Within recent years, gua sha has become quite popular among skin-care lovers, but this ancient practice has been a part of Chinese medicine and Eastern well-being rituals long before it became mainstream in the Western world. Since discovering the benefits, facialists and skin-care experts have incorporated it into professional treatments, and now many of us are opting to slot gua sha into our at-home routines. But what exactly is it, and how can we reap its benefits when left to our own devices? We turned to the experts, who gave us an insight into the origins, explained how to gua sha at home, and shared exactly what it can do for our skin.
While gua sha is often perceived to be as simple as a facial massage, with a pretty, palm-sized marbled tool, it goes far beyond that. Stephanie Zheng, founder & CEO of Mount Lai, a beauty brand rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine, tells PS that gua sha “originated as a healing modality in Traditional Chinese Medicine, and is the practice of using a flat tool against the skin to target stagnation.” The healing comes from releasing the stagnation within the skin through the pressure and movements of the tool. According to our Zheng, stagnation can often look like excess fluid buildup in the face, which leads to less defined facial features.
Experts Featured in This Article
Stephanie Zheng is the founder & CEO of Mount Lai.
Gudrun Wu Snyder is the founder of Moon Rabbit and an expert in Medical Qigong.
Nataliya Robinson is a holistic aesthetician.
The Meaning of Gua Sha
Gudrun Wu Snyder, founder of Moon Rabbit and expert in Medical Qigong, shared the literal translation of gua sha. “The word ‘gua’ means ‘scraping’, and ‘sha’ refers to the temporary redness or small red dots that can appear on the skin during the process.” However, Snyder emphasizes that facial gua sha should not result in bruising or marks, it is much gentler than body gua sha. Whilst gua sha did originate as a body treatment, London-based holistic aesthetician Nataliya Robinson believes it is now primarily used to treat the face and neck area.
How to Gua Sha At Home
At home gua sha involves using a tool to gently massage the face. This stimulates blood circulation, reduces puffiness by encouraging lymphatic drainage, and has a lifting and sculpting effect. With the popularity of gua sha, these tools can vary but the general opinion from experts is that they should be made of metal, jade stone, or rose quartz. Zheng, who started Mount Lai with her grandmother’s gua sha routine in mind suggests the Gua Sha Facial Lifting Tool ($34) as a beginner tool. Another great option is the patented Face Gym Multi-Sculpt High Performing Contouring Tool ($66), which has six different edges.
Once you have your tool, all of our experts agree that the two main things to keep in mind are pressure and consistency. Gua sha should not drag or pull at the skin, so it is key to start with a facial oil or serum to prep the skin and ensure the tool can glide. In fact, Robinson warns that over-exerting pressure and scrubbing or rubbing at the skin can lead to further skin problems such as broken capillaries. Remember that this is an age-old ritual so Zheng advises using slow, intentional movements and trying to relax the muscles in your face, jaw, and neck. Working toward lymphatic drainage points around the face will help with sculpting and reducing puffiness, so Snyder starts with the forehead, before working her way down to the nose, always moving the tool towards the ears and temples. Using the natural facial contours should help guide your movements with the gua sha tool, and every movement should be repeated three to five times.
All of our experts agree that gua sha should be done around three times a week to see real results, but should be adapted based on your reaction to the ritual. If you find your skin irritated or red, it is best to ease off until it recovers, and gua sha should not be done on areas with active acne or inflammation. Gua sha is something that needs to become a part of your skin-care routine to see a difference; it can’t be done once and expected to work, particularly when done at home. However, once you know what works, you can spend a little extra time before special occasions to sculpt and lift with your tool for an instant pick-me-up.
The Benefits of Gua Sha
There aren’t any side effects or downsides to gua sha, and everyone can benefit from it. Snyder highlighted the radiance it can bring to skin due to the increased blood circulation and nutrient delivery, while Robinson shared that she had even seen an improvement in post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation from the movements taught by professionals. For Zheng, while there are endless skin-care benefits, it is important to remember that the main goal of gua sha should be holistic skin health.
Gua sha gives us a moment of self-care and self-love as we work to reduce tension in the facial muscles that work so hard to communicate, show emotion, eat, laugh, and move. Traditional Chinese Medicine is rooted in wellness that goes beyond skin care and beauty, and when we are adapting the tools taught to us, we should continue to respect the rituals for what they are, which is more than a skin-care routine. The aim of gua sha shouldn’t just be a sharper jawline or higher cheekbones, but should be an improvement in well-being due to the extra minutes taken each day to make our routines into rituals. There is a reason this practice has survived centuries, and we’re sure glowing skin is just the very beginning of why Eastern medicine values it so highly.
Sidra Imtiaz is a freelance British Pakistani Muslim beauty writer and PR expert based in London, but often in the US. She has written for Refinery29, Glamour, InStyle, Bustle, Who What Wear, and PS.
