
If you’ve been wondering about experiencing an Inner Mouth Buccal Facial Massage or you are a professional yourself seeking to learn more about the Buccal Face Massage treatment, read on enjoy this breakdown of everything Inner Mouth Buccal Massage you may be curious about.
In the above photo, this treatment was done with less than 5 products, as I wanted to focus entirely on movement. Great products obviously complement facial massages but I wanted to dissect a movement-only face massage treatment. I oil cleansed with Organic Jojoba oil, also a great gua sha oil, misted organic Rosewater throughout the treatment, facial cupping, honey enzyme mask, slight extractions after warming the skin with hot towels, and then straight into the external Sculpting Face Massage portion, followed by the Inner Mouth Buccal Massage portion.
Any redness in the photos is blood that has been brought to the surface of the skin. And has nothing to do with the activity of products. This flush is beneficial to the skin, as blood is what delivers nourishment to tissue. Seeing the blood at the surface can also reflect deeper blood stasis that is now clearing from the face massage. The skin overall is brighter, has more clarity and fluid has cleared around the jaw and cheeks.
What is the Sculpting Inner Mouth Buccal Face Massage?
The Sculpting Inner Mouth Buccal Face Massage is a specialty face massage that works inside the mouth to access deeper layers of the face and facial muscles. The technique works on superficial to deep layers of facial anatomy, with a focus on facial muscles and fascia.
Buccal Massage assists in deeper levels of face massage and clears fluid, increases blood flow, nourishes skin tissue, supports osteopathic facial aspects, and addresses fascia, muscle tension, and tissue adhesions in order to lift, sculpt and define the face through a holistic approach.
Through Inner Mouth Buccal Face Massage techniques, we are able to disrupt facial stress patterns and postures that lead to stagnation and common stuck facial expressions. Ideally, face muscles should be free of tension and supported by consistent movement practices such as face massage to keep the muscles plump, supple, and healthy.
How Our Face Muscles Affect Skin Appearance
Unlike muscles throughout the body, facial muscles are extremely unique, as they attach to other muscles and to the skin. They originate from the surface of the skull bone and are inserted on the surface of the skin. Face muscles are mimetic muscles, which means they reflect emotion. You can often tell what someone is thinking just by the way they look, no words are necessary. This deeply affects the connection between facial expression, tension, and stress patterns in relation to the appearance of the skin.
Because of the unique way the facial muscles attach to the skin, when face muscles become tight and tense, or the opposite, slack and under-toned, which can impair blood flow, circulation and can lead to lackluster skin appearances and an acceleration of aging skin changes.
Fascia and the Skin
We cannot address the muscles without addressing the Fascia. Fascia is a fibrous, collagen-based connective tissue found throughout the entire body. Connected to and covering all muscles, ligaments, and tendons, compactly holds muscles in place and provides lubrication to tissues. Fascia is the tissue that unites the musculoskeletal, circulatory, and nervous systems. (Very cool!)
Fascia holds hydration and naturally stiffens with age. Therefore, fascia needs to be properly manipulated, refreshed and flushed through movement to keep the body hydrated and to absorb the water we drink. Hyaluronic Acid also naturally occurs in the fascia and when the fascia unwinds through decompression, the skin naturally unwinds and hydrates. Supporting fascia through massage can change the appearance of the skin, supports fat distribution, and naturally increases hydration.
Fascia also forms and manipulates around our muscles when any type of stress is involved. This is a protective mechanism and this is how stress patterns can become held and stuck in the body. Therefore, manipulation and movement of both fascia and muscles should be practiced for long-term changes and benefits of massage such as tension relief, sculpting, skin hydration, and creating overall clarity throughout the complexion.

Light pigmentation has flushed, blood stasis is clearing, the jaw is more defined, the neck is lifted and the sides of the mouth are less heavy.
Therapeutic Benefits of Inner Mouth Buccal Face Massage
Movement is not just an integral part of health from the neck down. The muscles in our face especially need movement and strengthening due to the unique ways they attach to the skin and reflect emotion. Ideally, we want face muscles to be free of tension. As well as supple, taught, and toned for the skin to thrive and the Inner Mouth Buccal Face Massage supports just that.
Interestingly enough, the Inner Mouth Buccal Face Massage yields both aesthetic and psycho-emotional results. We live in a society that glorifies ignoring and suppressing emotions/feelings. This is a form of swallowing things/experiences that often need tending to but instead become held in the body and over time can reflect in tension and disease.
