How To: Gua-Sha
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Women are always looking for the next best skincare products in hopes of looking younger, having tight and plump skin. What if I told you there’s a way to achieve a sculpted and contoured look without any harmful chemicals? During my holistic journey I was determined to find holistic ways to enhance my appearance and once I found Gua-Sha I never looked back.
In this blog we will discuss…
What is Gua-Sha?
Why I Started Practicing Gua-Sha
How To: Gua-Sha
What is Gua-Sha?
Gua sha (pronounced “gwa-shah”) is an East Asian healing technique. The purpose is to help improve blood flow and reduce inflammation. You can do this practice at home with a gua sha tool or your fingers.
Essential tips to keep in mind while practicing is making sure to open all lymph nodes before starting anything. You can do this by lightly tapping on them from 5-10 times. The process is one of the most vital aspects to the benefits of gua-sha. When using the gua-sha you are improving blood flow and moving toxins away from your body. There needs to be somewhere for these toxins to go which is why you open the lymph nodes where it goes to be filtered. Another major tip is making sure your skin has a smooth surface to improve gliding movements of the gua-sha tool.
Gua sha is the perfect way to achieve a natural and contoured look. Not only is it beneficial for your face but also has full body benefits.
Why I Started Practicing Gua-Sha
As a woman who has suffered through severe PMS, my whole body has been affected by my fluctuating hormones and quite literally altered the look/shape of my face. It began with me thinking that it had to do with my body dysmorphia and I was concerned somehow that distorted way of thinking has now gone to how I view my face.
I began to do research on what was going on with my face and what I found was that my face was actually altered, I wasn’t imagining anything. The issue was because there was so much inflammation it hid all my features. The hormone fluctuations began to increase and I started retaining more water/toxins in my face.
Not only can help heal the inflammation from the inside out by what you eat (learn more by checking out my blog “How To: Drink Your Skincare”) but I also discovered “lymphatic drainage”. This can be done through gua sha or your fingers by creating a facial massage with small swooping motions. This technique can help drain the lymphatic fluid, if done correctly, and I am here to show you how.
How To: Gua-Sha
Step by Step:
Cleanse face
Apply facial oil (and/or essence, moisturizer, serum) to help gua-sha tool glide smoothly along skin without resistance
Start opening lymphatic nodes. This can be done by massaging, rubbing, tapping, or pumping lightly. The order is just as important as technique. The Lymphatic system only travels in one direction where the entire body drains to the collarbone area. Keep in mind as you start tapping it will stimulate blood flow and may turn the area red (which means it’s working!)
-Begin with massaging armpits
-Move to tapping the collarbones (the indent on the clavicles)
-Behind your ear
-Then right next to your nose, tapping
-In between the eyebrows massaging
Now it is time to start gua sha on the jawline. Using the curved edge, move outward from chin to ear with light pressure, 10x
Then moving down along side of neck with long sweeping motions, slightly applying pressure light/medium (10x)
Use curved part to move along whole side of face, at a slight angle upward (10x)
Begin at the side of the nose, move upward towards the inner eyebrow. Begin doing small circles and then move towards outer eyebrow all along the hair (10x)
Add more essence, oil, or cream to other side and repeat
Next you will use gua sha horizontally moving upward along forehead at a slight angle with slight pressure (10x) but remember to always bring it back down through side of neck
Last step is to use your gua sha to massage the scalp. Use edge to move from top of hair and then move around towards back
By using gua sha on your face, you will see and feel instant results. You will be able to massage out the toxins in your face and create a healthy glow for yourself. It’s important to hydrate after any massage because you are moving toxins away from your body and hydrating will help flush it all out.
If you still would like a visual explanation of how to properly use gua, watch my favorite, quick, and easy tutorial from Yuri Lee @luxyurius click here to watch!
Try Gua-Sha today & discover the secret benefits for yourself!
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