Short- and long-term effects of using a facial massage roller on facial skin blood flow and vascular reactivity

Massage rollers are commonly used for beauty care, but their effects on skin blood flow (SkBF) and vascular reactivity remain unclear. We hypothesized that the short-term usage of a massage roller increases the SkBF, while a long-term massage intervention improves vascular dilatation. We measured the facial SkBF change to 5 min massage roller to the right cheek in 12 subjects. We also assessed the effect of 5-week daily use of facial massage roller on the SkBF in the right cheek and the reactivity to local heat in 14 subjects. The short-term massage significantly increased facial SkBF solely in the right cheek for at least 10 min after the massage. The 5 week intervention significantly increased the vasodilatation response to the heat stimulation solely in the right cheek. These findings suggested that performing short-term facial massage with a roller increases SkBF, and long-term use improves the vascular dilatation response.