Facial rollers are having a moment. Whether it’s the Instagrammable jade green everyone was loving in 2016 or the rose quartz which took off in 2018, the hype is everywhere. I’m not one to follow beauty trends as soon as they drop, simply because most of them tend to disappear like a flash-pan fire; but this one's stuck around for a while so I thought I’d do some digging and find out if you should, in fact, be rolling your face.

Here’s what I found out.

What is it and why do people do it?
Facial rolling is quite simply the act of rolling a small implement across your face using various motions to massage the facial muscles, which helps to take away puffiness and create a more sculpted look. It basically makes your face slimmer by encouraging lymphatic drainage. 

Jade rolling specifically, is an ancient Chinese method of facial rolling, but in recent times, a number of other stones and crystals have become popular among facialists and aestheticians. You may choose to use a different stone as some are considered to hold certain properties you may find helpful. Read on below to find the stone that's right for you.

Jade
Prized in ancient China, jade was valued for its beauty and powers of healing and protection. 'Jade' applies to two different minerals; nephrite and jadeite. The two have different compositions but for facial rolling purposes, you could use either. 

Rose Quartz
Rose quartz is considered the stone of unconditional love. With a soft feminine energy of compassion and peace, tenderness and healing, nourishment and comfort, rose quartz is all about love and contentment. It's also said to inspire the love of beauty, in oneself and others, in nature, and especially that which stimulates the imagination - art, music and the written word. 

Ice Roller
An ice roller doesn't contain a stone per se. Instead it simply remains cold until it comes into contact with the skin for a couple of seconds, at which point, it will start heating a little. You can stick it in the freezer and it's particularly good for minimizing discomfort, irritation, and redness. You could use this over a minor injury such as a small burn, insect bite, pain or swelling. Ice rollers help to soothe and cool the skin, calming any tension or soreness. 

Derma Roller
Derma rolling or micro-needling is a handheld roller with tiny needle points at the head. As you roll it across the face, the needles make tiny punctures in the skin which causes collagen and elastin production to increase to heal the skin. Collagen and elastin of course help to make skin firmer and increase elasticity (or bounciness).  

So should you be face rolling?
In a word, yes. The caveats I'd add are that jade or rose quartz rolling is probably best - both cause no damage but are effective at de-puffing and slimming the face. The stones tend to stay cool so can be a nice addition to any skincare routine. Ice-rolling is also unlikely to cause any damage; it just doesn't contain a gemstone which is often what many beauty fans are looking for. But it's a good one if you have any swelling or red bumps you want to calm down. 

Derma-rolling is different in that it does cause definite damage to the skin, and the cheaper options available tend to have needles that are too big and too long for the small pinpricks that make this technique effective. Using a derma-roller with big needles could actually cause longer term damage to the skin over a period of time as it penetrates too deeply into the skin. 

Technique
Technique is absolutely key to facial rolling; you want to make sure you're targeting the right areas and moving in the right direction for it to be helpful. Take a look at the infographic below from  to help you.