I don’t know about you, but I want to do everything in my power to look like a Greek god and get a chiseled jawline that could cut through an 8 ounce steak. Okay, I know, super weird metaphor to open on… but I think you’re getting the idea. There are a number of ways to go about getting a more contoured and shapely face. My weapon of choice for a jawline that could kill: the gua sha.
What Is A Gua Sha?
The gua sha is a traditional Chinese medical tool that’s been used to reduce muscle tension/stiffness, reduce puffiness, and smooth out wrinkles in the face and other body parts, among many other anecdotal benefits. The act of using the gua sha is supposed to help with qi (pronounced chi) movement around your body, as stagnant qi (energy) is believed to cause health problems.
The gua sha tool itself is a smooth heart-shaped stone, typically jade or quartz, that you slide along the edges of your face.
What Does A Gua Sha Do?
Gua shas are used by either yourself or gua sha practitioners in a specific massage pattern across your face to get that blood flowing. When the face is massaged in such a way, blood flow and lymphatic drainage are encouraged.
Blood flow in your face is great because it stimulates the production of collagen and elastin, which are both great in preventing your skin from sagging/drooping thus keeping your face’s plumper and more youthful look.
The lymphatic system is an important network of vessels that runs throughout your body. It plays a pretty big role in your immune system, keeping your body’s fluid levels normal and fighting against infections. The gua sha aids in getting that lymph fluid to flow evenly from your face to the rest of your body.
When excess fluids in those lymph areas are drained from moving the gua sha along your face, it’s said that your facial structure and contours will be emphasized, thus making your face look more sculpted.
How Do You Use Gua Sha?
Just like you, I had absolutely no idea how to use the gua sha. But I just went on YouTube and found this video to follow along.
To use the gua sha, you’re going to need some sort of facial oil to ensure that the stone glides smoothly across your face and doesn’t pull at your skin. Some oils you could use with your gua sha are jojoba oil, rosehip oil, and grapeseed oil.
To use the gua sha, you’d want to do it every day during your night routine (or morning routine, it’s totally your choice). First you’ll want to wash your gua sha to make sure it isn’t all dirty. Next, you can go about your normal skin care routine, as long as you have applied face oil or moisturizer at the end to ensure your skin is lubricated enough for the gua sha to glide easily over your face.
My 7 Day Gua Sha Experience
@sweetsimplevegan my boujee baby ✨#dogfacial #dachshund #chihuahua #chiweeenie #guasha #dogmassage ♬ Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) – Ultimate Mix – John Lennon
People tend to be divided on whether gua shas actually work, or if the gua sha works for jawlines, and overall have general questions on the efficacy. So, instead of staying curious about the effects of it, I got my hands on a gua sha of my own to test out.
I started this investigation of mine last Monday night. After finishing my classes for the day, I settled in for the night, and, you guessed it, applied some jojoba oil to my face. I pulled up a tutorial video and made my roommate think I’m crazy for rubbing a stone on my face for 15 minutes.
Oh! Before I get any further, here’s a before gua sha picture.
Okay two things. First, don’t comment on how busted I look, I had a long ass day. And second, I’m showing you my side profile, so you better be grateful.
So yes, this was the beautiful face that I used the gua sha on. I’ll say that immediately after using it, I felt rather relaxed and refreshed. I followed this routine every day for the next week, with me doing my normal nighttime routine and then doing the gua sha massage on my face.
My Experience Using Gua Sha
Something I didn’t expect when using the gua sha was that my temporomandibular joint disorder, also simply known as TMJ, felt a little better. TMJ is characterized by stiff jaw muscles and limited movement of the jaw itself.
And on the seventh day, I noticed a small number, but still a sufficient number of changes. I noticed that my face seemed a little brighter, more plump, and I didn’t look like I hadn’t slept in three days. And not only did my overall face feel better, but my jaw didn’t feel as stiff.
So, without further ado, here is my after gua sha picture.
And now let’s do a side-by-side where we see the gua sha before and after at all angles.
As you can see my hair stayed just as messy.
There you go, my gua sha before and after pictures side-by-side.
My Gua Sha Afterthoughts
I for sure notice that I look a lot brighter, not as puffy, and less tired looking (as a college student, I want to do everything in my power to not look tired). And I don’t know if it’s wishful thinking on my part, but to me it looks like my jawline became just a bit more defined… aka your girl got that gua sha jawline. I will note that the lighting and angles are a bit different, but it does seem to me that there has been some kind of change.
At the end of the day, not everybody will get the same results, or any results at all. Whether or not the gua sha actually does anything, it definitely wouldn’t hurt to incorporate it into your routine and get that blood flowing around your face and to pamper yourself for a bit. So the verdict of my little experiment: the gua sha gets two thumbs up from Lexiss, and you should get one if you can.
Does it look like I got a gua sha jawline? Let us know your thoughts!
