Facial massage illustration. © Prevention.com Merdeka.com – Gua sha is a traditional health practice from East Asia which translates into “pain relief”. Gua sha is a natural alternative therapy that involves scraping the skin with a massage device to improve circulation. Gua sha is meant to deal with a stagnant energy called chi in the body which practitioners believe is responsible for the problem of inflammation.
Scrubbing the surface of the skin is thought to help break down these energies, reduce inflammation, and promote healing. This ancient Chinese healing technique offers a unique approach to better health conditions and to treat problems such as chronic pain.
In gua sha, the skin is scraped off with short or long scrapes to stimulate soft tissue microcirculation, which increases blood flow. A gua sha therapist will make these scrapes with a fine-edged instrument known as a gua massage tool. The practice of gua sha is probably better known as kerokan in Indonesia. And over time, this practice has been adapted from being limited to a full body detox treatment to a facial relaxation ritual in the world of beauty.
Gua sha is generally performed on a person’s back, buttocks, neck, arms and legs. The gentle version is currently used on the face as part of facial therapy. Gua sha on the face aims to beautify the face, neck, and decolletage. Jade or healing crystals will be gently applied to the entire face and surrounding skin to encourage lymphatic flow, increase circulation, and smooth and lift the skin to make it firmer.
The following is a complete explanation of the benefits of gua sha for body and face health, quoting from healthline.com and provinceapothecary.com.
Cure Breast Swelling & Neck Pain
1. Cure Breast Swelling
The first benefit of gua sha is to help cure breast engorgement. Breast engorgement is a condition experienced by many breastfeeding women. This is a condition when the breasts fill up with milk. Usually, this happens in the first weeks of breastfeeding or if the mother is away from the baby for some reason. The breasts then become swollen and painful, making it difficult for the baby to nurse later. However this is usually only a temporary condition.
In one study, women were given gua sha from the second day after giving birth until leaving the hospital. The hospital followed up these women in the weeks after delivery and found that many reports came in of no breast engorgement, full breasts, and discomfort during breastfeeding. This makes it easier for mothers to breastfeed.
2. Cure neck pain
The second benefit of gua sha is to help heal neck pain. As it turns out, the gua sha technique has also proven effective in curing chronic neck pain. To determine the effectiveness of this therapy, in a scientific study 48 participants were divided into two groups. One group was given gua sha and the other group used thermal heating pads to treat neck pain. After one week, participants who received gua sha reported less pain than the group that did not receive gua sha.
Treat Perimenopause Syndrome & Relieve Facial Tension
3. Treat Perimenopause Syndrome
The third benefit of gua sha is to help treat perimenopause syndrome. Perimenopause occurs when women approach menopause. Symptoms include:
- insomnia
- irregular periods
- anxiety
- fatigue
However, studies have found gua sha can reduce symptoms of perimenopause in some women. The study examined 80 women with symptoms of perimenopause. The intervention group received gua sha treatment for 15 minutes once a week in conjunction with conventional therapy for eight weeks. The control group only received conventional therapy.
After completing the study, the intervention group reported greater reductions in symptoms such as insomnia, anxiety, fatigue, and headaches than the control group. Researchers believe gua sha therapy may be a safe and effective remedy for this syndrome.
4. Help relieve tension in the face
The fourth benefit of gua sha is to help relieve tension. You are bound to endure so much tension on your face and neck every day. For this reason, using deep pressure with Gua Sha jade as a therapy can help loosen or release muscle tension in the bound area of the face.
Gua sha allows the muscles to do their support work properly. You will experience a relaxing tension release with Gua Sha, especially if this therapy is incorporated into your daily self-care routine. Relaxing facial muscles regularly also prevents and fades fine lines on the face.
Help Detoxify & Tighten Skin
5. Help Detoxification
The fifth benefit of gua sha is to help detoxify the body. Gua Sha can be used to clear blockages in the meridian channels, which connect the organs of the body as one and carry blood and chi (life force). These meridian channels must be cleaned properly in order to work harmoniously and for chi to flow properly throughout the body.
If the organs are not functioning properly, these channels can be blocked and vice versa. You can clear blockages by scraping jade or a Gua Sha stone massage as therapy. Gua Sha provides a really good holistic effect on the body. This manual movement stimulates the lymphatic system, helps the organ function optimally by breaking down stagnation, circulating waste and toxins into the body for easier removal.
6. Helps Tighten the Skin
The sixth benefit of gua sha is to help tighten the skin. The unique edging of the Gua Sha jade or massage stone range works perfectly for lifting, sculpting and firming skin. Regular use of jade can prevent signs of aging such as sagging skin, dullness and wrinkles. Because Gua Sha helps stimulate circulation, this technique alone provides oxygen and carries nutrients to the skin cells. The increased blood flow due to Gua Sha contributes to a more vibrant, plump and youthful appearance.
Skin Looks Glowing & Eliminate Dark Circles in Eyes
7. Helps Skin Look Glowing
The seventh benefit of gua sha is to help make your skin appear more radiant. Gua Sha improves circulation and improves lymphatic function, resulting in skin that is moisturised and naturally glowing. The gently scraping action of the Gua Sha massage device all over the skin helps penetrate the serum or moisturizing product, so that the watery phytonutrients penetrate deeper into the skin layers to give facial skin more hydration. Gua Sha can also be used to prevent and get rid of pimples, remove wrinkles on the skin and reduce inflammation.
8. Eliminate Dark Circles in Eyes
The eight benefits of gua sha is to help get rid of dark circles in the eye area. Dark circles around the eyes can be caused by genetic factors, poor circulation, and lifestyle. If dark circles are not caused by excessive melanin production (which causes pigmentation), poor blood flow, lack of sleep, stress, dehydration, dietary factors or alcohol can be the cause. The good thing is, Gua Sha can help thin out the area and improve the appearance of dark circles to fade over time.
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