If you have heard how celebrities, influencers, and even your friends used Gua Sha for Scalp, Face, or Neck and had a before and after story to tell you might have thought of trying one for yourself. We have got your back! Here is a complete guide to different types of Gua Sha tools, how to pick one for your need, and how to use it.
Table of Contents
What is Gua Sha and its benefits?
A Gua Sha Massage is a popular Chinese technique for skin care, which literally stands for ‘Scraping off the dirt’. It usually uses a Gua Sha stone made of semi-precious stones like Rose Quartz, Jade, or Amethyst. It made its way into mainstream skin care due to its many benefits as detailed below.
Benefits of Gua Sha for scalp, face, and body
Gua Sha For Face
- Sculpting and Contouring: Gua Sha is a great way to give your face a naturally sculpted look. Consistent usage is helpful in getting a well-defined jawline and cheekbones. It is also known to be very effective for double chin.
- Helps smoothen fine lines and reduce puffiness: A Gua Sha massage is one of the best ways to help with lymphatic drainage. Slow lymphatic drainage is the underlying cause of many skin problems like puffiness, acne, and dull skin. Additionally, the relaxation of facial muscles and increased blood circulation helps smoothen fine lines and bring back the glow.
- Reduces Acne scars and brightens skin: When coupled with the right serum or essential oil, Gua Sha massage is especially effective in reducing spots and pigmentation and helps brighten the skin.
Gua Sha For Scalp
- Reduced hair fall: Using a Gua Sha Comb can help reduce hair fall and promote natural hair growth, by increasing the blood circulation to the roots.
- Relaxation: Massages often help in muscle stress reduction and have benefits beyond being an enjoyable experience
For Body
- Body Pain: Benefits of Gua Sha go far beyond just the face and scalp, with a slight change in pressure applied it can be very effective in reducing body pain and muscle soreness. To read more about Gua Sha for body pain, you may refer to What is Gua Sha?
- Gua Sha for Cellulite Reduction: By gently scraping the skin and breaking the connected tissue under the skin, Gua Sha massages have been effective in reducing cellulite in various parts of the body like the stomach, thighs, buttocks, and legs.
How to choose your Gua Sha tool?
- Material: While Gua Sha stones available offer a choice of many semi-precious materials like Amethyst, Rose Quartz, Emerald, and Jade, they are all effective in delivering the above benefits. So, the rule for choosing the material is really “What connects to you the most? ” 🙂 Just beware of cheaper substitutes like plastic or metal.
- Shape: Here is a complete list of common shapes available and how to pick one for your need.
- Heart: The most popular heart shape works well for neck sculpting, shoulder, and spine massage. Works well for deep tissue massage and cellulite reduction.
- S Shaped: Smaller edge can be used for eyes and puffiness, larger one for cheekbone sculpting, arms, and legs.
- Cleft: The cleft works best for the jawline
- Wing: Small pointed edge is useful for the brows and temple area. The dented part is great for the chin, lips, and nose bridge
- Teeth Edged: Can be used for forehead, cheeks, and double chin.
- Mushroom: This one is particularly useful in muscle relaxation and body aches.
- Roller: Roller is an easy-to-handle form of Gua Sha stone, that is best suited for parts of the face. Use the larger side for the cheek and jawline and the smaller side for the eyes and nose.
- Gua Sha comb: As obvious by its name, it’s best for Gua Sha for scalp health and improvement of blood circulation to hair roots.
Find your Gua Sha stone at Amazon.
How to use it?
Although, Gua Sha can be enjoyed anytime we highly recommend teaming it up with your night-time skin routine for the max benefit and an enjoyable experience. Here are the steps:
- Cleanse your face with a gentle cleanser.
- Apply a generous amount of essential oil or moisturizer or serum. You may want to refer to our list of the best essential oils to find your perfect pairing. E
- Hold your tool firmly so that the intended part of the tool glides smoothly on your skin.
- Start at your neck and work your way towards the scalp, following the motions as shown below. It is very important to massage in the right direction to get the desired result and avoid any harm to your skin.
- Adjust the pressure as per your comfort level.
- Repeat the motion 6-8 times for each area.
- Gua Sha for the scalp can be performed two times a week, using virgin coconut oil or an oil of your choice. Comb through the roots and scalp using your Gua Sha comb. If possible, shampoo after at least 2 hours.
- You can Gua Sha 3-4 times a week if doing it yourself. If you are visiting a Gua Sha center, keep it to once a week as your skin may need some more healing time due to the intensity.
Do not use Gua Sha on wounds or if you have a skin infection or sunburn. Do not share your Gua Sha stone.
Cleaning and storing your Gua Sha.
Cleaning your Gua Sha is an important step as a dirty tool can cause issues like acne, breakouts, and skin infections when it comes in contact with the skin. Here are some simple steps to clean your Gua Sha:
- After each use, wipe with a soft towel or tissue paper.
- Ensure it is completely dry before placing it back.
- Clean with soap and water 2-3 times a week. You may also wipe with a towel dipped in alcohol instead too.
- Store in a safe place as Gua Sha are made of semi-precious stones and are fragile.
- Store in a refrigerator for a cooling effect during the next use.
Conclusion
Hope we could uncover some of the mystery surrounding the Gua Sha for scalp, face, and body. Try combining Gua Sha massage with our 7-minute face yoga routine for accelerated results
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