Gua Sha is an ancient eastern practice with so many skin benefits. Learn everything on how to Gua Sha and the three items you need to get started as a beginner!
What is Gua Sha and why do you need it in your life?
Gua sha is a traditional Chinese and East Asian technique used to invite increased circulation, and well-being, and remove stagnant build-up in the body. It is used gently on the skin of the face, and more aggressively on the skin of the body. Gua means scrape and sha means sand.
Facial Gua Sha is a simple and effective anti-aging beauty technique from the Far East aimed at enhancing the look and feel of your face naturally. It involves light scraping techniques using the Gua Sha tool directly on your skin. This has been proven to help rejuvenate and enhance your face while helping to combat and prevent wrinkles, crow’s feet, puffiness, eye bags, fine lines, and signs of aging.
Gua Sha is most known for its effects in sculpting the cheekbones and lifting the chin. It has blown up on social media platforms because of amazing before and after photos showing the results from a single facial massage.
What Are The Benefits Of Gua Sha:
- Treats and prevents sagging skin
- Brightens the complexion
- Helps skincare products penetrate the skin deeper
- Has the ability to relieve and heal rosacea
- Greatly reduces wrinkles
- Helps eliminate dark circles around the eyes
- Encourages collagen production
- Lifts and sculpts the skins
- Aids in lymphatic drainage and reduces puffiness
What You Need To Know To Have A Successful Gua Sha Practice:
- Consistency is key. Practicing on a regular basis will prove most beneficial. Carving out time once a day, or a few times a week is perfect. I have found that I crave this practice and notice a major difference when I skip my facial massage.
- Prepping the skin is absolutely necessary. I like to use rose water and squalane oil to make sure the stone is never tugging on my skin.
- You never want to use a cold stone. Always heat the stone up with your hands or body heat to warm the tool before applying.
- If you have cystic acne or open lesions on the skin, it is not a good time to be practicing gua sha.
- It is possible to overdo gua sha. The rule of thumb is 3-10 sweeps per section of the face or body.
- Remember, everybody has unique features. Have fun experimenting with which areas of the tool work well for your face. Your practice may evolve to be different from what you read in books or see in tutorials.
The Three Things You Need To Get Started
1.) Learn Exactly How To Gua Sha With This Step by Step Guide
Facial Gua Sha By Clive Witham
This book is an amazing guide to learn gua sha as a beginner. It has easy-to-understand step-by-step guides with images that show you the perfect steps to follow for an at-home facelift.
The beauty of learning Gua Sha is that once you know the basics, just a few minutes every day can have a major impact on skin tone, clarity, and tightness. This book will give the exact methods to follow to achieve your very own natural facelift at home.
2.) Find The Right Stone For You
What I Am Currently Loving Is This Three Piece Set From Amazon
I love this three-piece set from Amazon because it is high quality and affordable. Having options is great because certain tutorials and areas of the face require different shapes of tools. I also love using real jade in my practice, as Jade is known for inviting purity and serenity, as well as promoting fertility, balance, and deep healing.
See The Stone In Action On My Instagram:
3.) Select An Oil To Use During Your Gua Sha Practice
My Pick: 100% Plant-Derived Squalane Oil
Squalane is my go-to oil for everything, especially for facial massage practice. Squalane is a lightweight, non-greasy facial moisturizer that rapidly penetrates the skin to instantly hydrate and lock in moisture. Your body produces its own version that declines as you age, making Squalane an ideal anti-aging skincare ingredient to replenish the skin’s natural moisture.
I love that it is one of the few oils that are 100% fungal acne safe. This squalane oil from Amara Beauty is two fluid ounces of product, affordable, vegan, and cruelty-free!
That concludes everything you need to get started with Gua Sha! I hope you found this helpful and I cannot wait to hear how this ancient practice enhances your skincare and self-care routine. Never hesitate to ask any questions in the comments or over my Instagram!
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