Gua Sha For Face Slimming: Does It Actually Work?
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Can Gua Sha Help Slim Face? Here’s everything you need to know about facial slimming with Gua Sha.
If you’re like most women, you’re always looking for ways to slim down your face and get that chiseled jawline and contoured cheekbones. You may have heard of gua sha, a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) treatment that is said to help with facial slimming and defining facial features. But does gua sha for face slimming actually work? Keep on reading to find out!
You’ve probably seen a ton of TikToks and Youtube videos with some crazy before and after pictures of people claiming gua sha slimmed their face, reduces their double chin and sculpted their jawline and cheekbones.
What Is Gua Sha
A Gua Sha is a Chinese technique for scraping the skin with a tool known as a Gua Sha. The technique of using a Gua Sha to scrape along the skin is also known as “coining” or “scraping.”
Gua Sha is thought to help improve circulation, relieve pain, and reduce inflammation.
Gua Sha has been used for centuries in Asia for healing. The practice is becoming more popular in the West as people learn about its benefits. Gua Sha is sometimes used as a beauty treatment to help slim down the face.
With enough pressure, Gua Sha can break through fat cells and stimulate blood flow from underlying tissue for healthy skin . When even more pressure is applied, it can also break open blood vessels which can help repair tissue damage and stimulate healing.
While most people use Gua sha on the face to contour and sculpt, it can also be used on the body to help reduce cellulite, stimulate lymphatic drainage, release toxins and stimulate blood flow.
Benefits Of Gua Sha
If done correctly, gua sha may provide a slew of health and skin advantages. Here are some things that gua sha-ing can help with:
- Stimulates blood flow: According to a study, Gua Sha helps to promote microcirculation, which means it helps to increase blood flow in the tiny blood vessels. This increase in blood flow has a ton of different benefits including healthier looking skin and promote healing
- Promotes lymphatic drainage: lymphatic drainage is an incredible way to detox the body and skin. Some benefits of lymphatic drainage include wound healing, reduction in swollen or puffy skin and it can even help to reduce pain
- Reduces tension: Gua Sha can be used on the body to relieve muscular tightness and pain
- Reduce pains: studies have shown that gua sha can also help to decrease pain including neck or back pain
- Reduce puffiness: since gua sha stimulate lymphatic drainage, this helps to reduce puffiness including puffy eyes or face
- Brightens skin: Increased blood flow supplies more oxygen and nutrients to the skin, which will result in a more vibrant and healthy-looking complexion
- Reduces fine lines and wrinkles: Gua Sha may help to lessen the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles on the skin temporarily
- Wound Healing: Because of the increased oxygen, nutrients, and other immune cells that are involved in tissue regeneration, Gua Sha promotes wound healing and skin repair by stimulating blood circulation
Gua Sha For Face Slimming
Can Gua Sha help slim face? In short, no gua sha cannot slim your face. Gua sha can help improve circulation and lymphatic drainage, which can lead to less puffiness and swelling which can make your face appear slimmer or more defined/sculpted but only temporarily.
Gua sha does not remove or get rid of unwanted fat. If you are looking for a way to slim your face, gua sha is not the answer.
The only way to actually slim your face permanently is to lose weight with diet and exercise or cosmetic procedures like lipo, fat freezing or fat dissolving injections.
Keep in mind that although gua sha cannot technically slim your face, it can temporarily help to reduce swelling and puffiness which can help to define and chisel out the jawline and cheekbones. This will help your face to appear slimmer, but remember it’s only temporary and the gua sha is not actually slimming your face – it’s just the effect of the lymphatic drainage.
Additionally, if you do not have and puffiness or swelling gua sha will not help to slim your face.
How To Use Gua Sha For Face Slimming
If you’re wanting to use gua sha for face slimming, here’s how to do it properly so you don’t cause any damage. This is the best gua sha technique for slimming face or contouring, defining facial features.
