During the last years there has been a new word added to beauty enthusiasts’ vocabulary – “gua sha”. And no, there is no correlation with gouache colours, because this word combination comes from Chinese and means “gua”- scraping and “sha” – redness.

Crystals used in skin care.

In the Western market and social media gua sha has recently gained popularity of many, because of jade rollers (face massage appliances) that are made from rose quartz, agate or other crystals, and they are used in beauty routines. There are also other – different shaped face massage stones.

Where does it come from?

But the roots and the meaning of gua sha stretches to traditional Eastern Asia and China medicine – to their body massages with any kind of gua sha appliance. And for many it is not associated with glamorous and relaxing process, but more with pain, redness and bruises that are left on the skin after massaging. And in home conditions the luxury crystals were absent, and different materials with rounded edged were used, such as ivory or spoons, but acupuncture was done also using fingers and knuckles. It is assumpted that these kind of massages relieve stiffness, muscle pains and help with migraines, improve blood circulation and lymph flow, reducing swelling and removing toxins and bad energy from the body. In the ancient medicine these massages were used in the cases of seasonal viruses and heat strokes.

The effects of face massage

The good influence of acupuncture massages for the skin has been discovered later, and a similar practice in skin care is currently in use with gua sha face massage crystals in combination with skin care products, such as moisturizers, serums, oils or masks. Massage not only reduced swelling, jaw muscle and other face muscle stiffness, but also helps with product absorbtion in the skin. Although the effectiveness of massages has not been proved in the long-term, people who have attended gua sha practices, claim that the changes are noticeable in more sculptured and even skin. The people who do the massages assure that it will make the skin more tight, even out the skin tone, reduce dark circles, puffiness and scars, and rosacea.

How to do it?

If this procedure is done correctly, there is less risk of getting bruises, redness or broken capillaries. So before introducing gua sha in your beauty routine, a certain research has to be done and some videos have to be watched on how to do self-massage correctly – on which zones you have to concentrate more, how much pressure you have to put on different areas of the face and in which directions to do the massage. And overdoing is not advised because it should be done once a week.

Video:

If the process is already relaxing, then you should know that it will relieve tension and stress that we accumulate in out neck and face muscles because of the tense everyday life and work.

A little bit of Eastern peace to us as well, because, as Chinese women say, - to be healthy is to be beautiful. 

Sources: https://www.vogue.com/article/gua-sha-history-at-home-self-care

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/beauty/anti-aging/a28985005/what-is-gua-sha/