You’ve probably heard of Gua Sha by now. Or maybe you’ve seen the uniquely shaped tools that have flooded your social media feed. Gua Sha has recently been taking the world of holistic beauty by storm, but it’s nothing new. Gua Sha is a centuries old ritual rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine. This 2000 year old form of Gua Sha is much different than facial Gua Sha as it originated as a body treatment and is much firmer, but both work with the movement of fluids (blood, lymph and Qi) in order to promote a healthier environment for the body.

There are so many benefits of facial Gua Sha, aside from it being a completely meditative, sleep-inducing experience. Facial Gua Sha can help reduces the appearance of wrinkles, dark spots and discoloration, lift and contour the face, improve sagging, dark circles and puffy eyes, and releases tension. So how do you adopt this ancient Chinese ritual into your skincare at home?

Before you go and purchase Gua Sha tools on Amazon (I’ll tell you how to pick out a quality Gua Sha facial tool and where to find the best ones), start by asking yourself why you want to add facial Gua Sha to your beauty routine. Is it to achieve healthy skin from the inside? Relieve brow or jaw tension? Promote a more efficient flow of fluids and energy? Whatever it is, allow that to be the reason that keeps you coming back to your tool every day.

Rainbow Flourite Gua Sha Stone by Cecily Braden

Choosing Your Gua Sha Tool

Once you set an intention for your facial Gua Sha practice, it’s time to pick out your tool. Not every tool is created equal - some are made for the body, some are higher quality than others. If quality of the stone looks suspicious, it probably is. If you’re purchasing a jade stone tool in particular, be weary of the darker green ones (ahem, Amazon) - they can often actually be dyed marble or glass. The lighter green jade tools are usually a higher quality jade. Find a stone that speaks to you, whether it be its healing properties, how it feels to hold it, or how many angles it has. I personally love my rainbow fluorite tool for the beautiful colors, its ability to diminish sun damage and the multiple notches for different parts of my face.

To pick out the best tool for you, you’ll also want to take a look at the overall shape. Certain notches are best for the back of the neck/jawline (like the ones that are shaped like the top of a heart), the edges with little “teeth” are good for breaking up adhesions under the skin, and some edges work well for the forehead/cheekbones (usually the largest, smooth side). You’ll also want to feel each edge of the tool. Make sure the sides are completely smooth since you will be massaging your face with it. I’ve listed the links at the bottom of this page with suggestions on where to purchase a quality Gua Sha facial tool.

Choosing Your Facial Oil

After you’ve picked out your favorite tool, you’ll need a facial oil to perform facial Gua Sha. Oils really work best as you’ll need some ‘slip’ to properly and safely glide the tool across your skin. If you want a special, high quality blend of oils and botanicals, I love Botnia Skincare’s Replenishing Facial Oil. It smells and feels amazing (and it’s great for all skin types). For something simple, I usually recommend organic jojoba oil. If you’re looking to brighten any discoloration, I’d suggest an organic rosehip oil as it’s naturally high in Vitamins A and C, but just make sure not to use it if you’re using any type of retinol.

How to use your tool

With your tool and facial oil in hand, you’re ready to give yourself a Gua Sha facial massage. Always make sure you start by cleansing your face (you don’t want any makeup or dirt from the day being pushed further into your skin), spritz your favorite toner, apply serum if you wish, and press in your oil last.

Some important things to remember when performing facial Gua Sha on yourself:

Start with your neck, always moving upward. This will allow for the toxins/stagnated blood from your face to have an escape route through the neck at the end. Once you complete your neck, start with one side of your face (from the bottom up) and then move on to the other side. And don’t forget to ‘drain’ everything at the end (this is the only part where you’ll be moving down on the skin). See below for video tutorial suggestions.
Keep the tool as flat as possible when gliding across your face. In other words, don’t hold it perpendicular to your skin - you should be able to feel most of the tool gliding across your skin.
Go slowly! Rushing through a Gua Sha facial massage won’t feel as great and won’t provide all of the benefits you could be receiving. And remember that this is an ancient Chinese ritual used for healing so it should be treated as such.
Use light pressure. Your hands are there to guide your tool to move stagnated lymph and blood, which is just underneath the skin, so there’s no need to force it. Go especially light anywhere around the eye area (never on the soft tissue under the eye or eyelid - only on the orbital bone), light-medium on the cheeks and forehead and front of the neck, medium on the back of the neck.
Repeat each movement anywhere from 3-10 times. The sweet spot is 5 repetitions for each movement.
Some contraindications for facial Gua Sha include: breakouts/congestion (you can work on just your neck or go around the congested area), recent Botox (wait a minimum of 4 weeks), any lingering infection or illness (you don’t want to risk spreading or worsening the infection).

If you’re hesitant about adding more time to your beauty routine, start with just your neck performing each stroke/movement 3 times. Even just working on your neck can release tension, toxins and stagnation. Personally, I only perform facial Gua Sha at night so that my skin can soak in the oil and my mind and body can relax before sleep. Plus it’s such a wonderful way to end the day. Remember the reason why you’ve decided to start performing facial Gua Sha and stick with it! Show up for yourself and your skin. The more often you practice facial Gua Sha at home, the better your results will be. Healthy glowing skin is just a few strokes away.