During pregnancy, your body undergoes tons of hormonal changes, and that causes noticeable changes in your skin, both from the outside and from within. One of the most prominent changes you will notice is the inflammation and swelling of your face and bagginess under your eyes. While sleep deprivation during pregnancy is the major culprit of under-eye bags, inflammation in your skin can also be caused due to water retention (again a common side-effect of pregnancy). A quick fix? Addition of face tools to your skincare regime. Face tools like jade roller and gua sha help detoxify your skin, enable lymphatic drainage and flush out the retained water to give you a chiselled and sleek look.
While a jade roller is particularly simple to use, many people struggle with using gua sha and are unaware of the exact movements to follow for maximum benefits. But fret not, as in this post, we spill all the tea on the benefits that a gua sha face tool has to offer, and the right way to use this skincare treasure.
What Is Gua Sha?
Gua Sha was referred to as a jade scraper in ancient times. In fact, it is an ancient healing technique, studied by both Japanese and Chinese traditions, which people used to heal their skin and reduce inflammation. Using a gua sha face tool in your skin helps promote lymphatic drainage, which helps eliminate bloating/inflammation caused by interstitial fluid (the fluid that is trapped in your skin and needs to be released to the lymph system). In other words, gua sha is exceptionally good for your skin and offers additional benefits to your appearance as well.
The Benefits Of Using A Gua Sha Face Tool For Your Skin
Regular usage of the gua sha tool on your skin offers some pretty impressive results. It helps:
- Stimulate blood circulation: Gua sha can stimulate blood circulation in certain areas of your skin. It can also help ease the appearance of cellulite by lowering fluid retention in your skin, thus giving your face a more chiselled structure.
- Produce Collagen: Gua sha helps decrease puffiness under your eyes and softens wrinkles and fine lines by boosting the synthesis of collagen in your skin, thereby enhancing your complexion.
- Decrease inflammation: As mentioned earlier, gua sha can help relieve inflammation and tightness in certain parts of your body, including your face. In fact, during ancient times, people used gua sha as a body treatment and then adapted its techniques for facial treatments after realising its long-lasting benefits.
- Diminish dark circles: by helping soften fine lines and wrinkles, and stimulating collagen, gua sha helps diminish dark circles, and restore firmness around the areas under your eyes.
- Sculpt your facial muscles: Used on the cheekbone and jawline area, gua sha can help relieve tightness in your facial muscles, and give the appearance of a more sculpted face. However, remember, gua sha is not a beauty tool that targets fat, it is necessarily designed to help ease puffiness and inflammation.
How To Use A Gua Sha?
Now let’s come to the important bit—how to use a gua sha? So here’s the thing, there are so many shapes and varieties of gua sha out there, and that makes it impossible to find a one-size-fits-all approach to using the tool. But there are some fundamental rules you can follow while using gua sha on your skin. Firstly, use very gentle pressure and apply even strokes against your skin, preferably in the direction of the lymphatic flow.
Use a combination of short and long strokes across your face, cheekbones, and jawline. Remember, your main goal is to use easy, feather-like strokes to stimulate the process of lymphatic flow and drainage to release excess fluids that make your complexion look dull, lack-lustre, and inflated.
Finally, before using a gua sha, apply a serum or a face oil on your skin as that will enable the tool to glide smoothly, and also help your skincare products absorb deeper into the skin layers to target specific skin issues.
How Often Should You Use A Gua Sha Face Tool?
The frequency of using gua sha actually depends on your skin type and your skin’s tolerance for the method. Nonetheless, you should try to use gua sha at least two to three times per week to depuff and detoxify your skin, and get the best results.
How To Choose Your Gua Sha Face Tool?
The type of stone used for gua sha may not be that important, but the shape certainly is. Find a gua sha that has a smooth and rounded edge and a curvature that fits the area that you want to treat. It should comfortably fit your grip so that you can evenly apply the strokes to your skin.
If you are confused about the type of stone to use, here are some options that you can choose from:
- Amethyst stone: For cooling effects
- Rose quartz: For those with reactive skin
- Black obsidian: For muscle relief and relaxation
- Jade: For soothing effects
When To Avoid Gua Sha And Its Potential Side Effects
Gua sha should be avoided if you have severe acne, rashes, or sunburn. Also, do not exert too much pressure on your skin while using a gua sha, as that is only going to make your skin appear more inflamed and irritated. Be gentle with the movements, and if needed, consult your dermatologist for further guidance.
Now that you know all the benefits of using a gua sha face tool, you should definitely add one to your pregnancy beauty routine, especially when your skin is inflamed and irritated. Just ensure to use gentle movements while using the tool, and always apply face oil or serum before gliding the gua sha. If you have any concerns about what type and shape of gua sha to use, consult your dermatologist for guidance.
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