How To Use Gua Sha In Your Skincare Routine
What is gua sha?
If you're reading this, it's likely that you've heard of gua sha. But what exactly is it?
Gua sha is a practice rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine that has been used for over 2,000 years. The basic idea is that it's a scraping technique where you use a tool—in our case, a gua sha stone—to scrape away at the skin.
As a result of this technique, blood flow is increased to all the areas being treated, and on a more energetic level, blockages may be broken up in the meridians (energy channels). On a physical wellness level, gua sha can help with inflammation, acne, skin discoloration, scarring from acne, wrinkles, cellulite, rosacea, and many other conditions!
This can be done on the face or the body, and gua sha practitioners use the technique to relieve chronic pain and tension. Some also use gua sha as a beauty tool to boost circulation in their faces in the hopes of decreasing inflammation and reducing the look of wrinkles.
What are the benefits of gua sha?
Our bodies have a system called the lymphatic system that helps remove waste products from our cells and transport them through our bloodstreams so they can be filtered out by our kidneys or liver.
When this process isn't working properly (for example, during an infection), things can get backed up and cause inflammation—and that's where gua sha comes in!
The benefits of gua sha are wide-ranging, here are some of our faves:
Helps reduce inflammation and puffiness and lymphatic drainage
Minimizes the look of wrinkles and fine lines
Can alleviate tech neck and other pains
Could improve headache and migraine symptoms
It might help relieve engorged breasts when breastfeeding
Can aid in muscle recovery
Instantly elevate your skincare routine with our Opalite Gua Sha stone.
I chose the opalite stone due to its incredible spiritual and healing properties — plus this stone is uniquely designed for every part of the face! 🌟
When to use gua sha in your skincare routine?
If you're just getting started with gua sha and want to experiment a bit first, we recommend testing an area on your body before your face.
The reason for this is simple: the skin on your face is much thinner than that on the rest of your body and more sensitive. To play it safe with new skincare additions, it's a good idea to get in the habit of testing an area on your body so that you can get some experience with how it feels before moving on to your face.
There are a few specific areas on your face that you want to focus on, depending on what you're trying to achieve with gua sha.
If you want to reduce inflammation, focus on the bridge of your nose, if you want to reduce wrinkles and fine lines, concentrate on those areas, especially your cheeks and jawline, and if you want to improve the overall quality of your skin, concentrate on the entire face.
Watch below for an example of how to use your gua sha stone:
Pro-Tip:
Make sure you are using enough pressure to release tension in the muscles but if it’s your first time, start more gently until you get used to the sensation.
Final Thoughts
Gua sha is a great way to take care of yourself, easy to learn, and the benefits are numerous. If you haven’t tried gua sha yet, what are you waiting for? Get your opalite gua sha stone from us today and start using it to enhance + enlighten your skincare routine A.S.A.P.!
Do you have any questions about gua sha? Let us know in the comments below.