The art of Gua Sha.

You are beautiful, powerful and unique, just as you are.

Celebrate this every day with a holistic beauty ritual.

Gua Sha benefits

• Melt tension from the underlying muscles (repeated expressions causes expression lines), most often held in the jaw, back of the neck neck and space between your eyes. Remember, facial muscles are directly connected to your skin due to so many muscles in a small area, so awareness of your facial expressions is key.

• Promote blood circulation to heal your skin from within, which clears stagnation and an accumulation of wastes in the tissues.

• Support lymphatic drainage to encourage removal of toxins.

• Calm your nervous system, reduce headaches and relax holistically in face, body and mind.

• Embrace your natural beauty by choosing a healthy, non-toxic approach. Feel confident in your own skin.

Preparing

• After cleansing, 1) apply a facial mist, to provide a layer of hydration that helps with the absorption of of the facial oil and 2) an oil. Don’t forget your to include your neck. Face oils are closer in composition to our skin, and we prefer them for face massage over creams, which include other ingredients including preservatives.

• The stones should “glide but not slide” on your skin.

• Start with Gua Sha to bring heat to the skin, and finish with the Roller to cool and soothe the skin. Keep your tools in the refrigerator (or a beauty fridge!), for a refreshing result (highly recommended).

• Start with deep breathing, neck/shoulder relief, body posture techniques and facial posture exercises (deer in headlights exercise, etc).

Mirror Gazing

• Take a mirror and hold it front of you. For the next 30 seconds, simply look at yourself. Really see yourself. Notice what comes up - whether it’s positive or negative - and just observe it without judgement.

• Now, say three things you love about your face. Next, take a moment to recognize three things you love about your character. Think of qualities that make you proud.

• If negative thoughts come up during this exercise, that’s okay. Use this as a reminder to practice more mirror gazing in the days ahead. Train yourself to see your beauty, your uniqueness and your power.

Gua Sha Technique

• Always apply an oil before Gua Sha massage.

• You don’t want to hold the Gua Sha stone at a 90-degree angle (to avoid pulling the skin). Let as much of the stone touch your skin as possible, keeping the stone at ~5-15 degrees.

• Start with less pressure and build it up over time. More pressure on the neck and jaw, less pressure around the eyes and where there is thinner skin on the face (if you’ve had Botox on your forehead for example, you may have thinner skin in the forehead area). More pressure for muscular tension, medium pressure when working with fine lines and wrinkles, and feather-light pressure for lymphatic drainage.

• Gua Sha strokes are up and out. Lymphatic drainage is a completely separate technique; those strokes are out and down, and are only at the end of the ritual (or if you see excess puffiness building up, it can be performed throughout the ritual as well). We stimulate the lymph nodes at the beginning of the ritual to stimulate to start opening them, but always use a feather-light touch for lymphatic drainage (see facial dry brushes for an even better lymphatic drainage approach).

• We always anchor with one hand (on the skin), and glide with the other hand. Especially around the eye area and when working with wrinkles.

• The neck is the gateway to the face. Always start with the neck.

• Work below and away from inflammation (Rosacea etc) or acne breakouts.

Caring for your stone

• Wash your stone with skin-friendly soap. Hold your stones low in the sink to prevent the stone from breaking should they drop.

• Store the stones in your canvas/lace bag, in the refrigerator for optimal results.

When/How often?

• Whenever you have time! A more in-depth ritual is preferred in the evenings as it will give your skin time to heal itself. In the mornings you might perform the eye circle technique if you wake up with puffiness. 10-20 minutes daily is recommended for the best results.