How Face Yoga and Gua Sha Can Improve your Skin
Hello, my name is Katie Blake and I’m a holistic therapist who specialises in many different holistic therapies: Face Yoga and Facial Gua Sha are two of them. I wanted to share some Face Yoga and Facial Gua Sha techniques to help you naturally lift and brighten your face. These facial exercises can give you a lovely non-surgical facelift and bring radiance to your facial complexation.
What are Facial Gua Sha and Facial Yoga?
Facial Gua Sha has really hit the beauty industry over the last few years. It is a traditional Eastern Asian massage technique that has been used for thousands of years. Gua Sha can be used as a full body massage treatment or a relaxing beauty ritual for the face, neck, and décolletage.
When applying Gua Sha to the face, you apply a beautiful crystal Gua Sha tool with gentle strokes across the skin. This encourages lymphatic drainage, helps support the circulation, improves energy flow, lifts, plumps, and sculpts. It also reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
The type of crystal you use depends on your skin type. Each crystal has its own benefits. If you are just beginning to use Gua Sha I would start with a Jade crystal. According to Chinese medicine, Jade is believed to carry healing energy to help rebalance and restore a sense of harmony. When working on the skin’s surface with Jade, you can address all skin types due to its yin-yang energy.
Face Yoga includes facial exercise, facial massage, facial relaxation, wellbeing, and acupressure. It is a workout for your face. We work out our bodies, so why not do it for our faces too! There are 57 muscles in the face and neck. Face Yoga is a wonderful way to help these muscles become stronger, lifted, and firmed. The facial skin that is attached to these muscles is also lifted and strengthened, giving you a natural lift and a brightened complexation.
The muscles in the face are much smaller than the muscles in the body, so it takes less time for them to increase in tone and strength.
Try the routine below and see how you get on. The routine should take 10 minutes.
Cleanse your hands, face, and Gua Sha tools before beginning, then apply some of your favourite facial oil to help your fingers and Gua Sha tools glide across your skin. Some of my favourite facial oils are on my website.
Place your chosen oil onto your hands, bring your hands in front of your nose and take a nice deep breath of those beautiful essential oils. When you blow out, move your hands away. Repeat 3 times. Breathing deeply helps oxygenate, cleanse and nourish your system.
Now, apply your chosen facial oil. Using a stroking motion and starting from the nose, work your way outwards over the cheeks, chin, forehead, and finally downwards on the neck to help lymphatic drainage. Then come down to the thymus area and out across the décolletage using gentle pressure. At this point, your skin is beginning to wake up and revitalize.
Now, using all your fingertips from the forehead downwards to your décolletage, apply gentle tapping to make it feel like little raindrops are falling all over your face, neck, and décolletage. This should take 30 seconds.
Next, gently massage your temples in small circles with your fingertips, 3 times.
Now, place your index finger at the end of your eyebrows, gently tap around your eyes following above your eyebrows and then continue under your eyes, just above the cheekbones, then continuing to the end of your eyebrow. Repeat this 3 times and then repeat in the opposite direction.
Next, with your index finger, gently stroke just under the eyes from the bridge of your nose outwards toward the temple, 3 times.
Now place your fingers in the centre of your forehead and sweep outwards in horizontal lines, and repeat 3 times.
Next, gently pinch your cheeks all over with your thumb and your first two fingers for around 20/30 seconds. Your skin should start to feel lovely and warm now.
Now, pick up your Gua Sha crystal. I like to use The Hayo’u Method Gua Sha crystals, which you will see on my Instagram and website. Apply a little more oil if needed; you need to have a good glide on the skin’s surface when doing Gua Sha and use the crystals with a pressure that is comfortable for you.
Start at the chin with the double-sided edge of the Beauty Restorer. Gently move the crystal from the chin to the ear 8 times, and then repeat on the other side. Use the opposite hand to the opposite side of the body, as this helps the tool stay at a 15–45 degree angle.
Next, using the inside curve of the beauty restorer, place the tool by your nose, tilt it outward, and gently sweep from your nose over your cheeks and up to the sides of your face. Repeat up to 8 times and then repeat on the other side of the face.
Staying with the same side of the crystal, start at the middle of the forehead, support the forehead with one hand and place the Beauty Restorer on the other side of the forehead, and sweep the crystal out towards the temples up to 8 times, then repeating on the other side.
To finish, hold the end of the Beauty Restorer on an acupressure point called the Yin Tang. This is found at the forehead, between the eyebrows. Hold for 30 seconds. Yin Tang has a very powerful calming effect. Repeat routine three to four times a week. Hopefully, this 10-minute routine will help you – or even start you – on a new facial journey
Go to Katie’s website for her virtual 1:1 sessions here and follow her Instagram here
