What is a Gua Sha?

Many beauty bloggers are talking about Gua Sha, but what exactly is this beauty tool?
If you translate the words, gua means press or stroke, and sha refers to a rash or redness.
“Gua Sha” means also “scraping” in Chinese and it represents a tool used in traditional Chinese medicine. The Gua Sha practice involves scraping a flat, rounded tool, over the skin of the face, the body or the scalp.

 

The tool used to be made from a polished water buffalo horn but nowadays the Gua Sha tend to be made of crystals or stones, generally Jade or Rose Quartz. 

 

The Gua Sha massage therapy provides a deep stretch and release of the connective tissue around tense and tight muscles. If the tool is used on the body, a Gua Sha therapist will use a generous amount of pressure, leaving the skin bright red.

However, for a facial Gua Sha, you don’t need a practioner and can learn the technique on your own as it only needs a light touch and is used for its beauty benefits.

 

 

What are the benefits of facial Gua Sha?

Facial Gua Sha is a massage technique designed to relieve tension of all the facial muscles, but it also helps to boost blood circulation and encourage lymphatic drainage.  When used on the face, a light controlled trauma is created, the skins becomes red, which mean the skin starts to repair itself by creating new collagen.

 

A Gua Sha massage has many benefits as it helps to prevent and treat saggy skin, it brightens skin complexion, helps improve acne and can also heal dark circles, rosacea, and scarring.

 

There’s been some studies about the benefits of Gua Sha therapy, and most of the people using this technique report that their skin looks smoother and lifted after only one session. If used daily, the Gua Sha therapy can easily become part of your comprehensive skin routine as it helps to rejuvenate the skin and reduce wrinkles.

 

The tools used for the Gua Sha massage are usually made of crystals or stones, as they are famous for their healing powers. Jade and Rose Quartz are amongst the most famous crystals used in this ancient Chinese therapy.

 

Jade stone is cool but warms to touch and is directly connected to our heart chakra to keep it open to positive energy and happiness. This stone will bring you luck, happiness and will cheer you up. 

Rose Quartz symbolizes boundless love and is associated with heart healing and can replace anger and resentment connected to toxic relationships with forgiveness and compassion for others. Rose Quartz is associated with heart healing and will help you to be more compassionate and forgiving with yourself.

You can also find several Gua Sha made of other stones or crystals:

Obsidian which is great for preventing stress-related skin damage;

Amethyst which helps to develop self-trust and clarity;

Agate which brings more mental balance into your life;

Sodalite which can help shift our thoughts;

Tiger eye to bring you grounding and stability.

 

 

How should Gua Sha be used?

For a facial Gua Sha massage, it’s highly recommended to use it with water, oil or serum and never on bare skin.

 

Hold the gua sha tool with the curved side to your face and glide it gently up and out, starting with the neck, jawline, chin and around the mouth.

Always take short strokes in just one direction, not back and forth.

Then, press the tool flat to the skin, under the eyes or over any redness, to soothe and de-puff.

Work the tool in small horizontal strokes over the brow bone to lift, or hold and press upwards between the brows to release tension.

Stroke down the neck, never upwards, to drain fluid.

 

If you want to reduce puffiness, work lightly, then more firmly, to relax muscles

You can do one side of your face first so you can see the visible lift quite instantly.

 

If you are a beginner, three swipes are recommended, but of course you can work your way up to a higher number of strokes as you get better acquainted with the use, the practice and your skin reaction to the treatment.

It’s recommended not to exceed more than 10 swipes as bruising can occur then.

Gua Sha, like most of the beauty treatments, should not be painful. Discomfort may occur after treatment, but this should only be temporary. It generally feels like a form of deep tissue massage.

When lightly applied to the face it can help to improve local circulation, leaving the skin appearing more healthy and vibrant.

 

To conclude

There are many benefits of using a facial Gua Sha and including this ancient massage therapy into your daily beauty routine. At Mijep Beauty our passion for natural face and skin products means that we provide our customers nothing but the highest quality of products. We guarantee to meet our customers’ skin and beauty needs naturally.