I performed a gua sha facial on myself every day for an entire month. Here's what happened to my skin.
Back in December of last year, I was washing my face and as my gaze went from the sink to the mirror in front of me, I had one of those ‘I look like I’ve aged a decade in 6 months’ moments.
I guess you could say there’s been a lack of restful sleeps and a ton of full-to-the-max days in the last 7 months since having a baby.
All the fun I was having couldn’t hide the fact that I was exhausted.
So, I decided to go on an adventure in my skincare drawer to see if I could find some help in there.
Buried underneath too many unused and expired masks, toners, serums, etc. was a gua sha facial tool I purchased 3 years ago on Amazon, that I used maybe twice, and put back in my drawer where it remained untouched until now.
If you’re unfamiliar with gua sha, it’s a natural therapy that involves using a massage tool to scrape your skin to improve circulation. It’s an ancient Chinese healing technique that’s believed to offer certain health and anti-aging benefits.
It can be performed all over the body, and a gentle version can even be applied to the face to help relieve tension, sculpt the jaw line and cheek bones and other really great sounding stuff.
I figured, why not try it? I’ve already got one, and from what I could see on YouTube, it takes 5 minutes to do it, from start to finish.
So I decided to challenge myself to perform daily gua sha facials for an entire month, once in the morning and then again at night when I wash my face.
Here’s what I noticed:
My skin looked better almost immediately
I wasn’t terribly optimistic that I would see much of a difference in my face after doing a gua sha facial.
That said, after every single facial I did I noticed a real difference in the appearance of my skin. I looked refreshed, lifted, more youthful.
At night is when I noticed the biggest difference in my appearance. Because by the time I came around to washing my face in the evening, I looked exhausted and worn down - from working, caring for my son, cooking and tidying every few hours, etc. Also, our skin’s moisture levels are at their lowest at night, which makes fine lines more apparent and skin elasticity practically non-existent.
After a 5 minute gua sha facial, however, I really looked alive and well again. My skin was more plump, lifted and sculpted. It also had more color to it, as if the blood circulating in me had rushed to the surface (in a good way).
It might have gotten rid of a stye
I don’t wear makeup often, or on most days. But when I do, I do a terrible job of removing it. And sometimes, it results in a mild stye. This time, on my lower eyelid.
Typically, a stye goes away on its own in a few days. But when it happened to me this time, it came and went in just a day.
It could have been luck. Or maybe it was the gua sha.
Generally speaking, to treat a stye, gentle massage is recommend to help drain the clogged gland - which is essentially what gua sha is.
This was totally unrelated to my mission, but probably information we could all use at some point in the future so I’m going to share it anyways. You’re welcome.
I looked different when I stopped
Because I gua sha’d every single day, it only made sense to see what happened if I stopped. Would I look different immediately? Gradually? Would I even notice a difference?
I put the gua sha tool down for a handful of days at the end of my challenge.
And in those few days, I felt like my skin was missing something; that extra lift, accentuated cheekbone, and touch of color I enjoyed after each use were no where to be found.
My skin just didn’t look as radiant or healthy.
Which brings me to my next point.
I didn’t notice any cumulative effect
One of the main things that I set out to know when I started this, was whether or not gua sha facials had a real, lasting impact or effect on the overall appearance of your skin.
In my experience, the answer was no.
As soon as I stopped, that was it. I was back to square one.
I sort of noticed this all along. While I looked more refreshed and generally better in the moments right after I did it, if it was the morning, for example, then by night time it had lost its effects. It also did nothing to improve the appearance of fine lines, in my opinion.
Final Thoughts
So, if I have to say one way or the other, would I continue to do it or recommend it to someone else if they asked?
You might be surprised, but the answer is: absolutely.
For something that takes 5 or so minutes to do, and makes you feel more radiant, even if only for a bit, why not?
In the mornings, it makes me feel like I’ve got something extra going on. And I find it relaxing to do at night while I’m in bed.
I also think it would be great to do before a night out.
It’s just one of those things that makes you feel more radiant, and for a one-time cost of around $20 and 5-10 minutes of your time, why wouldn’t you do it?
