How To Use A Gua Sha & Where To Buy One
What is a gua sha?
Gua sha is about as basic as it gets—it’s literally just an instrument you use to scrape your skin. The tool, which has a long and thin shape that is typically made from jade or rose quartz, works by scraping the skin with short or long strokes to improve circulation and promote healing. Gua sha is part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), but its roots date back thousands of years in East Asian cultures as a form of healing through massage.
Gua sha operates on the principle that ailments like chronic pain can be treated through stimulating the lymphatic system and releasing toxins through your skin. To do so, a gua sha tool (or any blunt edge) is used with pressure along “acupressure points” to stimulate blood flow. The technique is typically believed to break up stagnant energy and re-route healthy energy throughout the body, which many believe promotes healing in TCM practices.
Tools used with gua sha.
A gua sha is a handheld tool that has a flat, blunt edge. It can be made of various materials, including jade, rose quartz, wood, horn, and metal. The different materials provide different benefits—for instance, jade is cooling but not as durable—and have different price points.
Water or oil: You might see people using the tool dry or with water; however it's common to use the gua sha in conjunction with an oil or serum. Some recommend oils rich in antioxidants like argan and jojoba to help hydrate skin as you sculpt your face (see below for more on how exactly that happens).
How to use a gua sha: the technique.
Gua sha is a great way to relieve muscle tension, so it can be used for both the face and body. Here’s how to use gua sha for face, neck, and body:
Start with a cleansed face or body. Apply a facial oil to your skin and massage in gently with your hands. Then, get your gua sha tool and hold it firmly with both hands (for smaller areas) or just one hand (for larger areas). With gentle pressure, scrape against the surface of your skin using long, downward strokes. Remember to always move in one direction only—this drains toxins out of the tissues while encouraging lymphatic drainage and blood flow. Follow this method anywhere you have tension: all over the face, down the neck and spine, on your legs or arms—wherever you want!
Gua sha facial massage benefits.
"Gua sha" is an ancient Chinese medical treatment using the pressure of a flat stone on the skin. It's a face-to-face massage technique that uses smooth, hard stones to massage the skin and facial muscles. It has proven to be beneficial in treating everything from acne and fatigue to anxiety and insomnia, and it's now even used as part of plastic surgery procedures.
The use of gua sha in skincare means you're getting excellent results while you're also giving your body some much-needed TLC—and it all starts with a facial gua sha session. The beauty benefits are so widespread that they lead us to wonder: why doesn't everyone know about this?
Best places to buy gua shas.
Now that you know what gua shas are and how to use them, it's time to talk about where the best places are buy these babies.
The Gua Sha tool is a small handheld massager with a flat edge which can be used on the body for self-massage. No oil is required when using this product. The tool can be used as an alternative to some massage or chiropractic procedures and may reduce muscle tension and stiffness. The gua sha is also known as a spoon massage, due to its spoon-like shape, but don't worry—you won't have to eat off of it when you're done!
You might be wondering: "how do I tell if my gua sha is real?” Here's how: take your thumb and rub the edge of your gua sha against another fingernail (i.e., not yours). If it makes a scratching noise, you've got yourself an imposter!
Using a gua sha is good for you and how it can help your skin!
“Gua sha is an ancient Chinese healing technique that involves scraping your skin with a massage tool to improve your circulation,” explains celebrity facialist Joanna Vargas, who offers a gua sha facial treatment at her New York and Los Angeles salons. “It helps with puffiness (my fave benefit!) and also helps lymphatic drainage. I use it on my clients all the time.” You can do this yourself or have someone else do it for you (ideally a professional), but no matter who's doing the work, it should be done gently. “Don't press too hard—the idea is to lift away toxins from the body in a very gentle way, so as not to excessively stimulate the nervous system or irritate muscle tissue,” advises natural skincare expert Vintner's Daughter founder April Gargiulo.
As for how often you should use your gua sha? That depends on how often you'd like to reap its benefits: some people will gua sha daily while others will only do so when they feel they need it most.
