Gua Sha (pronounced: gwa shaw) Is simply the practice of scraping the skin. The words mean scraping away illness. Yes, if you’ve never seen this done then it probably sounds painful. For those of you who have stumbled upon the practice here is a little bit more information about this “new treatment”. First and foremost this type of treatment is not new and has been used for thousands of years and dates back to 200-400 BC. 

Aside from being used to reduce the effect of aging, Gua sha can promote the growth of new skin cells and increase the flow of blood and oxygen. The treatment is a beauty treatment for the mind, body, and soul. The skin is just a reflection of the inside state of the body. This connection of facial and skin appearance with the state of your internal organs, channels, and blood allows Gua sha to be such an effective treatment for removing toxins from the body.

This technique can be done all over the body but it has been recognized more lately as a facial treatment. There are even different spin-offs of this traditional technique such as, Graston technique and muscle scraping.