Getting Started: Facial Gua Sha

Facial Gua Sha is a rejuvenating and refreshing self-care practice, offering a moment to slow down while supporting holistic harmony of the mind, body and skin.

When practiced regularly, even just a few intentional minutes can enhance circulation, soften tension and invite a healthy radiance to the skins surface.

You can read more about what facial Gua Sha is here.

In this post, I will share my top tips and guidance on how to apply this therapy as holistic self-care for flow and vitality.

1. Prepare the skin

Always start with freshly cleansed skin, then follow with a hydrating face mist and a nourishing oil to create slip and prevent friction.

A well-formulated facial oil can enhance your Gua Sha practice, supporting both the glide of the tool and the overall nourishment of the skin. The Lush blend offers an ideal balance of slip, absorption, and skin-loving nutrients.

Lightweight oils such as jojoba, apricot, safflower, and sunflower help to soften and condition the skin without feeling heavy, while jojoba closely resembles the skin’s natural sebum, allowing for beautiful absorption and balance. Macadamia and buriti oils bring a more restorative quality, supporting elasticity and radiance.

Handmade botanical extracts of lavender, calendula, rose, and olive leaf rejuvenate and soothe the skin, while essential oils of lavender and helichrysum add a subtle aroma, and help soften lines/wrinkles and reduce the appearance of scars.

Together, these elements create a nourishing medium that allows the Gua Sha tool to glide effortlessly across the skin.

*You can also use plain oils such as jojoba, macadamia or almond

2. Introduce your touch

Before using your tool, take a moment to massage the face and neck while applying your oil- this helps to warm the tissues, stimulate circulation, and bring awareness to areas of tension.

Starting on the chest and shoulders, slowly work your way up the neck, around the ears and all over the face.

Massaging the scalp can enhance the benefits even further. You can do this with your facial oil, or, if you prefer to avoid oily hair, simply massage the scalp with clean fingertips (or even your hairbrush) as your first step.

3. Warm your tool

Rub your Gua Sha tool between your hands for a few moments to gently warm it. This creates a more soothing and connected experience when it meets the skin.

*While applying a cold Gua Sha tool that has been stored in the fridge seems to be a popular trend- this actually goes against the nature of Gua Sha.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Gua Sha is intended to warm the tissues and encourage the flow of energy and blood. Using a cold tool from the fridge might feel refreshing, but it actually works against this purpose. For best results, it’s recommended to use a tool at room temperature or slightly warmed in your hands before starting.

You can certainly apply a cold tool to the face for other purposes, such as de-puffing or soothing, but this is a different technique from Gua Sha and serves a different purpose.

4. Begin at the neck

I still can hear my teachers saying again and again: Always start with the neck.

Think of your neck as a gateway between the face and body. By releasing pressure here, we reduce the likelihood of fluid 'traffic jams'.

When this natural flow is restricted, you might experience puffiness, dullness, breakouts, stiffness, headaches and so on.

Reducing tension in the neck area with massage and Gua Sha supports lymphatic flow and creates space for optimal circulation between the face and the rest of body.

Gently stretching the neck is another excellent way to prepare for the session and warm the tissues.

5. Find your angle

Hold the tool at approximately a 45-degree angle to the skin.

The Gua Sha should, after a bit of practice, feel like an extension of your own hand.

Focus on maintaining an intentional connection between the tool and the skin, and the practice should start to feel more like a flowing dance than a rigid routine.

If you're using the copper Gua Sha, or something similar, the beveled and flat edges should be in contact with the skin- not the sharper, angled edge.

6. Move with intention

Explore the tissues beneath your skin with patience and presence.

Move leisurely, with light to medium pressure, taking note of the sensations and areas of tension.

In my treatment studio, I work with a process known as entrainment.

In the context of massage therapy, this involves synchronizing massage strokes with other elements, such as the client’s breath and calming music.

This approach is particularly supportive of the nervous system. By creating rhythmic, predictable patterns, entrainment encourages the body to shift from a state of tension or stress (sympathetic nervous system activation) into a more relaxed, regulated state (parasympathetic activation).

