Is Facial Sculpting the Beauty Secret You Didn’t Know You Needed?

What Is Facial Sculpting?

Facial sculpting, if I’m being honest, sounds like a nice marketing term for a panoply of modern and ancient massage techniques. It includes intraoral massage (namely the buccal area), lymphatic drainage, cupping, and so much more. Nonetheless, it’s my new favorite facial treatment and unfortunately for my wallet, I’ll need to see Joseph each time I come through New York City.

Joseph began his career in NYC as a makeup artist by way of Texas. His work in facial posture and massage began in 2012 after a fluke on set in which he noticed another MUA pinching a model’s cheeks to give her a warm, flushed look. It ignited a curiosity in him that took him around the globe training with various experts, practicing on friends and partners, and studying every piece of literature he could get his hands on. 

While assisting the likes of icon Pat McGrath and working on sets with international editions of Vogue, he began introducing facial massage to his models before their makeup application. Therein, his superpower was unlocked. Who wouldn’t want the facial manipulator as her makeup artist?! 

His method draws from Japanese, Chinese, and Russian techniques, with added influence from Ayurvedic philosophy, as well as elements of craniosacral therapy. “I blend Eastern traditions with Western anatomical understanding, all refined through my own sculptural eye. Every technique has intention, whether it’s to release tension, lift structure, or improve facial posture,” he said.

In short, what makes the Sculpted By Joseph experience so unique is, well, Joseph. Just like a painter’s hand or a writer’s voice, his technique is artful and it’s all his own. He thoughtfully plucked the best of his studies and combined them with his customized approach. Joseph continues to take courses and seek experts under whom he can study, but with clients like Irina Shayk, Alessandra Ambrosio, Regina King, Natasha Lyonne, and Brooks Nader, it’s clear he’s already made a name for himself.

My Customized Facial Experience

I arrived sweaty and excited at Joseph’s apartment, which doubles as his facial studio, at 3 p.m. on a crisp New York City summer day, and I couldn’t have felt more welcomed. In my years as a writer, both editorially and as the copy director at Vogue, I’ve interviewed my share of high-profile fashion designers, stylists, makeup artists, and Joseph is a breath of fresh air among celebrity beauty makers. He is warm and friendly, unfazed by ego, and concerned only with how he can make his clients feel absolutely gorgeous and maximally relaxed. After chatting about his work and journey to facial manipulation, we reached the portion of the conversation where he explained what he could do for my face. (Finally!) His eyes narrowed with focus.

“It’s your chin,” he said.

“Really!?”

“Yes.” He studied the lower half of my face. “It’s not your jaw, it’s your chin. Let me show you.”

Joseph led me to a mirror and demonstrated how I pull my chin to my upper palate instead of relaxing it. He pointed out the muscles below my mouth, then ran his finger along my jawline. “This is tight,” he said, and continued to explain how the face is similar to our body (the cheeks are like the biceps of the face, for example: Always doing the lifting). It was agreed: Joseph would work on my facial posture and then some. Then the fun part began.

For a face-melting hour-and-a-half, I sunk into the massage table. I relaxed my face into Joseph’s oil-drenched hands. I drooled and didn’t even wipe my chin. Who knew my nose needed massaging? Or that my upper lip was so desperate to be tugged at by a pair of hands? After probably 45 minutes––though I can’t be sure, I fell into a black hole where all time and space ceased to exist––Joseph began the intraoral portion of the session: buccal massage, which I highly recommend if you’re not squeamish about letting someone put their (gloved) hands in your mouth. Not only did this work muscles in my face I didn’t know existed, but it also is largely responsible for the actual sculpting of the experience.

There was scalp massaging and some neck stuff, but the main focus was on the lower half of my face. I had no idea cupping was such a satisfying sensation. It was perfect. Joseph ended the session with some gently depuffing using cooling silver cryo-sticks and some inflammation-busting with 10 minutes of LED red light therapy. By the close of our 90 minutes I was convinced with a quick pee break, I could have laid on Josephs’ table for another hour, at minimum.

“You must be exhausted by the end of this,” I said to him when it was all said and done. The man worked.
“I only take two clients a day,” he said sheepishly. 

Can Anyone Get a Facial Massage? Even with Filler or Botox?

Yes! Whether you’re interested in facial posture correction or just looking to relax, pretty much anyone is a candidate for facial sculpting. Think about it: We “work out” our facial muscles constantly, but we never stretch or massage them the way we do our bodies. Considering getting work done? Maybe consider Joseph first. With consistent treatment, Joseph has clients that have bypassed everything from Kybella to full-on face lifts. He even works to “right” filler that’s migrated.

“By releasing facial tension and encouraging better muscular and lymphatic flow, we can help reestablish natural contour and definition. It’s especially helpful when filler has blurred the lips  or cheek structure,” he said. He just recommends clients wait 10–14 days post-Botox and 2–3 weeks post-filler before coming in for facial sculpting to allow everything to settle properly. 

But what about the upkeep? For facial posture and tension release, which is one of the major sessions lasting 90 minutes, Joseph recommends clients come for that four times a year––and chances are, seeing Joseph four times a year is a lot more affordable than your annual neurotoxin bill. A massage for contouring and relaxation, though, can happen anytime. (If the man offered a membership, I’d be the first in line.)

Totally Worth It

I take excellent care of my skin, so while I love an esthetician rubbing creams on my skin, what I really want is for someone to treat my face in a way I won’t at home. Facial sculpting is my new Roman Empire. What stood out about my session with Joseph, however, wasn’t the obvious manifestation of his knowledge. It was more than the lovely oils and potions or my rosey glow after he brought more circulation to my face. It was his intention. Though my eyes were closed, I could feel his focus while he worked. I could tell he wasn’t checking a set of boxes, but was moving through the massage based where the tension led him.

In a factory-setting world, where brands and companies are finding ways to better automate even their most customized products and experiences, Joseph’s attention to detail is a rare gem. As only one of a few facial sculptors in New York City––rather, the East Coast––Joseph works with passion, authenticity, and focus, which are traits that can’t be bought or learned. This is not a one-size-fits-all experience, and whatever wizardry he uses to make it happen, I’m here for it.

By the end of our session, my hair was oily from the scalp massage; I wasn’t wearing one iota of makeup––and I felt overwhelmingly beautiful. I stepped into a Manhattan dusk and rushed to dinner on the Q train. On my way downtown, I applied the most minimal amount of concealer, a spot of blush, and pink lip. I walked from Union Square to meet my girlfriends, and when I arrived, I felt as though I were glowing, a sensation that doesn’t happen all that often for this busy, work-from-home mom of two. My face was relaxed. I was euphoric, practically floating. And that, I learned, is priceless.

Book a session with Joseph in NYC