Blog #2: Facial Gua Sha
Gua sha is a technique that used in traditional Chinese medicine and translates directly to “scraping. If you google it and look at the pictures you may panic. Red, purple bruises around your body. No worries, the Gua sha techniques for the face are different. They are more gentle glide and a slight pull on the face. So, you may get lightly rose and healthy colour on your face but not bruises.
Let me explain to you why and how it works.
I want to tell you shortly about one important detail of your body. It is Facia.
Fascia is a band or sheet of connective tissue, primarily from collagen! and elastin! This tissue has many functions: it fixes organs and muscles, envelops the entire body under the skin and determines its shape, protects nerve endings, transmits nerve impulses, participates in water-salt metabolism.
The shape, youth and tight of skin on your face to a large extent depend on the condition of this fascia. It is known that one of the causes of loss of skin elasticity is a violation of blood circulation and lymph flow, and this happens also when the fascial matrix is not sufficiently “trained” and loses its mobility.
So what does Gua Sha do?
- Gua sha promotes movement of blood through capillary beds and stimulation of neurologic pathway and reflexes that affect muscle tone and mobility. Mechanical stimulation in conjunction with increasing the local blood flow and neurologic stimulation promotes optimal healing and function.
- It also leads to production of collagen and elastin. (That is what we want a lot).
- If you make correct movements in the right direction, it is great lymphatic drainage. Thanks to the good blood flow, your skin cells will receive more useful substances and oxygen.
- One of the investigations showed that Gua Sha treatment can up-regulate the innate and adaptive immune functions of the skin and boost the response against intradermal antigens.
As a conclusion, your skin will look lifted, fresh, tighten and wrinkles are smoothed out.
Recommendations
Here are my small recommendations before you start to use this simple but useful tool.
- You need to do Gua Sha on the clean skin.
- You never do Gua Sha on the dry skin. I suggest using Cleansing Milk. I use my self Biologique Recherche Lait E.V. I do not suggest to use oils. The reason for it I will explain later, in another topic. But if you still prefer to use oil, please, cleanse your face after that.
- Start from 3 stokes on each section of the face. Make your skin to get to use to it. And after some time, bit by bit increase it up to 10 strokes.
- I suggest using this tool about 3 times per week for 10 min.
- There is an option to use Gua Sha on top of your cream. But the massage shouldn’t be too long, 1-2 min.
- The stone moves lightly, easily, so you don’t stretch your skin and fold should not form.
- Gua Sha should not be practised in areas of the face that have received any injections such as Botox, fillers, or anything else within the last three months. It is also not appropriate over an open wound, active break out, inflamed or irritated skin.
- You can use Gua Sha if you have Rosacea, but your movement must be very light and smooth.
At the end I want to add, we must stay realistic, no matter how good and useful Gus Sha can be, it is not a panacea for all skin problems. We don't have to forget about a correct home skincare routine, physical and emotional conditions, healthy lifestyle, good rest and sleep etc. However, it is one of the affordable tools that can help you to maintain your skin conditions and after some time it shows the results.
With love,
Kristina