It can help regulate heart rate, reduce muscle tension, and promote a deeper sense of calm and presence. Essentially, entrainment allows the nervous system to follow a soothing rhythm, enhancing the therapeutic effects of massage and supporting overall relaxation.

You can experiment with this at home, aligning Gua Sha strokes with your breath, peaceful music or both.

7. Be consistent

Like any self-care ritual, consistency is key.

Practicing daily, or a few times a week for 5-10 minutes, will offer more noticeable and lasting results than if you do a longer session every now and then.

Facial Gua Sha can offer so much more than visible results, in fact, you can think of the aesthetic results more as a positive side-effect of this revitalising therapy.

Approach your practice with curiosity and intention, and allow it to become a moment of quiet restoration within your day.

8. Do no harm

Lastly, let's consider the contraindications.

Facial Gua Sha should be avoided on skin (or areas of skin) with active infections, open wounds, acne or inflammatory conditions like rosacea and eczema, as the scraping motion can worsen irritation and spread bacteria.

Even though facial gua sha involves much lighter pressure than traditional body Gua Sha, I'd recommend consulting your healthcare professional before regular use if you have a blood disorder, take anticoagulant medications or bruise easily.

With Botox, fillers or chemical peels, it will be best to avoid facial Gua Sha for a few weeks as it may interfere with the treatment. If you have these treatments regularly and would like to practice facial Gua Sha at home- please ask your practitioner for guidance.

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Now for the specifics...

There are countless video tutorials out there, which you can explore on various platforms such as youtube.

This simple option to help get you started is what I like to do most mornings.

With the above guide, I hope to inspire confidence to work intuitively with your Gua Sha tool, rather than always following a tutorial.

Video's are of course wonderful for getting started and helping you discover new techniques, just remember your face, along with your mind, skin, and body, is unique.

I suggest learning about the technique, experimenting, seeking inspiration and then using that knowledge and experience to gradually design a practice that suits and adapts to your individual face, skin and lifestyle.

1. To enhance blood flow, and therefore the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the face, work in an upward and outward direction. *I will touch on lymphatic drainage in a separate post After applying oil and lightly massaging the area you intend to work with, start on the back and sides of the neck with your tool (avoiding the delicate throat). Glide up from the shoulders to the occiput (either side of the spine), then from the outer collarbone to behind the ears and lastly from the middle collarbone up to the jaw, either side of the throat.

   For each area you work with the tool- do 3-10 strokes, ideally decide on a number (e.g. 5) and stick to that throughout the whole session.

2. Continue onto the face, working along the jawline from the chin out to the ears. Use one hand as an 'anchor', by placing it on the chin while your other hand, holding the the tool, moves outward. This stops the skin from being pulled with the tool, allowing the Gua Sha instead to glide over the tissue.
   

3. Repeat the same outward movement from the corner of the mouth out to the ear, slightly higher beneath the cheek bone and finally from the side of the nose along the cheekbone itself, avoiding the delicate eye area. All the while, using your other hand as the anchor. Repeat on the opposite side of the face. *You can experiment with various angles of the tool on various contours of the face- find what works for you
   

4. Now that the lower face is complete, we can work the eyebrows and forehead. Starting at the inner eyebrow, glide outward above the brow to the hairline.
   

5. For the forehead, work in an upward motion from the eyebrows to the top of the forehead. Working in 2-3 sections, I like to work above the inner brow, then the middle and outer brow areas. Repeat on the other side of the face.
   

6. Finally, work in the same direction from the top of the nose/between the eyebrows up the center of the forehead to the hairline.
   

7. To finish, glide your hands gently over the forehead, nose and lower face, slowly working your way down to the neck and shoulders where you began.

I would love to hear about your experience with this tutorial- a video version will be coming soon! As well as more advanced techniques for specific areas of the face.

Thanks so much for reading :)

Wishing you a beautiful day!