And spending 30-60 seconds doing simple facial exercises can help too. Here are a 3 simple facial exercises that are model-approved.

2. COOL IT DOWN

One way to incorporate a cool down and wake up your face is to blast cold water for 30 seconds at the end of your morning shower. It instantly makes you feel more awake, which affects the way you look. As an added bonus, why not incorporate FORK & MELON's citrus-scented body wash into your cold shower, as citrus scents can also help you wake up according to sleep.org? A good splash of ice water on your face is another tried-and-true remedy that has been shown to immediately tighten pores and shrink small capillaries, making your skin appear more even and fresh. And resting chilled cucumbers on your eyes for 5-10 minutes is also great for relieving irritation, redness, and puffiness.

3. HYDRATE

Often when we're dehydrated our skin can be one of the first tell-tale signs. Drinking a full glass of water or two (especially if you already warmed up your face with a bit of exercise!) can really help perk us up. You can also help revive your face with a hydrating, nutrient-packed facial mist, serum, oil, or moisturizer to help bring on the glow factor. We love Joanna Vargas Daily Serum because you can feel the tightening effects. It's like green juice for your face.

4. SLAP IT

Slapping your face is a technique that was new to us when we saw it the first time via Chriselle Lim's instagram. We invite you to check out her IGTV video here if you can spare a few minutes! According to Ms. Lim, this slapping technique tightens and firms your skin, as well as allowing any of your products that you've applied to penetrate more deeply for improved product performance. Good tip if you've just applied your favorite facial mist or serum. 

5. GIVE YOURSELF A FACIAL MASSAGE

We also recently discovered facial massages by Danna Omari in NYC and are slightly obsessed. We wish we could get a facial massage from her on the regular, but when you need a little facial pick-me-up and are pressed for time, you can perform a quick face massage on yourself to help rev up the tissue in the face. To save even more time, we like to do a little facial massage while we're washing our face in the morning, usually in the shower. And as we've mentioned before, we love using our Fine Cleansing Wash as a face and body wash in the shower to save time, money, and space. (Keep it simple!) We also love using a (chilled if possible) facial roller, gua sha, or other facial tool to help with lymphatic drainage, depuffing, and fine lines. 

6. HAVE SOME CAFFEINE

Having some caffeine in your morning cup of coffee or tea can make you feel more awake, and caffeine on your skin can have similar stimulating effects. Chill a couple green tea bags in the fridge, and then place them over your puffy lids and under-eyes for 10 minutes. According to Healthline, "the caffeine in black and green teas has a positive effect on puffy, swollen eyes and can help to keep skin taut. Caffeine constricts the blood vessels within this sensitive tissue. This aids in reducing puffiness and inflammation." You can also find eye and face creams that contain caffeine with stimulating effects. We always recommend looking for non-toxic versions of any beauty products - if you're not as familiar with ingredient labels, it's helpful to shop at beauty retailers that have higher ingredient standards for safety like Credo Beauty, Detox Market, or the clean beauty section at Sephora.

7. INCORPORATE SOME VITAMIN C

This tip came from Goop's new The Beauty Closet podcast. Jean Godfrey-June (their beauty director) recommends incorporating Vitamin C into your skincare to wake up your face. This ingredient can come in many forms, but it's been said that Vitamin C starts to degrade in water even with preservatives, so we like adding a sprinkle of True Botanicals Vitamin C Booster (which comes in powder form) to our face oil or serum in the morning for a quick boost. We also recommend drinking some water with lemon (hot or cool) as you'll get hydration, vitamin C, and citrus-scented benefits all in one for maximum awakeness! 

8. ADD A LITTLE COLOR

Looking washed out? Apply a little color to your lips and the apples of your cheeks, and you'll be amazed at what it does to perk up your face. You can also add an organic self-tanner to liven up your look.

Featured in this story:

FORK & MELON Fine Cleansing Wash for Body & Hands (Large Size), $25

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 Got any SIMPLE. CLEAN. CHIC. suggestions to naturally wake up your face? Comment below or message us on social🖤