Master the Art of Gua Sha
Hey Babes,
By now, we’ve all been exposed to the ancient art of gua sha. This traditional Chinese beauty ritual offers a TON of benefits for our skin + soul. Despite its growing popularity all over social media, I consistently get a flood of questions about how to actually gua sha at home and if it’s really worth it.
Here’s the melty scoop on everything I think you need to know!
MUST KNOW TIPS FOR GUA SHA
- always start with freshly cleansed skin
- always apply a skin-friendly oil to provide a smooth glide; our Mu Juice Emu Oil is the absolute best gua sha BFF, duh!
- always work from inside to outside; picture a vertical line down the center of your face. make long, continuous strokes from this center line out towards the jaw or hairline.
- I love starting at my jaw and working my way up one entire side of my face first; then, I mirror the exact same moves on my other side. (see below for my easy-to-follow pattern!)
- always use your non-dominant hand to brace the skin at the starting point; this prevents over-stretching or over-working the skin.
- always use gentle pressure; a softer touch helps move lymph that resides just below the skin. think of gua sha more like a light swedish massage, not deep tissue!
- always cleanse your stone after each use; you can quickly hand wash with your facial cleanser or a healthy soap to break down any oils or product. leave it out to air dry and it’s ready for your next session!
- always opt for a sustainably sourced, high quality, high frequency stone; not all tools are created equal, my friends!
MEL’S EASY-TO-FOLLOW PATTERN
You can do as many of these strokes as you wish, just be sure to match it on the other side! I love at least 5 strokes per move.
- Chin to jaw with the indented portion of the tool
- Chin to Jaw + add some feel-good circles massaging the massateur muscle with the “node” of the tool to relieve tension
- Chisel the cheekbone with the indented portion- glide under the cheekbone where you’d apply your bronzer to sculpt this area out
- Under orbital bone + add some feel-good circles at temple with the “node” — be extra gentle with this delicate skin
- Under brow along the bone with the “node”
- Up the forehead, make vertical strokes towards the hairline with the flattest side of the tool.
- Repeat on the forehead with small circles, using the “node,” slowly moving up and out in a line
- Use the flattest side to lift the cheek flesh upwards
- Use the flattest side to lift the neck stroking up to the jaw bone
- Use the flattest side to release tension on the sides of neck muscle
Take any of these 10 techniques as a starting point, mix them up when you’re feelin frisky, and have fun making them your own for whatever you need (or have bandwidth for) in the moment!
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?
- drains lymph fluid = reduces puffiness and inflammation
- promotes circulation = bring healthy, nutrient-rich blood flow
- relieves muscle tension = where we commonly carry so much stress
- sculpts facial definition = natural enhancement for our bone structure to highlight our best unique features
- softens fine lines and wrinkles
- creates a melty mindful moment with ourselves
WHEN SHOULD I GUA SHA?
There’s no wrong time to gua sha but I love first thing in the morning with my am skin ritual because I immediately notice the reduced puffiness and sculpted features that I get to step into my day with!
DO I USE ANY PRODUCT WITH GUA SHA?
Yes!! After cleansing skin, apply 1-2 pumps of our Mu Juice. This superstar, skin-friendly oil is made up of just two ingredients: organic, ultra-refined emu oil + lavender essential oil.
Not only is Mu Juice providing the perfect, not-too-greasy glide to protect skin while gua sha-ing, but it’s giving us ALL the juicy benefits of the world’s #1 skin oil!
The best part is that there’s no need to wash the oil off — it’s going to absorb down into the skin, leaving us glowing and nourished.
Finish off with any other products you love — like skin mists, moisturizers, and spf.
HOW DO I CHOOSE THE RIGHT GUA SHA TOOL?
There’s no shortage of options these days and we know there are tons of different shapes, sizes, and materials on the market.
Our rose quartz stone is hand-carved and polished from natural crystals found or mined in Brazil and South Africa. If mined, all stones are required to be mined in an environmentally sustainable and ethical manner, using more manual, low-impact practices that cause as little damage to nature as possible during the process. The legal rights, compensation, and safety of every employee from the mining process onward are guaranteed.
Rose quartz is a beautiful pink crystal for unconditional love that brings deep healing to the heart by opening the heart chakra.
My dream is that this Blob eliminates some of the overwhelm and confusion on one of the most sacred, special and SIMPLE self care opportunities we have.
Enjoy!
xx,
Melissa