There are often emotional and physical layers of intertwined tension that can be found in the face and head if there is chronic teeth grinding, jaw clenching or headaches occurring. Inner Mouth Buccal Face Massage can assist in relieving this tension around the jaw and head through a non-conventional approach.
Benefits of Inner Mouth Buccal Face Massage for the Jaw and TMJ concerns
The masseter is one of the strongest muscles in the body. It is an innate stress response in humans to clench our jaw in times of physical or emotional stress.
Because of the unique way muscle and fascia hold memory and patterns as a protective response, the muscles, in particular the masseter due to its sheer strength capacity, can take on a lot of stress over time.
This can influence pain, tension, and headaches and may damage the teeth. Tension and tightness from the master muscle refers to pain in the temporalis muscle, which leads to headaches on the sides of the head and temple area.
The effect of chronic tension is uncomfortable and over time will reflect in the appearance of the skin. This can create over development of masseter muscles and affect the shape of the jaw. The jawbone itself can also become sore from tight masseter muscles, often experienced in the temporomandibular jaw joint area.
If you’d like to learn a few more natural ways to approach jaw pain and concerns, take a peek here for more jaw care tips.
To circle back to the common thread of why most clients book the Inner Mouth Buccal Face Massage, this treatment reflects immediate results and benefits in the skin, clients leave feeling relaxed, rejuvenated and many say that they sleep great after their treatment too.

Sculpting Inner Mouth Buccal Face Massage: Before & After
Face overall slimmer and less heavy. In particular, around the nasal labial area, the complexion is brighter with deepened clarity. And an overall more sculpted shape and appearance. The lighting is of course different in the 3rd photo but certainly reflects the clearing and sculpting around the mouth and jaw area.
This was my amazing model and very good friend Tara’s first time receiving treatment from me. And first time experiencing an Inner Mouth Buccal Massage treatment.
Massage is cumulative! Just like working out, you have to keep up to continue building on the results.
The key to lasting face massage results is consistency. Ideally, clients should keep up with a face massage routine at least 4 nights a week. And can opt for a series of treatments close together to begin with, once a week or bi-weekly, and then once a month for skin health maintenance.
What does the Inner Mouth Buccal Face Massage feel like?
There is an intention and “mini workout” applied to each and every face muscle worked throughout (my) self developed protocol. Inner Mouth Buccal Face Massage is a deep yet soothing massage and often puts clients into a theta relaxed state. This is the ideal state for clients, as it is where the nervous system is able to receive restorative and healing benefits. Ideally, this treatment is relaxing and supports relaxation. Some clients usually feel the most tension decompression, like a hurt-so-good deep tissue massage, during just the initial 1-2 treatments.
Key results and benefits of Inner Mouth Buccal Face Massage
- When the skin has a stagnant fluid, it will appear and feel slack and heavy. Face massage assists in lymphatic drainage and clearing fluid buildup, diminishing puffiness and clearing metabolic waste, yielding firmer skin and a more taught appearance.
- Lifted and sculpted appearance.
- We are able to support bones through massage, as the increased oxygen and blood flow bring nourishment to the area, as well as soothing tension and inflammation around bone and skeletal skull sutures.
- Access facial muscles and joint cavities that otherwise are unable to be accessed from only the external area of the face.
- Address and release tension and adhesions from face muscles to allow fresh, nutrient-filled blood, oxygen, and energy to flow throughout the face.
- Stress patterns are relaxed to retrain muscles and support facial muscle posture.
- Stress patterns are relaxed and fine lines and wrinkles are often lessened due to relaxed facial muscles.
- Face massage awakens and stimulates underdeveloped and underused muscles to tone and plump the complexion
- Unwind bound fascia and tension throughout the face.
- Smooth and calm stiffness in the forehead, diminishing lines.
- Releases tension and fine lines from around the mouth and lips.
- Targeted techniques to release tension from the masseter muscle, which can create an overly square jaw appearance over time due to over development of the muscle.
- Relieve TMJ and surrounding muscle tension.
Contraindications can include active acne, open lesions, inflamed skin concerns (eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, lymphatic pathologies, recent plastic surgery, cancer and active treatment, and recent injectables.
This treatment is also known as Intra-Oral Massage. Buccal Massage. Inner Mouth Massage, TMJ Massage. Lifting and Sculpting Face Massage.
Inner Mouth Buccal Face Massage Wrap-Up
There you have it, the low down on my very favorite face massage to both give and receive. If you are a professional and are interested in training with me, learn more about my training here.