Close Banner

This ad is displayed using third party content and we do not control its accessibility features.

If You Want Your Gua Sha To Help With Fine Lines, Don't Do This

Author:

Hannah Frye

December 09, 2022

Assistant Beauty & Health Editor

By Hannah Frye

Assistant Beauty & Health Editor

Hannah Frye is the Assistant Beauty Editor at mindbodygreen. She has a B.S. in journalism and a minor in women’s, gender, and queer studies from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Hannah has written across lifestyle sections including health, wellness, sustainability, personal development, and more.

woman using a jade gua sha stone on her cheekbone

Image by ohlamour studio / iStock

December 09, 2022

We carefully vet all products and services featured on mindbodygreen using our commerce guidelines. Our selections are never influenced by the commissions earned from our links.

There's a long list of benefits to using a gua sha—but only if you do it correctly. See, gua sha is one of those skin care rituals that can't be taken lightly, and it takes time to learn how to properly go about it.

Not only will skipping the essential steps cut down your chances of seeing positive results, but it can actually cause you more skin problems—so here's one quick tip to keep in mind.

Beware: This gua sha mistake may cause wrinkles.

Gua sha is so much more than just a quick way to sculpt the jawline (though they can certainly help with that, too). As traditional Chinese medicine expert Debbie Kung, DAOM, LAc, once told mbg: "Facial gua sha is medicine in your hands. That tool you're holding in your hands has thousands of years of ancient wisdom."

And tools with ancient wisdom should be treated with the utmost care—aka, you should take time to figure out what you're doing. Rule No. 1: Do not drag the gua sha too harshly across your skin.

"These are great tools; however, when draining the lymphatic systems, the key is a very light and gentle touch. You don't want to drag the skin, which can create lines or wrinkles," master esthetician Sarah Akram, owner of Sarah Akram Skincare once told mbg.

Instead, opt for a gentle glide, and always use some face oil to help the tool easily run across the skin. A bit of redness immediately following your gua sha ritual is to be expected, but if it lasts more than a few hours, you may have gone too far.

You should also keep your strokes to a maximum of 10 in each area of the face. However, "Five is a good middle ground," holistic esthetician Britta Plug says. Too many strokes and your skin may start to get irritated. If you want a bit more in-depth instruction, check out this step-by-step guide from Plug to get started.

Of course, smoothing fine lines and wrinkles takes a holistic approach; gua sha can certainly be helpful, but it's not the only way to prevent those folds from settling in. For example, you may consider smart topicals (like retinol and glycolic acid) or add a collagen supplement to your routine to work from within—age-related wrinkles, after all, are generally caused by a decrease in collagen production 1. Here's a list of the best nine collagen supplements on the market right now, all backed by a nutrition Ph.D.

The takeaway.

If you don't use your gua sha correctly, you actually run the risk of making fine lines and wrinkles even deeper. Remember to stick with a light touch on the skin, and always use a face oil—here's a curated list of our top face oils for gua sha, if you're in the market.