Sylvie Lefranc has been a Hatha Yoga teacher since 2011. Passionate about natural and holistic approaches to beauty, she is the biggest facial yoga expert in the game. Here's her exclusive insight.
Sylvie Lefranc is the biggest facial yoga expert in the game, teaching women soft and conscious techniques in order to allow them to develop and keep a radiant skin and a glowing face.
We’ve asked her a few questions about “le yoga du visage”. Here’s her precious insight + a bonus edit of her favorite products and tools.
How did your passion for wellness begin?
When I was a child, I loved spending time in the bathroom - whatever bathroom, my parents, my grandparents, aunties...! - using as many face and body products I could find. I loved the smells, the feeling of the products on my skin...making strange concoctions, putting on make-up... And then I told my parents that I wanted to be a facialist. They were both mathematics teachers and did not exactly enjoy this prospect. As I grew up, I aligned with my parents' wishes, went to a French "Grande Ecole", and became a High-Official 20 years ago. But, the voice inside me calling for something different and more aligned with my core being, induced me to follow many professional pieces of training while working for different Ministries with French, Indian, American, British...teachers: Hatha Yoga, Yin Yoga, Face ayurvedic massage, Face Gym, Chinese medicine... And suddenly, a few years ago, I felt deep inside me that the time had come for me to devote myself to my passion: holistic Beauty through a deep conscious connexion to the face and the emotions to prevent and correct aging, and be in love with oneself.
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-Could you describe Face Yoga? What makes it so special?
Face yoga is for me one of the most holistic approaches to Beauty, Youth, and Wellness through the practice of a combination of ancient and modern technics: breathing, presence, muscle workout, face massage, acupressure... What makes it so special is its ability to see the face as a global mirror of what happens, not only on the face itself, but also in the physical body, and in the emotions. By working simultaneously on these three dimensions, we can bring glow and youthfulness to the face, and wellness, and joy in the body and mind.
What inspired you to pursue your passion for Face Yoga?
I always loved looking after my face, I'm totally addicted to natural cosmetics (I could spend hours in my bathroom putting on wonderful products on my face and body)... After I turned 35 6 years ago, I started feeling the need to add toning and firming technics to my usual routine, and I started using all the things I had learned and been taught the past ten years on my own face and was absolutely enthusiastic about the results. I started to give advice to my friends, the friends of my friends..., and saw wonderful results on them as well. I got so convinced that it was such a wonderful and powerful skill, that I wanted to share it with a wider audience.
What are the spiritual, physical, and esthetic benefits of Face Yoga?
Our Face is such a crucial part of ourselves that learning to gently and lovingly work on it for aesthetic purpose, opens the door to Self-Love: our face muscles are muscles of emotions, so when we learn to relax, soothe and tone them, we directly connect to our emotional being. All our sensory organs are on our faces, so it is the part of our body that reflects the most the way we interact with the outside world. So when we work on our face, we also work on that interaction, and we can greatly improve it. When we learn to massage our face lovingly, gently, respectfully, we cannot but develop a loving, compassionate, and full of gratitude relationship with ourselves, and that is the most beautiful gift of Face Yoga.
#SylvieEdit: Shop Sylvie’s favorite products
Ruhi Face Dry Brush – this small wooden tool is a must in Sylvie’s routine. The firm short bristles, specially formulated for the skin of the face, are amazing to stimulate blood flow, boost lymphatic drainage, and keep skin smooth and exfoliated.
Sentara Holistic Gua Sha - A precious gua sha is the ultimate self-care tool. A Gua Sha massage is the best way to take care of lymphatic drainage, resulting in glowy, depuffed, and lifted skin.
Le Prunier Face Oil - One of the best oils to apply before face yoga and Gua Sha massages. Made from plums that are grown, harvested, and cold-pressed on the Taylor Farm in California, Le Prunier Plum Beauty Oil six times more powerful than Marula Oil, and eight times more powerful than Argan Oil.
Cecilia Holistic Beauty - This brand is one of Sylvie’s favorites. Cecilia Holistic Beauty gives life to innovative formulas mixing the finest organic and wildcrafted oils, butters, and extracts from all over the world. Two of Sylvie's most recommended products are the Golden Glow eye contour and the Blue Tansy Bleu Oceanic Potion.
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Credits Text and Ph: Sylvie Lefranc
