SkincareSkincare Tips

What Is A Gua Sha Stone & How Will It Benefit Your Skin?

By May 17, 2021May 25th, 2021One Comment

Using a Gua Sha stone is one of the most incredible trends in beauty right now. But really, Gua Sha has been used for centuries to slim the face and benefit skin in a number of ways.

A Gua Sha stone is a beauty tool dating back to ancient China. It looks like a smooth, flat stone, and people use them to massage and scrape their skin. This helps improve circulation, brighten, tone, and even tighten your face.

There are so many benefits to using a Gua Sha stone regularly, including some new benefits for your scalp! From lymphatic drainage to collagen production, you’re going to experience incredible results.

What Is Gua Sha?

Gua Sha is a traditional skincare technique focused on balancing your energy. According to Ancient Chinese medicine, Gua Sha was used to balance the qi, which is the energy flowing throughout your body.

Many people believed that by using a Gua Sha stone, you could restore balance for your energy, therefore boosting health and wellbeing, too.

More literally, Gua Sha is used to lift the face and promote lymphatic drainage, which does help boost your wellness!

What Is A Gua Sha Stone?

A Gua Sha stone is the tool used in the process of Gua Sha. Traditionally, these tools are made of jade or quartz, but nowadays plastic options are common, too.

There are lots of different shapes of Gua Sha stones, but usually, one side is tapered so that you can use it around your eyes and nose.

You’ll be able to sculpt your skin, boost circulation, and relieve muscle tension in your face with a Gua Sha stone.

Most importantly, they help prevent visible signs of aging, which is a win-win!

You might be wondering how a Gua Sha stone is different from a jade roller. While you gently roll a jade roller across your skin, you use the stone to scrape along specific lines of your face.

Benefits of Using A Gua Sha Stone

Gua Sha helps lift your skin’s appearance by defining your cheekbones and de-puffing the skin on your cheeks. If you use a Gua Sha stone gently, you can smooth it around your eyes to reduce under-eye bags and de-puff.

Lots of people also use Gua Sha to alleviate muscle tension in their faces and jaws.

One huge benefit of Gua Sha is how it promotes lymphatic drainage. Your lymphatic system is responsible for storing your bodies’ waste and toxins. That’s why Gua Sha helps you feel better and look better by helping release that waste from your tissues.

Using a Gua Sha stone is an incredible way to ease tension in your skin, which helps prevent and eliminate fine lines and wrinkles. No one wants to see aging skin, so this is one big reason people turn to Gua Sha.

Here’s a list of the benefits of using a Gua Sha stone are:

  • Better circulation
  • Improved lymphatic drainage
  • Anti-aging effects through tighter skin
  • Less dark circles below your eyes
  • Less wrinkles appearing on your face
  • Healing of previously broken skin (Gua Sha boosts cell turnover!)
  • Helps alleviate acne and rosacea
  • Brightens your complexion
  • Boosts absorption of your other skincare products

Related: The Best Facial Depuffing Exercises To Do At Home

How To Choose The Right Gua Sha Stone

Choosing the right Gua Sha stone is highly personal. Typically, stones like jade, rose quartz, and amethyst are used.

Although there are cheaper plastic options, invest in a pure jade or rose quartz stone for the best results. This will help you avoid irritation, and if you plan to heat or cool your Gua Sha stone, real stone is best.

How do you know which one is right for you? Here are some insights to help you choose the right Gua Sha stone.

A jade Gua Sha stone is perfect for balancing your skin when you first wake up. It helps restore balance, and unlike rose quartz, it warms up with your skin versus staying cool.

A rose quartz Gua Sha stone is a calming stone that’s best to use at night to soothe the skin. This one helps alleviate redness, inflammation, and puffiness. You’ll also love how it eliminates dead skin cells while healing any damage to your skin.

Finally, an amethyst Gua Sha stone relieves stress and boosts circulation. If you have acne-prone skin or are dealing with breakouts, choose an amethyst for your Gua Sha routine. This one helps prevent bacteria and also tightens up your pores!

How To Use A Gua Sha Stone

Although Gua Sha might seem simple, there is a right way to do it to create results! You need to focus on getting the right movements, angle, and pressure for this method to work.

Even more important, having the right Gua Sha technique helps you avoid bruising and other damage.

Here’s an overview of how to successfully start using Gua Sha for your skin.

Start off by cleansing your face and neck with a gentle cleanser. From there, you’ll want to apply your products prior to getting started. Applying powerful products prior to using your Gua Sha stone will help boost absorption and maximize your results!

We recommend a good serum, like the HD Restore Glowing Skin Serum. This serum is rich with antioxidants to provide an instant glow and smoother, more plump skin. It also helps correct dull rough skin overnight while reducing visible signs of aging!

Another great option to apply prior to using your Gua Sha stone is retinol. Try the HD Vibrant Retinol Advanced, which has powerful anti-aging properties and increases facial volume. This makes it a perfect product to pair with Gua Sha.

Once your products are applied, it’s time to start using your Gua Sha stone. Keeping the stone parallel to your face and neck, apply an even pressure and scrape upwards. Start with your neck on both sides, then move across your face.

You’ll want to do each area of your face, like:

  • Middle of chin to jawline
  • Up over cheeks to hairline
  • Above eyebrows to hairline
  • Between eyebrows to hairline
  • Middle of forehead to hairline

Before moving from one part of your face to the next, repeat that sweeping motion 3-10 times. Remember to keep the Gua Sha stone flat against your face and apply even pressure.

You Can Even Use a Gua Sha Stone On Your Scalp

One of the newest beauty trends is using a Gua Sha stone for your scalp. A scalp massage should be performed gently. Although you could use your fingertips to massage your scalp, a Gua Sha stone is a great way to supplement it!

Just like with your facial skin, the key is to apply gentle, even pressure. A Gua Sha scalp massage has a number of benefits, like thicker hair and faster hair growth.

Who Should Avoid Using A Gua Sha Stone?

Although Gua Sha can be incredibly effective, it’s not right for everyone. If you struggle with active acne, eczema, irritated or broken skin, or rosacea, avoid using a Gua Sha stone.

As with any new skincare treatment, be sure to talk to your doctor or esthetician before getting started!

Additionally, pregnant women should consult their doctors before starting to try Gua Sha.

Adding a Gua Sha stone to your skincare routine is an amazing way to practice self-care and see impactful results. No matter how old you are, Gua Sha can help prevent aging skin while delivering huge benefits now and long-term!

Have you ever used a Gua Sha stone?

Join the discussion One Comment