It's probably no surprise that Gua Sha is now the leader in the beauty world, as tools made from natural stone are not only gorgeous, but they deliver real, visible results quickly. Best of all, by treating the face, you end up treating the body and balancing the nervous system as well, since the network of nerve endings and fascia transmits the effects of the treatment to tissues throughout the body.
Most of the questions I get on Gua Sha are about treating acne and rosacea. People have heard about the positive effects of both conditions, but want to know how to go about it because common sense is that inflamed skin and impurities should not be rubbed directly with the tool. So how should you treat acne or rosacea with scraping?
Treat around, not on top of the symptoms
The first and most important tip for treating acne and rosacea with Gua Sha is to never pull the scraping tool directly over the symptoms. Address the problem area in order to treat the surrounding skin. If most symptoms appear on the cheeks, treat the neck and shoulders, back and front of the neck, chin, around the ears and eyes, and forehead and scalp. Use regular Gua Sha to treat areas that are not symptomatic, as shown in the Yin Your Skin® online course.
Treats areas with the following symptoms
It is especially important to treat problem areas below acne, rosacea, or any other skin problem. If symptoms are primarily found around the cheeks and chin, be sure to treat the front and back of the neck and décolletage. The front of the neck and shoulders are the gateway to the face, connecting the face to the body. Gua Sha will improve circulation and lymphatic flow under the symptoms, flushing out cellular waste, dead cells and pathogens from the connective tissue. This leads to improved function of fibroblasts that produce collagen, elastin and matrix, as well as tissues that receive nutrients and oxygen - the skin works better in every way. Lymphatic fluid flows downward by gravity and the tissues below are purified leading to a freer flow of metabolic waste. A large number of lymph nodes in the neck and anterior part of the neck filter lymphatic fluid. The fluid is drained into the "main effluent" of the clavicular notch.
The preferred tool for acne and rosacea treatment is the Gua Sha spoon
When treating acne and rosacea, the emphasis is on extra gentle strokes and pumping motions. The pumping motion should not exceed the weight of the tool and should not point "inside" the skin. The motion should be angled downward towards the stone. The best tool is the Yin Your Skin® Scraping Spoon - the curved shape makes pumping easy. The shape ensures that the tool is gentle, while the end provides the right amount of firmness for treating wrinkles and sagging skin. Pumping action is applied from the sides of the nose to the base of the ear, the bottom edge of the ear and the base of the ear behind the earlobe. Then massage down and outward along the back of the ear above the ear, toward the indentation behind the earlobe, then down the sternocleidomastoid muscle to the clavicular suture and continue the pumping motion there. The strokes also need to be gentle and not apply extra pressure than the weight of the stone, as the extra force will not act directly on the lymph nodes. Do not treat swollen or painful lymph nodes.
