Everything You Need To Know About Gua Sha And Why It Needs To Be Apart Of Your Daily Routine
Self care rituals have taken the internet by storm the past year. Last May, “self care” was one of the most searched topics on the internet. Self care helps to improve your relationship with yourself, build confidence and help to relieve stress. Recently, I have added Gua Sha into my self care routine and here is why you should too:
According to Healthline.com
“Gua sha is a natural, alternative therapy that involves scraping your skin with a massage tool to improve your circulation. This ancient Chinese healing technique may offer a unique approach to better health, addressing issues like chronic pain.”
Gua Sha involves using a tool (like a flat stone) and scraping it along your skin. While we are not going to get into how it can heal your body from disease, I am going to share how it can be beneficial for your skin. If you would like to learn more about the healing properties of Gua Sha, click here.
Like you, I learned about Gua Sha from the internet. I saw influencers posting videos using stones to scrape their face. I am always intrigued by skin care devices and skin care hacks so eventually I decided to give it a try.
Some of the claims about Gua Sha is that it will help to depuff, brighten, and firm skin. There are also claims that Gua Sha can help to prevent or reduce wrinkles (which is something that I am interested in). Gua Sha can also help you better absorb products as well as help release jaw tension.
Here are the facts:
Gua Sha helps to stimulate the flow of lymph body fluid (which circulates through the body by the lymphatic system) and helps with lymphatic drainage (aka: removal of waste and toxins)- terms that you may have heard before.
When you are scraping along your face with a flat stone you are helping to move the lymph so it can efficiently get rid of waste and toxins in the body. Gua Sha also isn’t just for your face, you can use this technique all over your body.
Here is how it works:
I purchased these inexpensive rose quartz Gua Sha tools (it comes in a pack of 3 which can be used on different parts of the face). You first begin by scraping from your chin up to your ear lobe (along your jaw, under your cheek bone) and then repeat on the other side. Then you move up to your under-eyes and cheeks scraping from your nose to your temple, then repeat on the other side. Next you will scrape your forehead- from the middle of eyebrows up towards your hair line and then scraping along the arch of your eyebrows (starting at center and scraping outwards). Next you will scrape along your nose. Then finish by scraping the sides of the neck- working top of the neck to your collar bone.
Here is my experience:
It feels amazing. Massaging your face is something that we should all be doing. It is relaxing and therapeutic. It helps release tension in my jaw and neck. I also have noticed that my skin is smoother, glowing and brighter. I also noticed that the puffiness under my eyes has dramatically decreased. I cannot speak on wrinkle prevention or reduction as it may be too soon to tell. All in all, it feels really good.
My tips:
Store your Gua Sha tools in the fridge. Using cold stones will help to tighten pore to lock in product and it will help fight puffiness more efficiently.
Use with a facial oil on clean skin. I love using argan oil as my “massage oil”. Without an oil, the massage tool will just pull the skin versus massaging. Also it is important that your skin is clean!
Wash the tools regularly. I use soap and water to clean my stones after each use.
If you are short on time, scraping along your jawline and under eyes will suffice!
Scrape along the back of your neck for extra tension release!
I hope this information helps! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
