Gua Sha ? Gua What ??
and natural beauty tips to try..

   Hello Lovelies, how is everyone feeling after the Easter break ? Its a full on time isn’t it, and us busy gals can find ourselves feeling washed out and struggling to juggle it all. Infact “down right knackered” is more like it if I am honest ?. But, if you are looking for some natural beauty tips to help you out then read on… As our Lymphatic System is all about detoxing, boosting immunity and helping us to rebalance and get our mojo back naturally, I have been trialing a Gua Sha over the past few month as this is a great natural aid for lymphatic drainage amongst other things. And, before we go any further, encase you are wondering (it took me months to figure out how to pronounce it) you say Gua Sha like this… “gwwwaaa ssshhha”.

Easter is a lovely time of the year to spend with family and friends isn’t it, but through all the late nights, erratic meals, lack of exercise and quite frankly far too much chocolate (what can I say “it is my one weakness”) my skin has taken a bit of a battering, what about you guys… Added to which, the change of season, hot one minute and cold the next (or is that the peri-menopause ?), trips out to windy beaches, working outside in the garden then cozying down infront of the fire, our skin can sometimes come out in protest against all these environmental changes can’t it. Anyone else running their finger over a bump of a pimple right about now and saying, uuurrrhhhmm yup ? then read on as the Gua Sha may be of help…

Whats it all about ?

Gua Sha is all over social media these days as the latest in lymphatic drainage isn’t it. As a lot of us do battle with bags under our eyes, puffiness, fine lines and uneven skintone, I thought I would delve a bit deeper into this technique and let you guys know what I found out.

These rose quartz and jade pieces have been used in Chinese Medicine for hundreds of years and there is some pretty solid evidence behind how it works.  As well as being used as a tool to increase blood flow, it improves lymphatic drainage which helps your skin to detoxify naturally and therefore encourages smoother pinkier and healthier looking skin. It also improves skin and muscle tone, soothes headaches in the temples and forehead, reduces puffiness under the eyes and tensions held in the facial muscles and jaw line. The action of using the Gua Sha helps the skin to absorb your usual face oil or cream to a deep cellular level and this helps with over all natural hydration. And last but not least it leaves your skin feeling wonderfully cool too, and I for one am liking the sound of this already !?.

How do you cope with bags and puffiness ? My usual treatment for baggie eyes is “take two cold bottles or jam jars from the fridge and hold them under my eyes every morning while I wait for my tea to brew” which is not the most sophisticated of anti-eye bag remedies, but by using a Gua Sha and roller as a short routine every evening this relaxing habit has become a firm favourite and is much easier to do than walk around the kitchen with two jam jars pinned to my face.

As I am all about finding simple, natural and affordable ways to love our bodies and our skin I think this ticks the boxes. I have to say in total honestly that the Gua Sha has been a life saver and my bags have been significantly reduced and by making myself sit down for 1-5 minutes every night, take a few deep breaths and do the routine I have found it much easier to stick to compared to say 15 minutes of meditation.

I hope you have found these natural beauty tips helpful for showing your lymphatic system some love and as ever let me know how you get on with using a Gua Sha by posting a comment below ?? & keep scrolling on learn how to use it properly. Have a gorgeous weekend lovelies. xo

How to use at Gua Sha

So, how do you do it ?

Cleanse your face as usual, followed by your serum and/or face oil (I use our Nourishing Face Oil with my roller), wait a few moments for it to start sinking into the skin then do a 1-3 minute routine (here is an example of one for you to try), you can spend more time if you fancy and there are lots of other YouTube clips on how to do. It is a really great way to unwind at the end of the day and take a few moments to breathe deeply and enjoy the feeling of the cool roller on your skin. It is also a great relief for areas of tension you may be holding in your face after a stressful day (cheeks, brow and jaw line especially) or helping to soothe migraines and headaches (I have found this to be a great help). 

You can use it as a mini mindfulness exercise too. While you are using the roller and Gua Sha breathe slowly in for a count of 4, hold for 4 and breathe out for 4, repeat for a hold of 5, repeat for a hold of 4, you get the idea, give it a go in which ever way feels comfortable to you. And that’s it, then you are done. If you are not a fan of deep breathing then you could repeat an affirmation instead – check out @christinehassler on instagram for example as she has some great ones. Either way it is much quicker than a 15 minute meditation and will leave you feeling realaxed and with glowing skin too – what a result !. 

I have to admit that having stuck at it for six weeks now I do see an improvement in the bags under my eyes. It may be a fluke but nevertheless I really look forward to taking a few minutes at the end of the day to catch my breath and relax whilst I do the routine. If you are interested in buying one I just went here to get a basic one for starters so it didn’t break the bank, its alot cheeper than a facial and you can use it every day.