Products are independently selected by our editors. We may earn an affiliate commission from links. I recently discovered the heavily trafficked gua sha hashtag on Instagram, a feed featuring smooth, pore-less faces, not only unmarked but purportedly de-puffed and contoured. They made the gua sha process seem like a soothing, meditative and even luxurious experience.
Which was not how it felt when I was first introduced to it. Unused to the heat, I was often weak and nauseated. To assess my health, my aunt would palm my forehead and check my tongue for changes in color and shape.
I was suffering from heatstroke, she said, and this friction would draw out the toxins that were making me feel sick. The darker the resulting welts, according to her, the more bad energy had been released. Did it work? All I really remember is being mortified that the bruise resembled a misplaced hickey.
So how has this transformed into a form of self-care for the skincare obsessed? I turned to the experts to give me the breakdown of how to gua sha the right way and how to lean into its benefits. Consider this your gua sha crash course. Was facial gua sha—which has been put through the woo-woo wellness spin cycle, really the chosen beauty routine of ancient Chinese princesses?
So goes the internet lore. Ac, a New York—based traditional Chinese medicine TCM guru and a pioneering acupuncturist in the field of facial rejuvenation. It then evolved into a traditional Chinese healing technique that many have turned to.
