If you’ve heard of the jade roller, you’ve likely heard of the term “Gua Sha”. It is essentially a Chinese healing technique where you scrape your skin with short or long strokes to stimulate the skin and increase blood flow. It can be used to ease muscle tension, water retention, or other congestion.
The benefits of facial Gua Sha include:
- Decreased puffiness
- Anti-aging promotion
- Improved elasticity
- Skin detoxification
- Rebuilding of collagen
- Improved skin tone
Basically, it gives you a natural facelift. And who doesn’t love a face lift from time to time? Today, we will be bringing you a step-by-step guide on how you should start doing Gua Sha as a beginner. We’ll be giving you ALL the tea on the best tools, facial oils, and techniques of facial Gua Sha that you need to know to achieve that firm and young-looking skin!
Gua Sha Tools
Facial Gua Sha involves using a flat Jade Stone to apply pressure across your skin to increase blood flow. While the type of stone used for Gua Sha is not that important, the shape certainly is. Experts suggest that you should find a tool that is smooth and rounded and fits the curvature of your face. It should be comfortable to grip, since you want to apply even pressure to your strokes. Here are some Gua Sha tools that you should try out:
Root Remedies Rose Quartz Gua Sha Stone
Mount Lai Gua Sha Face Lifting Tool
Skin Gym Jade Gua Sha Crystal Beauty Tool
Gua Sha Facial Oils
When it comes to facial oils for Gua Sha, they need to be lightweight, non comedogenic, and will moisturize your skin. Some of the most common facial oils are rosehip oil, hempseed oil, grapeseed oil and argan oil. However, there are plenty of options to choose from that are a blend of different ingredients that will help you target your specific skin concerns. Here are some of the best facial oils that you can get right now:
The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil
Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil
Laneige Water Bank Hydro Essence
Gua Sha Step-by-step
Step 1: Make sure your Gua Sha tool is clean by washing it with water and soap. To provide a smooth and slippery surface for your Gua Sha session, lubricate your skin with a moisturiser, facial oil, or serum.
Step 2: Firmly grip your instrument on the thicker side. The flat part should lie on your skin, while the curved part should hug it.
Step 3: Apply pressure on the instrument at the base of your neck and move it upwards towards your chin. Make sure you have a firm grasp on it and keep it as flat as possible (it’s really slippery!).
Step 4: Moving onto your jawline, take the flat edge of your tool and start scraping from the center of your chin. Move it along your jawline towards the bottom of your ears.
Step 5: Using the smaller angles of your tool, scrape outwards from the middle of your face to the sides. Always keep in mind that the angle should be upwards (under your eyes, forehead, cheekbones, etc).
Step 6: Once you’ve finished your facial massage, continue with your skincare routine as usual.
Here’s a face chart if you need a reference!
Would you try Gua Sha?
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