Skip to content 
This treatment is good at one specific thing and oversold for about four others. Worth knowing which is which before you book.
Your lymphatic system moves fluid around the body and clears waste out of tissue. It has no pump of its own.
It depends on movement and on muscle. That is why fluid settles in the face overnight, when you have not moved for eight hours.
A lymphatic drainage facial moves that fluid along its usual routes so it can drain away. Most places do it by hand, as a light, directional massage.
We do it with JetPeel instead. The needle-free device sends a fine stream of air and liquid across the skin, and your provider guides it along those same routes.
Either way the touch is light, and it has to be. The vessels being worked on lie just under the skin, so working deep goes straight past them.
Puffiness. This is the main event. Fluid settles in the face, around the eyes and along the jaw, and that is what this treatment moves.
So people book it for the morning after a long flight, a salty dinner, a bad night, or a week of little sleep.
Looking less tired. Faces read as tired largely through puffiness and dullness, and this treatment aims squarely at both. People describe the result as looking rested.
Skin that looks flat. Moving fluid and stimulating circulation gives skin more life. The effect is short lived, and it is visible.
Before an event. This is where it earns its place. There is nothing to recover from and nothing to hide, so it can be done close to the day.
After other treatments. Some treatments leave swelling, and this is a common way to help that settle.
Whether it suits your treatment and your timing is a question for the appointment, not for an article.
Being clear about this saves people money.
It does not replace volume. If hollowness or sagging is what bothers you, fluid is not the problem, and moving fluid will not fix it. That is a different conversation and a different treatment.
It does not remove fat. It moves fluid, not tissue.
It is not permanent. This is the one people most need to hear. The effect is temporary, usually measured in days, because fluid comes back.
That is not a failure of the treatment. It is what the treatment is.
It does not treat the reason you are puffy. Constant puffiness has a cause, and it is worth finding out what that is before booking a course of anything.
The sweet spot is close to the day. A day or two before is common, and the same day works too, because there is nothing to recover from.
Compare that to almost everything else in a clinic, where the advice is to leave a proper gap. This is the treatment you can book in the week of a wedding without worrying.
If you like the effect, regular visits beat waiting for the next big occasion. It is gentle and there is no downtime, so there is no reason to space it out the way you would a stronger treatment.
Some people book it as a standing appointment, some book it for specific occasions, and both are sensible uses. Neither requires a commitment to a long course.
For most people this is not the treatment that changes how their face looks. It is the one that makes them look like they slept.
That is a smaller promise than most of this industry makes, and it is one the treatment delivers.
If you are booking for an occasion, book early, because the week before an event fills up.
Our lymphatic drainage facial in London, Ontario page covers how long a session takes and what to expect.
Stay informed with expert insights, treatment guides, and the latest developments in medical aesthetics from Nurse Practitioner Belita Savage.
