What is Gua Sha?
Following suit with the popular rose quartz and jade rollers, gua sha (pronounced gwa sha) is the latest skincare trend that can be traced back to ancient Chinese medicine. In its earlier days, gua sha was used as an anti-inflammatory treatment where the skin is scraped, cupped, and sometimes even bruised intentionally to help stimulate blood flow to a certain area.
Today, gua sha serves the same purpose for improved circulation and healthy, glowing skin, but it’s way less intense. Similar to facial rollers, they’re typically made of jade or rose quartz crystals, and their amazing reviews and success stories are truly taking the beauty industry (and social media, of course) by storm.
What are the Benefits of Gua Sha?
The gentle scraping act of gua sha helps to break up excess fascia, or connective tissue/collagen, throughout the body that can interfere with your circulation. Think of it this way – the more congested your skin is, the more susceptible it will be to swelling, puffiness, and breakouts.
Just like the facial rollers, gua sha tools can help your skin look brighter, healthier, and even slimmer as they help to relieve this congestion, release muscle tension, and naturally drain your lymph nodes by provoking blood flow throughout the body – leaving you with a beautiful, natural glow!
The tools themselves come in different shapes and sizes, and can actually be used almost anywhere on the body (not just your face!) as a relaxer and pain reliever.
How to (Safely) Use Your Gua Sha Facial Tool:
While these skincare tools are completely safe to use at home, it’s important to use the proper technique to avoid unintentional damage to your skin. We typically recommend starting with a clean face and pairing your favorite oil or moisturizer with your gua sha tool to help the product effectively absorb into your skin and give you that luxurious, refreshing feel.
You’ll want to use a gentle gliding motion with a little bit of pressure rather than thinking of it as a vigorous scraping. Keep the tool flat against your face and scrape upwards and outwards, starting with your forehead and moving down towards your jawline. Once you get to your under-eye area, gently sweep the tool from the inside corner of your eye outwards toward your temple. Be sure to only apply light pressure to this area especially, since it’s so sensitive.