The Frozen Tinfoil Trick That Helps Lessen Facial Puffiness

A few years back, New York makeup artist and brow guru Ramy Gafni was asked to share his oddest, craziest beauty hack.

The only criteria: It had to be something he had thought of (i.e., a true original) and it had to—wait for it—actually work.

The segment—the “aluminum foil hack” that he dreamt up (it involves the straightforward skin-care step of freezing a sheet of tinfoil overnight and form-fitting it to the face like a mask)—ended up on a national T.V. segment.

Gafni wasn’t all that surprised by the buzz. And he still stands by the simple, shiny move’s effectiveness.

“At the time, jade and rose quartz rollers were popular to keep refrigerated and use to reduce under eye bags and puffiness,” he says. “So, I figured chilled aluminum foil can be molded easily to the contours of one’s face—and cover a larger surface than a jade roller. It feels very refreshing and really does reduce swelling and makes your pores feel tight.”

While the creative idea was, legitimately, an original, Gafni admits he had some Hollywood inspiration floating around in the back of his brain.

“I think I was inspired by reading that Joan Crawford used to dunk her face into a pan of ice water each morning,” he recalls. “Also, supermodel Karolina Kurkova told me that, in Eastern Europe, women splash cold water on their face to reboot and freshen up when having a bad day.”

Back in the present day, Gafni still stands by the fact that his tinfoil-sheet trick is just as good as its more-recent competition of the popular ice roller. “I think keeping a sheet of aluminum foil in the freezer and molding it to your face is as effective as many cooling devices on the market,” he says. “And applying skin care like a serum or firming gel before the tin foil is even more effective.”