The gua sha (“wow“: scratch, “shah“: sick blood) is an ancient Chinese technique with supposed medicinal effects that has become popular in recent times and has positioned itself as a current beauty routine, especially on Instagram.
According to its promoters, this technique is used to improve blood circulation, lymphatic drainage and skin elasticity. In addition, they point out that it covers everything from adult acne to wrinkles and sagging skin.
The #Guasha hashtag on Instagram has more than 87,000 publications that echo the success that the “rebirth” of this proposal has accumulated in recent years. But what does it consist of?
The Gua Sha is, in essence, a vigorous scraping of the skin with a special stone. It is a massage that covers the neck and face with flat rose quartz or jade stones, adapted to our morphology, thus allowing a scraping movement to be made in each of the areas of the face.
How does it apply?
The scraping process used in a traditional Gua Sha routine involves washing the skin of the face, followed by the application of a natural oil. Finally, we proceed with the scraping as such.
The use of certain particular scraping techniques is required to comply with the routines. According to those who practice and promote it, Gua Sha has very specific benefits:
- Decongests and reduces inflammation of the skin
- Reduces the visibility of wrinkles
- Reduces dark circles and puffiness
- Smoothes wrinkles around the mouth
- Facilitates absorption of serums, oils and moisturizers
Does it really work?
Although it is all the rage on social networks, it has not been proven that Gua Sha has any benefit. According to Dr. Javier Pedraz Muñoz, dermatologist and aesthetic doctor at the Quirón Salud University Hospital: “the treatment has no scientific basis as such”.
The expert clarifies that the treatment can give the impression of being effective because the skin becomes red or slightly softer immediately after scraping. However, in the long term there is no evidence of any sustained benefit, so there is no reason to practice it in the hope of positive results.
Furthermore, the German doctor Edzard Ernst concluded that any apparent beneficial results of Gua Sha are due exclusively to the placebo effect.
For some, the resurgence in Western countries of this method is just one more of the industry trends wellness or wellnessheadlined by world-renowned stars.
And you, what do you think of this technique? Tell us in the comments and share with your friends.
Important: it should be clarified that does not give medical advice or prescribe the use of techniques as a form of treatment for physical or mental problems without the advice of a doctor, either directly or indirectly. In the case of applying any information on this site for this purpose, does not assume responsibility for these acts. The site is intended only to provide information of a general nature to aid in the pursuit of personal growth and development.
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Edzard Ersnt
JAMA Oncology
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