Gua Sha is Buzzy. Does It Really Work?

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TL;DR: Learn about the effectiveness of gua sha and get your chance to try it out at home for less with a gua sha massage tool on sale for $45 or a face-focused electric gua sha tool for $60.

Humans have a long tradition of circling back to ancient practices and recycling them for modern-day use. Some of those old-timey medical practices might have us raising our eyebrows or groaning in distaste, like how the Roman doctors used urine to brush their teeth (thanks for that image, Smithsonian magazine). Other practices give us pause and have us wondering if the people from years and years ago might've been onto something.

It wasn't that long ago when gua sha went viral on TikTok, and interest has remained pretty high ever since (the #guasha tag has almost 3 billion views as of this writing). If you've been debating adding the practice to your wellness routine in 2024, you probably have some questions.

So what exactly is gua sha and how well does it work? We took a little look-see.

What is Gua Sha?

This ancient skin-scraping practice dates back to the 1300s and is said to promote lymphatic drainage, stimulate circulation, and ease chronic pain by reducing inflammation. It is also said to leave skin healthier, smoother, and clearer than before, which may be why internet searches for things like "gua sha for acne" are trending in 2023.

Gua sha is also used to heal and realign your vital energy, which is comprised of your physical and mental well-being, or qi (aka chi), as it's called in traditional Chinese medicine (often shortened to TCM). In keeping with the bigger-picture nature of Eastern medicine, there's much more to this personal energy.

"Qi is the force that makes up and binds together all things in the universe," according to the Acupuncture Massage College. So it seems aligning your own qi could help you realign with the universe as a whole if that's the kind of thing you're into.

The Gua Sha Approach

One beauty expert and esthetician named Ali Tobia explained gua sha to Byrdie.com: "[T]here is no pump for the lymphatic system.... By performing gua sha techniques, you are giving your lymphatic system the boost that it needs to rid yourself of the fluids that are stuck beneath the surface of your skin and causing your face to bloat."

While it's traditionally done with a special rose quartz or jade flat-edged tool, we'll share some worthwhile products on the market that can help you explore the benefits without enlisting a professional. Typically, skin is lubricated with a heavier oil, and scraping is done in just one direction and at a specific angle. The process is complete when redness, or petechiae, appears.

This inherent redness is part of why people become suspicious or nervous about the technique. The redness (or even slight bruising) that can occur after a standard session with conventional scrapers is all part of the process.

Gua Sha at Home

One low-commitment and low-cost way to try gua sha is by self-administering at home. But if you aren't familiar with the technique, using a stone could prove cumbersome or frustrating. Some modern approaches to the method are on the market, and we've got two worth taking a look at.

It's important to mention that timing is key. Before beginning gua sha, whether at a professional's office or at home, take a good look at your calendar. If you have somewhere to be, like a big work conference, an anniversary dinner, a wedding, or a tropical vacay, you should leave enough time for your skin to heal and the redness to subside ahead of your big event.

A multi-use gua sha tool

For a full-body experience, you can opt for at-home alternatives like this gua sha massage tool.

It features 12 temperature levels for that personalized sweet spot, as well as different suction settings. This tool allows you to explore scraping, cupping, and the benefits of red-light therapy to give you an easy way to streamline your beauty and health routines to help reduce the appearance of cellulite, detoxify the body, and promote tissue repair and circulation, among other things. 

A face-focused gua sha tool

The skin on your face is an entirely different ballgame. Made specifically for the more sensitive facial skin, this electric gua sha tool works in four different ways but ultimately mimics the effects of traditional gua sha.

Utilize the scraping edge on vibration mode to stimulate the removal of toxins, and add red LEDs to stimulate collagen production for an anti-aging effect. If used with blue LED mode, it's meant to target bacteria. You can also opt for the warming heat mode with either LED to maximize.

The facial tool also features integrated roller balls for a manual facial massage. This part is made especially for eye area and jawline massages. It could also be helpful if you suffer from TMJ or tend to clench your teeth.

To Gua Sha or Not to Gua Sha

If you're wondering if gua sha works, there's something to be said about a technique that has been around for so long and has been trusted by millions of people—but let's get to the science.

According to a study documented by the National Library of Medicine, gua sha can safely and effectively help improve quality of life, especially for perimenopausal women, with many in the study seeing reduced common menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, headache, and fatigue.

And as long as you are visiting a well-reviewed licensed practitioner or using a well-made tool at home (and following the directions), its benefits seem legitimate and easy to achieve, however individually varied. 

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