Why don’t facial kinesio tapes work?

Homemade facial rejuvenation techniques do not lose their relevance. Some people prefer self-massage using gouache, others rely on LED masks, and some rely on tapes. In the markets you can find thousands of products, the price of which is up to 500 rubles, resembling adhesive plaster, promising to eliminate wrinkles, eliminate swelling and make the face oval more pronounced. And you can find dozens of taping schemes on the Internet. But is it worth believing? We figured this out with the doctor at Professor Yutskovskaya Clinic.

What are Kinesio tapes?

Kinesio tape is an elastic fabric strip that is attached to the skin using hypoallergenic adhesive. It is also the main tool of one of the methods of prevention and treatment of injuries, which appeared in the seventies of the last century thanks to the Japanese doctor Kenzo Kase. He used tapes when working with athletes who did not have time to recover for a long time due to injuries. Properly applied tape helps relieve muscle tension and accelerates lymph flow, so rehabilitation time is noticeably reduced.

Over time, cosmetologists began to use tapes. They’re all for the same thing: relieving muscle tension that causes wrinkles and improving blood flow, which helps relieve swelling. Tapes have now been moved to the category of products that can be used at home. All you have to do is go to any marketplace and follow the video instructions.

How does taping work?

The tape pulls the skin towards itself, increasing the space under the dermis and reducing the pressure on the blood vessels. Under the influence of the tape, facial muscles relax and lymph flow improves. This promotes better blood circulation and consequently reduces swelling. Some also claim that after taping, wrinkles and creases smooth out and the skin takes on a more toned appearance, just like after a lift. Really?

“They try to tighten the skin underneath by gluing the strips. By stretching the tape in this way and sticking it to the skin, we will see the effect of tightening and moving the tissue. But is it effective? NO. It is impossible to achieve a permanent lifting effect by simply moving the skin without fixing it in any way, creating a support or frame. We see the result of using tape as it is adhered to the skin and removed. But as soon as you remove the tapes, the tissues will return to their previous position,” says Olga Aleshina, plastic surgeon at Professor Yutskovskaya Clinic.

Perhaps the main advantages of the tapes for which they are loved are their cost-effectiveness, painlessness and lack of side effects. But there is also a rather serious drawback – the lack of practical use. When the patches are adhered to the skin, they create the appearance of rejuvenation. However, after peeling, the entire effect disappears.

How can you tighten your facial skin?

We recommend leaving tape for the prevention and treatment of injuries. And provide facial skin with modern procedures. Olga Aleshina spoke about them:

Olga Aleshina, plastic surgeon at Professor Yutskovskaya Clinic

“You can effectively tighten the soft tissues in the face and neck area by performing the following procedures:

— Microneedling RF lifting and ultrasound SMAS therapy. It is aimed to reduce the protein structures of the dermis and subdermal layer atraumatically.

— Thread lifting. It creates controlled fibrosis in soft tissues.

— Surgical techniques in face and neck lift. “It provides the most significant lifting effect.”