Start with a clean face and be sure to remove all makeup before starting your gua sha massage. Rinse and pat skin dry
Apply a facial oil liberally to your face and neck. This is super important! You should never use gua sha on a dry face. The oil will help the stone glide across the skin instead of pulling and tugging (which can cause damage)
- Starting at the neck, use the long end of the gua sha stone and sweep the stone across the skin in upward motions. Do this 3-5 times in each spot before moving onto the next spot. Repeat until you’ve treated the whole neck
- Next move onto the jawline. Use the double notched edge and place it at the center of your chin and sweep up your jawline. Repeat 3-5x on each side.
- Use the double notched edge again and sweep up the cheek bones. You can also use the notch and sweep upwards right below your cheekbone to contour your cheeks
- Use the notch to gently sweep upwards underneath the eyes. Be sure to use very light pressure here because the skin is thin and delicate.
- Using the short side of the gua sha tool, sweep upwards on the forehead. Be sure to start at the brows and go all the way up to the hairline with the stone
You can gua sha any time of day! I love doing it in the mornings to help reduce puffy skin or puffy eyes. But I also do it in the evenings as well to help alleviate any tension in my muscles. If you’re like me and clench your teeth a lot, a gua sha massage feels so good at the end of the day!
Also be sure to not apply too much pressure! For facial slimming and sculpting, you don’t need to use a ton of pressure, especially around the delicate eye area. It should not hurt or leave bruising or broken blood vessels.
The gua sha stone should easily glide across the skin, but if you feel any kind of pulling or tugging, apply more oil.
How To Often To Gua Sha For Face Slimming
You can use gua sha for face slimming everyday! Unlike other types of gua sha massages, a facial slimming massage requires light pressure so it’s safe to do everyday. Other types of massages use more pressure and can lead to broken blood vessels which simulates healing, so these types of massages shouldn’t be done as often to allow the skin and tissue to heal.
As long as you’re using light pressure, you can safely do it daily.
How To Pick A Gua Sha Stone For Facial Slimming
Although Gua Sha stones all have the same general shape, a double notch, long and short edges, they will all vary slightly. And depending on your anatomy, you may need a stone with a deeper notch, or you may need one with a less curved edge. The key is finding a stone that fits perfectly with your face so you can really get in there and sculpt your face.
Generally, you want a stone that has different shapes, curved edges and a double notch. The different angles and shapes help you fit the tool in the contours of your face for best results.
Ideally you’ll want a tool that’s about the size of your palm. Any bigger and it can be awkward to hold. Any smaller and it won’t fit into the contours of your face as well.
You want something solid and well made that won’t chip. Chips on the edge of the stone can cut or scrape the skin.
Best Gua Sha For Face Slimming
Rose Quartz Gua Sha Stone
This gua sha stone is made of rose quartz which looks so pretty and girly so it’s perfect for pink lovers! It features a more shallow notch so this one is better for those with flatter cheekbones. The edges are nicely curved to work well on the forehead and neck.
Jade Gua Sha Stone
This gua sha tool is made of jade and features a deeper notch which is perfect for those with sharper jawlines and cheekbones. This tool will help with facial shaping because of the deep notch to really chisel out your features.
Bian Gua Sha Stone
This gua sha is made of Bian stone and features a unique comb edge. This comb edge helps to increase the stone ability to promote lymphatic drainage, so this is great for those that suffer from puffiness.
Gua Sha For Face Slimming Wrap Up
Gua Sha can have tons of benefits for your body and skin. Although gua sha cannot actually slim your face, it can help to reduce puffiness and swelling and define your facial features but only temporarily. It’s great to use to chisel out your jawline and cheekbones and help your face appear slimmer. If you’re looking for a way to help define your facial features and achieve a slimmer appearance, gua sha might be the perfect solution for you. Although it won’t give you permanent results, it can provide a temporary slimming effect that’s definitely worth trying out.
