Gua Sha & Face Rollers are a perfect addition to your morning and night skincare routines, these tools provide many soothing and anti-aging benefits and only take a few minutes - perfect for the busy woman in need of a bit more relaxation and self-care to start and finish her day.
Gua Sha: Your Deep Release Tool
If you’re not familiar, Gua Sha derives from traditional Chinese medicine and is a flat tool, made of polished crystal (such as Jade or Rose Quartz) used over the skin in an up and outward scraping motion. This motion helps increase blood flow and stimulate the lymphatic system, which in turn promotes lymphatic drainage. These gentle gliding motions help remove toxins and release muscular tension, lifting and brightening the skin. This tool also helps relax the face, and because of this, it has been linked to reducing jaw pain and headaches. Gua Sha is a great choice for anyone looking to deepen and expand their skincare routine in a holistic way. It also pairs well with regimens focused on anti-aging as it helps with stimulating circulation while de-puffing, lifting and sculpting your face. Gua sha can have long-term deeper skin benefits than stone rollers.
You’ll love the way that the gua sha:
- Reduces puffiness to give you a more even, blemish-free skin tone
- Stimulates lymphatic drainage to carry away any nasty toxins that are hiding under your skin
- Helps lessen the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles for a more youthful appearance
- Allows facial products to be absorbed more effectively, increasing their nourishing effects
- Relaxes your face and mind by gently smoothing out creases and frown lines caused by tension, stress or tiredness
- Leaves you with a long-lasting rosy glow, so that you look as if you’ve just drunk three glasses of water and come back from a walk in nature!
How to Use:
After cleansing skin, apply a non-comedogenic oil, such as Papillon’s certified organic Camellia Oil (which has amazing benefits and is safe for all skin types - read more about it here) over the face and neck. This oil will help the Gua Sha move smoothly over the skin, without tugging and tearing. Next, using a flat angle against the skin, glide the edge of the tool from the jawline down the neck to begin to stimulate the lymph nodes. Do this motion multiple times. Next, take the tool and make the same gliding motion from the center of your chin up along your jawline to the ear. Repeat this motion several times on both sides. Then glide the edge of the tool up each cheek toward the ear several times, being particularly careful around the eye area. For the nose, start at just above the bridge and smooth the Gua Sha edge down to the tip multiple times. Finally, starting at the centerline of the forehead, glide along the natural curve of the brow bone multiple time, moving up slightly with each stroke. Complete on both sides of the forehead. After the entire face is complete, you should notice a warm sensation caused by increased circulation and blood flow to the outer layers of the skin.
Beyond the face, this technique can also be used along the meridians of the back for a deep and detoxifying massage. You can also hold the gua sha in your hands during meditation to draw on the energy of the rose quartz and enhance self-love and self-acceptance.
Similar to the Gua Sha facial tool, face rollers use massaging motions over the face to promote lymphatic drainage, remove toxins, and smooth out fine wrinkles. Rollers, however, tend to be more gentle and go less deep than their Gua Sha cousin. It is a cooling and soothing tool which helps your beauty products to penetrate deeper, hence enhancing their effectiveness! It is a must for all skincare and self-care enthusiasts. Designed like a small, dual-ended paint roller, there is less friction between your skin and the tool, therefore delivering a slightly less intense experience. The rolling motion naturally sculpts the facial features, eases tension, and helps battle inflammation. If you haven’t used either tool in a skincare routine before, or if your skin is on the sensitive side, the roller is a great place to start.
You’ll love the way that the facial rollers:
- Reduce puffiness to give you a more even, blemish-free skin tone
- Stimulate lymphatic drainage to carry away any nasty toxins that are hiding under your skin
- Allow facial products to be absorbed more effectively, increasing their nourishing effects
- Relax your face and mind by gently smoothing out creases and frown lines caused by tension, stress or tiredness
- Leave you with a long-lasting rosy glow, so that you look as if you’ve just drunk three glasses of water and come back from a walk in nature!
How to Use:
First, apply your favorite face oil or serum to freshly cleansed skin (Papillon’s Camellia Oil works wonderfully as skin prep for the facial rollers too!). Then, use the larger end of the roller to firmly roll out and up over the skin starting along the jawline at the centerline of the face. Roll over each section three to five times. For more sensitive areas of the face, such as around the lips and eyes, use the smaller end of the roller and press into the skin more gently. Keep rolling until the entire face has been massaged. Are inflammation and puffiness two of your major concerns? Keep your roller in the fridge for an increased cooling effect.
Material: Not All Tools Are Created Equal
Regardless of which tool you choose (or if you choose both), it is vital that they are made with pure polished crystal in order to ensure maximum benefits. After all, this tool is going to be scraped or rolled over your face every day, so you want to make sure it’s only of the highest quality and free of plastics or other look-alike materials. At Papillon, Rose Quartz, and Amethyst are our go-to’s, each possessing different properties to enhance your skincare experience. But you can also find these tools made out of Jade stone.
Rose Quartz
With a Rose Quartz tool, you’ll be pretty in pink, and appropriately so, as this beautiful stone is affiliated with balance and love in all forms, including self-love. What better way to show your skin a little extra TLC than with one of Papillon's rosy Gua Sha’s or rollers? A tool made from this crystal can help with blood circulation, complexion, and to improve skin’s elasticity.
Amethyst
A tried and true member of the crystal world, Amethyst’s benefits are seemingly endless. A stone of protection and transformation, add an Amethyst tool to elevate your self-care rituals and invite positivity into the start and end of each day. As a face tool, Amethyst’s properties help to soothe inflamed or acne-prone skin and detoxify.
So whether you’re looking to deeply detoxify and lift, or to simply sculpt and relax those tense facial muscles, using a Gua Sha or face rolling tool just a few minutes per day is a perfect and easy update to add to anyone’s routine. When used in conjunction with your favorite skincare, these tools will amplify the results of your other products, along with relieving stress and tension held in the face.