The gua sha tool may only be trending recently in the beauty space, but the technique has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for centuries to help improve and heal the body.
Using the same concept behind its medical application, beauticians now use it to improve blood circulation, visibly eliminate the appearance of wrinkles and sagginess, as well as help de-puff the face.
You can either book a gua sha facial or do it yourself. Here’s a step-by-step guide on using the gua sha tool at home like a pro that we picked up from a beauty expert on RED.
Opening your acupuncture points
One of the most important steps you need to do before beginning to scrape the gua sha on your face is to open up your acupuncture points. Simply take a marker or lipstick to mark specific points on your face. Here is a guide on which areas to mark!
After marking the different spots, use the tip of the gua sha to apply pressure on these points for five times each.
Gua sha techniques
Once you have marked your blood points, it’s time to begin the gua sha! Grab some facial oil and your gua sha and you are good to go.
Nasolabial Folds
Lines along the nasolabial folds are often called “laugh lines”, but most of us wouldn’t joke about them.
Some of the common reasons nasolabial folds form is due to exposure to sunlight, age, and smoking. Excess exposure to UV rays and smoking breaks down the elastin fibres and collagen support in your skin which causes the already thin layer of skin to become even thinner, easily forming wrinkles.
Here is how you can help improve or prevent this problem with the gua sha.
Using the longer end of the gua sha tool, scrape from under the cheekbones all the way up to the temples. Repeat this step five times.
Reminder: When scraping, ensure that you avoid touching your cheekbones in the process as it is a very sensitive area.
Marionette Lines
Just like nasolabial folds, marionette lines are caused by the loss of collagen within the skin, which is inevitable when we start ageing. Another interesting reason that causes marionette lines is actually due to gravity which causes the sagging of skin which then forms wrinkles over time.
Here is how you can tackle the issue with gua sha.
Also using the longer end of the gua sha, start at the point where marionette lines form and then slowly glide all the way to the front of your ears. Repeat this step five times.
Tear troughs (aka eyebags)
Other than age, the lack of sleep, and genetics are also the few main causes of tear troughs. More scientifically, tear troughs form when the orbital septum around our eyes get weaker and also when there is volume loss in the lower eyelid.
Here is the gua sha technique to help improve and prevent tear troughs.
Starting from the side of your nose bridge, glide the tool to the bottom of the corner of your eyes. Similarly, repeat this step five times.
Overall facial lift
Also using the longer end of the gua sha, glide it from the corner of your mouth to your temples and then all the way to the top of your forehead. Do note that this is all done in one glide, do not separate the steps! Repeat this step five times.
After completing this step of the routine you can definitely see the immense difference it makes in helping to lift your face. It is so magical!
And there you have it, a guide on how to use a gua sha to help tackle wrinkle lines and face lifting.
If you would like to get started on this routine, check out Sephora where you can purchase your first gua sha tool.
If you prefer to watch a video, you can view the full tutorial here.
