Request: What the F is a Gua Sha? Should I care?
Is it just for cosmetic purposes? No. Is it some uber special tool that can't be replicated? No. What are some uses, then? Read below.
I recently made an Instagram post about this because I came across a video by a dermatologist talking about the bullshit of gua sha. I’m not a “reaction” account, but this guy and his ignorant sentiment stayed with me for dayssssss. I felt frisky and decided to comment back by remixing his reel.
This could be a whole post, or niche, but — I can’t stand the condescending tone that some western-trained physicians take towards anything that wasn’t in their medical texts. As if anything that’s not in The Merck Manual, Bates, or Harrison’s is trash and should be thrown out immediately, with zero consideration to the reasoning for its birth.
I’d just like to add that this video is amongst trash ideas, products, and companies such as toilet bowl decorations and kitchen restocking videos (not sure how either pertains to dermatology). There are quite literally billions of said trash ideas, products, and companies that would’ve been a much better use of his time. Instead, he chose to go after something that has deep-rooted tradition behind it. Sure.
All this to say that I think it’s important to educate yourself before attacking.
Let’s get the uses of gua sha straight.
You can use a gua sha, your hands, a spoon, a stone, the list goes on. Something that can apply pressure, has a smooth edge, and can adapt to the contours of the face or body.
Gua sha = moving what’s static, releasing what’s underneath; scraping to produce petechiae or to release stagnation.
Gua sha can be used to…
⭐️ Prevent the progression of sickness such as a cold, flu, or other URI
- Use at the back of the neck when you start to feel low energy, chills, coughing, or stiffness.
- Scrape up and down around C7 to produce red marks and possible purple petechiae.
⭐️ Release heat
- Use it if you are in and around menopause and dealing with night sweats or hot flashes, if you are sick with a high fever, or during summer when you feel like you've spent too much time in the sun.
- It can again be used on the back of the neck, around C7, or can be used up and down the whole back, or on the chest.
- You can use it to the point of red marks and petechiae, or not.
⭐️ Speed up muscle recovery
- Use on sore muscles to increase blood flow & O2, and release tight fascia.
- You can use it to the point of red marks and petechiae, or not.
⭐️ Relax facial muscles and improve the flow of fluids and blood
- Use at a flat angle with a light pressure around the jawline for lymph flow, and with harder pressure at the eyebrows, frontalis, or masseter for muscle relaxation.
- For the face, I oscillate between using my hands and an actual gua sha. Just depends on whether I have the desire to walk into the next room and grab it or not.
Don’t use if you have thin skin, a bleeding disorder, or DVT.
More specifics for use on the face
Use it on a flat angle (like 15-20° off your face) and with very light pressure for lymph flow (under chin and down neck/SCM muscle) or harder pressure to scrape out muscles (eyebrows, forehead, masseter).
One of my favorite spots to target is my inner eyebrow, outwards, because that area is tight AF! When using it for this, my gua sha is more at a 45-90° angle, and I scrape outwards along the brow with hard pressure. The pressure gauge is specific to you and what you can handle. Let me tell you right now that the forehead and the inner eyebrow, specifically, are KILLER. So chances are your “hard” pressure won’t actually be that hard.
Gua sha is one of the steps in a routine, like a serum would be, and that can make a difference over time.