Fine Lines on Face? Gua Sha May Help!

I love massage with facial oil. However, I’ve found out massage has its limitations when it comes to lines on my face. I’m not writing off the benefit of massage. No doubt it can prevent my facial muscles from falling down as soon. However, for the fine lines in the lower part of my face, massage had been, sadly, completely and disappointingly futile. That’s why I have to become an explorer, again. And this time, I’m sailing into the domain of gua sha.

What is Gua Sha?

For the uninitiated, gua sha is a traditional healing method Chinese has used since ancient times for various illnesses. “Gua” means scraping, and “Sha” is the red spots appearing on the skin after the scraping treatment. The appearance of red spots is actually a good sign because it means the toxins inside of your body have surfaced to the outside.

However, if you are to have gua sha on your face, one thing to note is not to apply the kind of pressure on your body on your face. Even after a facial gua sha session, you shouldn’t see any red marks on your face. If you do, it’s a sign that you have applied way too much pressure on your skin. Bear in mind, the level of pressure on your face should always be kept at a minimum.

My DIY Gua Sha Session

Okay, back to my DIY gua sha session. During the past few weeks, I’ve been practicing gua sha at home every night. And hey, I’ve discovered that gua sha is amazing for my skin. For one thing, it can reduce fine lines around my mouth more effectively than any other method I’ve tried. Here are the major improvements I’ve observed over the past few weeks:

• Fewer fine lines on the forehead and lower part of my face, especially around my mouth.
• Firmer facial muscle.
• Smaller pores.

My DIY gua sha session is quite simple. And it takes two things only: a gua sha board and facial oil to serve as a lubricant (if you are curious, I use olive oil). Below are the steps I take:

1. Oil my face with olive oil.
2. Scrape my face with the gua sha board in an upward and outward motion, from the forehead, eyes to the lower part of my face.
3. Clean the oil residue with my cleanser and follow up with my usual beauty routine.

As I’m not a gua sha expert, I made it a point to look for books about gua sha in the library before I scraped my face. However, unfortunately, most books about gua sha are dedicated to using it as a healing method for general health, but not specifically for beauty purposes. So most of my knowledge about gua sha comes from the internet. I was fortunate enough to find some useful videos from YouTube! (This post doesn’t mean to be a guide for DIY gua sha as you can see from the lack of guidance. I simply want to tell you my experience with this natural beauty method.)

So, did I give you some hope about gua sha? Hopefully, I’m not overboard, because, of course, like all other beauty products I’ve used, gua sha may not work for everyone and on every part of your face. For one thing, it CAN’T reduce my laugh line. Yes, the fine lines around my mouth are lessened, but my laugh line is still set in stone (Why???). Sigh… Maybe I need to be persistent for a longer period to see the result.

Well, but I shouldn’t complain. All in all, the condition of my skin has been improving after I started taking collagen supplements. And my DIY gua sha sessions have definitely taken a step further. And it does confirm my belief that it’s possible to use natural methods to slow my aging process. However, I think I may not do my gua sha session persistently in the near future, because I’m experimenting with another massage method by a Japanese woman called Yukuko Tanaka. Hopefully, with my new adventure, I can get rid of my laugh lines (something gua sha can’t help) in no time.

It’s your turn now. Have you ever tried gua sha in the past? How’s your experience with it?

Responses to Is Gua Sha Really Effective?