A massage PLUS anti-aging and beauty benefits for your face? Yes, please! Gua sha massagers are purported to have many benefits. Derived from an ancient Chinese tradition of skin-scraping the body, gua sha massagers provide a gentler way to give those same benefits to the face. They are contoured to fit in and around the different parts of your face, and some even come with extra features. Read on to learn more!
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Benefits of Gua Sha Massage for the Face
Gua sha massagers have many benefits. They help stimulate circulation, resulting in increased blood flow to the face. They can stimulate collagen production as well, which helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and makes skin more elastic and firm. This can result in a more sculpted look, especially around the jawline and cheekbones. Massaging with this tool can release tight facial muscles for less tension. Gua sha can also eliminate excess fluid retention in the face when you massage in the direction of lymphatic flow to allow for drainage. This means reduced puffiness (especially under the eyes!). Altogether, this adds up to a healthier, more toned look to the face!
Modern gua sha tools
Gua sha tools are being brought into the 21st century with newer features that add in extra benefits. Some add in vibration, which stimulates blood flow, tones, and helps relieve tension to help reduce the incidence of stress lines. Heat provides similar benefits to vibration, in addition to adding a therapeutic calming element to the massage. Both vibration and heating give you a healthy glow and promote quicker healing of problem areas. Used without the heating feature, many stone and metal gua sha tools provide a cooling effect. Cool massage can be especially helpful for depuffing under the eyes.
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Gua Sha Technique
How you use your gua sha stone makes a difference in the benefits you receive, so it’s important to make sure you’re using it correctly! First off, you need an oil or serum to provide some sliding power to the tool. You don’t want to be dragging and pulling on your facial skin, as you could make issues like fine lines and sagging worse, so never skip this step! Also, the type of lubricant you choose is important. For example, you want to avoid oils if you have acne-prone skin. Based on your skin’s needs, you can choose anything from an anti-aging serum to a brightening serum.
Use gentle but firm strokes with your gua sha tool, holding it at a roughly 45-degree angle. Go from top to bottom. Starting from the top center of your forehead, scrape outwards one way and then the other, covering the whole forehead, including along your eyebrows.
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Then, you’ll move down to your under-eyes. Start near your nose and gently scrape outwards toward your temples. Move slightly lower, making similar strokes along and under your cheekbones. Next is your jawline. Start from your chin, and gently scrape outwards toward your ear. Finally, work on your neck. Start at the bottom of your neck and scrape upwards across the front of your neck from side to side.
Bonus tip: You may even be able to get a little volume on your lips by scraping your gua sha tool across them a few times to stimulate blood flow! Be sure to wash your tool to remove any facial serum you were using first though, and switch to a lip balm or just a dab of skin-friendly oil like almond or coconut oil.
This process should be done at least one to three times a week. With time, you can increase this to as often as you feel is beneficial.