This is for all the women out there who are spending hundreds and thousands of dollars on skincare ranging from chemical peels to surgery and treatments that require weeks of post-operative care.
It’s Gua Sha.
It’s okay. I hadn’t heard of it either until a friend in Scotland sent me the lowdown.
Gua Sha is a traditional Chinese medicine practice that’s been around for donkeys of years. Maybe to people in China but not here in the US.
It means ‘scraping’ of the skin with a special stone, usually made of rose quartz or jade.
The before-and-after photographs I saw had definitely made a difference to skin tone without any machinery, surgical incisions or chemicals. And, dare I say, a heck of a lot cheaper than going to skincare specialists.
The secret is the special tool which is used to drag across the skin to stimulate the lymphatic system and increase blood flow.
Okay, ‘dragging’ across the skin sounds a bit painful but it depends on how much pressure you want to use. The more vigorous pressure, the more effective the results.
The raking of the tool across the skin helps to break up the stagnation in the body, stimulates blood flow and helps drain stagnant lymph and toxins through the movements. Ìt’s also recommended that a layer of serum or oil to the skin before practicing Gua Sha so that the pressure from the tool doesn’t damage your skin.
It’s also claimed regular gua sha helps relieve tension, tones muscles and firms and sculpts skin. A regular nighttime routine is recommended.
There are Youtube videos the can help you become familiar with the correct strokes, press and placement for home gua sha practice.
I’m game so I went to a well-known search engine and found hundreds of these Gua Sha to purchase.
I selected a box of three rose quartz stones specifically shaped for different contours of the body. The distinct edges of each stone are designed to work on flat, larger areas like your neck or chest; a u-edge that will fit boney areas like your jaw or cheek and a small edge for along the nose and around the corners of the eyes.
Not having thousands of dollars to waste on beauty, I’m hoping regular use of Gua Sha will be effective. If it’s all natural, then it must be good.
I’ll keep you posted.
Smile!
