The Gua Sha Ritual that changed my face...
For those looking for consistency, results, and a three minute commitment.
About a year ago I decided I would become one of those people who does gua sha. I saw a tik tok of a woman’s before and after results after consistently doing gua sha, so I decided it was time, I too, commit.
I love rituals and I live for consistent habits that show results over time. It felt right for me. I have yet to dip a toe into the world of injectables / botox and I’m holding out for as long as I can, so gua sha seemed like the right step to figuring out how to lift my face off of the floor.
I tried to start years ago. I had a jade stone, some heavy face oil, and and overly complicated youtube video that required this to be a 8+ minute commitment. Like all habits, if they’re not obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying— it’s not going to stick.
Somewhere along the way I was generously gifted this medical-grade fascia stimulating tool, found this face oil that really works for my skin (read: doesn’t break me out), and this simple video that boiled down the ritual into a 3 minute experience.
This video no longer shows up in the first few pages of youtube search, so I’m glad I started attempting this years ago as it was, then, one of the top results. There’s so much content out there now, sometimes the simple, low-fi content is the best. Never forget that some of the best stuff is pages deep, or what I like to call, the 26th ‘O’ of the google. But, alas, AI will likely solve this soon enough.
Okay, to the ritual!
It’s the first thing I do after brushing my teeth. I put the face oil all over, do the 3-minutes gua sha as instructed by Dr Tina Hou in her video, then I cleanse my face with a gentle cleanser that doesn’t over-strip. I decided six months ago that I needed to find an adult version of my Cerave cleanser, so this one from Rationale and SkinCeuticals make me feel a little more dignified. I follow up with my trusty Protini Polypeptide Cream, and I’m ready to go.
In the evening I do the exact same gua sha ritual, but I’ll add in a serum and an eye cream before the moisturizer I’ve been loving the ones from Dieux recently.
Products aside (Dr Tina uses a spoon and an oil she has around!), the most important thing is consistency. Isn’t that the case with most things? At first it started as a fun challenge, a commitment I made to myself that I wanted to see if I could do it. Early on I would forget the steps and have to scroll back in the youtube to make sure I was doing it correctly. Now, almost a year later, it’s one of my favorite parts of my day. I love that I can deeply breathe and not look at my phone or any technology for a few minutes. It feels good, it’s a moment to pause and care for myself. It’s 6 minutes (total) of your day to commit to yourself. And the best part, I’ve seen results. It’s fun to commit to yourself and actually see change. It’s a small thing, but it makes me feel (and look) a little better.
Let me know if you have a gua sha ritual or decide to start taking it up. It’s a nice reminder that all great things take time, and half the battle is showing up for yourself every day.
Take your time, and take care, always.
Dianna