How to use a Gua Sha Stone
Have you ever been wandering the aisles of your local natural wellness shop and stumbled across a curvy, v-shaped stone and wondered what it is? Well, my friends, that’s a Gua Sha stone (pronounced “gwa shah”) and it has more health benefits than you may think.
Gua sha is an ancient Chinese technique. In its most basic form, gua sha involves using a flat, smooth tool to scrape the surfaces of the body to stimulate microcirculation of the soft tissue, and therefore increasing blood flow. The exact execution of the technique depends on the benefits and experience you’re looking for.
Benefits of Using a Gua Sha Stone
Studies have shown a variety of benefits of gua sha. Here are a few key benefits to kickstart your learning:
Promotes blood circulation
Improves newly formed fine lines and wrinkles
Promotes lymphatic drainage
Relieves tension from muscles
Helps skin to naturally purge blemish-causing dirt and oils
Provides a grounding, meditative exercise to support emotional wellness
There are plenty more benefits of regular gua sha use. Personally, I love using my gua sha stone to gently address the pressure points above the eyes after a long day at the computer. It’s also very helpful in draining and massaging the sinuses. Once you start doing it yourself, you’ll discover what helps your body’s needs.
Getting Started with Gua Sha
How to Gua Sha Your Face
A facial gua sha technique has recently become popular in the natural beauty industry (although we would argue there’s overall health and wellness benefits too). For this technique, a gua sha stone—often made of quartz or jade—gently pulls along facial skin in a flat, smooth motion. When practicing gua sha on the face, use light, mild pressure. It’s not intended to cause any redness, but rather to naturally lift, smooth, and firm the skin. This technique is touted for softening fine lines and wrinkles, while also firming and toning the shape of the face.
How to Gua Sha Your Body
Traditionally, gua sha is performed on large areas of the body like the back, buttocks, arms, legs, and neck. Gua Sha has been performed to the point of severe bruising and causing skin damage or breakage, which isn’t recommended. Gua Sha should be performed with a more moderate touch. Some temporary redness to the skin is normal, as the scraping or stroking motions are intended to increase blood flow to the skin. We have an instructional video below on how to perform gua sha on yourself at home.
Choosing Your Gua Sha Products
Choosing quality products of any kind is one of the most important steps to getting the best results, and that is especially true when dealing with your body. You definitely don’t want to put impure, low quality products on your face or body… that’d defeat the purpose and potentially give you another problem to deal with. No one needs that.
Here are a few top-of-the-line gua sha products available for you to try for yourself, or maybe gift to someone in your life who could use the extra pampering and health benefits.
Shop Gua Sha Stones, Oils & Serums
Gua Sha Beauty Collection
For a limited time, doTERRA is offering a special holiday Gua Sha Beauty Collection. It includes a beautiful heart-shaped rose quartz gua sha stone, a 15 mL bottle of Yarrow|Pom, and a 44 mL bottle of Yarrow|Pom Body Renewal Serum. This collection is perfect for treating yourself or that special someone in your life.
Yarrow|Pom for Gua Sha
Before attempting gua sha, you need an oil or serum so the gua sha tool can glide comfortably and smoothly over the skin. Stunningly blue Yarrow|Pom is the ideal option for facial gua sha.
A combination of yarrow essential oil and cold-pressed pomegranate seed oil, Yarrow|Pom nourishes and soothes the skin. Yarrow essential oil revitalizes the skin and promotes the look of young and healthy skin, while pomegranate seed oil is rich in punicic acid and protects the skin.
Yarrow|Pom is a relatively viscous oil serum that takes its time to slowly soak and absorb into the skin, which will help your gua sha stone glide easily throughout the whole technique. Yarrow|Pom can help reduce the appearance of blemishes and give your skin a vibrant glow!
This item (in a smaller size) is included in the Gua Sha Beauty Collection.
Yarrow|Pom Body Renewal Serum for Gua Sha
For whole-body gua sha, Yarrow|Pom Body Renewal Serum is the perfect companion. On top of yarrow essential oil and pomegranate seed oil (and their respective benefits), the serum contains jojoba oil, sunflower seed oil, avocado oil, grapeseed oil, argan oil, coffee seed extract, and pomegranate esters, as well as Roman Chamomile, Yuzu, Peppermint, and Cananga. This serum is deeply moisturizing and revitalizing to the skin.
This item (in a smaller size) is included in the Gua Sha Beauty Collection.
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