Gua Sha, the amazing Asian healing tool, was causing my skin to break out until I discovered one key prevention tip. Last year, for my birthday I bought myself a beautiful rose quartz Gua Sha tool. I was using this beauty gadget every night before bedtime and I would sit in bed performing my facial massages, while my husband would glance at me wondering what the hell I was doing now? I was so excited to learn all of the wonderful benefits of this amazing healing tool only to wake up every morning with terrible breakouts! All of the experts said, ‘give it time’, ‘your skin is detoxing’ blah, blah, blah. My skin continued to get worse until I learned this one tip to prevent Gua Sha breakouts.
What is Gua Sha?
Gua Sha pronounced ‘gwahsha’ is a stone tool that has been used for over 2000 years in East Asian healing. You can usually find the stone tool in traditional jade or rose quartz. You use this pretty stone to massage not only your face (which is what I have used it for) but it is also very effective for treating other areas of your body. For example, it can be used on your feet to help with plantar fasciitis, carpal tunnel, shoulder and rotator cuff injuries as well as digestive detoxing!
Benefits to using Gua Sha?
- helps lymphatic drainage and detox
- help relieve tension in the face
- relieve migraines
- can help reduce sinus pressure
- reduce inflammation
- improve circulation, boosting collagen production. One study showed “Gua Sha has been shown to increase local microcirculation by 400% in the first 7.5 minutes” [1]
- can sculpt your face,
- reduce the appearance of wrinkles and expression lines, check out this study [2]
- reduce bags around your eyes
O.K. Your Loving Gua Sha BUT it’s breaking me OUT!!!
Stop using oil! Yes, it is recommended to use a face oil but mostly so your Gua Sha tool slides easily on your skin. And yes these oils can have wonderful moisturizing benefits if your skin isn’t prone to breakouts. However for those of you with sensitive, acne prone skin like me I can break out from using any type of facial oil or serum even if it’s considered non-comedogenic. I find the less ingredients in my skincare the better.
What to use instead of Oil?
Try it with your facial cleanser. It works perfectly while washing your face and your skin feels extra clean afterwards. Since I stopped using facial oils my breakouts have stopped and my skin is finally clear.
I also love use my Gua Sha with aloe vera gel from my Aloe Vera plant! The actual plant is the key but if you don’t have the plant I recommend The Lily of the Desert brand.
In the Book Aloe Vera Natural Wonder Cure, the authors recommend to “apply aloe several times a day for a month.” Aloe acts as an astringent so you may experience some dryness before it balances out.[3] I especially love the cooling sensation of Aloe. One of the most amazing properties of Aloe Vera is it’s ability to heal and prevent acne. It has so many amazing benefits I want to share in a future post. Definitely give Aloe Vera a try to prevent Gua Sha breakouts.
BE CAREFUL…
And don’t drop it! So, I was really enjoying my Gua Sha massages until someone (they shall remain nameless) dropped it on the tile floor and my precious Gua Sha was smashed into a gazillion smithereens. I seriously almost cried because it had cost a small fortune. However, I found a replacement on amazon (which you can check out here) for a steal of a deal and got over my loss.
If your skin is sensitive to breakouts, oil can clog your pores
Each oil has a comedogenic rating of 0-5. Comedogenic means ‘pore-clogging’ so if it rates anything above 0 it may clog your pores if you have sensitive, acne prone skin like me.
Here is a list of some non-comedogenic oils with a rating of zero. You could try experimenting with these oils and see how your skin responds.
These oils are anti-inflammatory, healing, skin soothing, anti-oxidant rich, wrinkle prevention.
How Often Do You Use Gua Sha?
For best results, dermatologists recommend daily.
How To Perform the Gua Sha Massage?
One More Tidbit: Gua Sha helps Lymphatic Drainage
As I previously mentioned, what drew me the most to practicing Gua Sha was to help with lymphatic drainage. The lymphatic system is super important because it runs throughout your body. It regulates your immune system as well as removes waste from every cell. It’s just like the plumbing in your home, if you have a clog in your pipe, toxins can be stored and your immune system can weaken.
I have a little obsession with anything that helps my lymphatic system because in the past my lymph nodes were very swollen. I have had questionable lumps requiring doctor visits. Luckily nothing has transpired and since making lifestyle changes I no longer have this problem. My beautiful Gua Sha tool has definitely helped, along with my crazy trampoline jumping haha!
An Oil-Free Diet Can Help Prevent Break-Outs
If you are still experiencing Gua Sha breakouts, give up the oil and see if it helps. I find my skin looks and feels the best when I eat oil-free. Check out Dr. John McDougall and Nina and Randa Nelson (clearskindiet.com) for more reasons to cut oil out of your diet. Try this matcha green tea face mask for an extra special treat for acne prone skin. Please feel free to leave a comment below if you love Gua Sha as much as I do!
3. Allan, Judith and Lawless Julia. Aloe Vera Natural Wonder Cure. Harper Collins Publishers, 2000.
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