Tiny tool, tons of beautifying power. If you haven’t discovered the benefits (and sheer joy) of using a gua sha stone to lift and boost your skin yet, where have you been? After the jade roller reached peak popularity over the last few years, the gua sha trend followed right behind and — while not as cool-looking as a roller — we promise you that the benefits of these simple little stones are out of this world — if you know what you’re doing.
We recently met the three female founders behind new skincare brand, Wildling, and were nothing short of blown way by what we learned in just one conversation. Britta Plug and partners, Jill Munson and Gianna De La Torre come from a breadth of backgrounds including herbalism, facial acupuncture and holistic skincare. Their combined wisdom, expertise and understanding make this capsule collection made just for gua sha very special.
Speaking with Britta (the aesthetician of the bunch) over tea and gua sha, we were floored by her insight that the neck is the most important area to address when depuffing the face. Under eye gels, face masks and face rollers might all be helpful, but Britta argues that unless you’re addressing blood flow and circulation in your neck, it could be all for naught.
It makes perfect sense once we think it through…to reduce puffiness and improve glowiness, blood flow is what it’s all about. But we’ve very rarely been told to address the circulation of blood and lymph in the neck until Britta broke it down for us and shared this beautifying routine below.
Check out Wildling’s signature ribbed gua sha, the Empress Bian Stone, paired with a serum and mist specially formulated for gua sha practice. The three products can be bought as a sexy little set and used several time a week as a holistic beauty routine.
Wildling’s Gua Sha Ritual For The Eyes
Watch the full video above to watch Britta perform this ritual IRL!
Prep The Skin. Use a facial mist to hydrate, detox and energize the skin — Wildling makes an amazing skin tonic specifically designed to clear congested lymph. Spritz to apply a light layer of moisture, which will help prime the skin to absorb the layer of oil that comes next.
Oil Up. Apply a liberal amount of facial oil to the skin to lubricate the surface for the gua sha to glide without tugging. Make sure you apply some oil to your neck as well. Wildling’s Empress Oil is made with the balm of gilead, tree resin nutrient complex and Indian sunstone. The women designed the oil specifically to plump skin and stimulate circulation.
Drain The Lymph. Place the U edge of the tool just under the earlobe. Using light pressure, trace the tool down from the earlobe to the collar bone — the “lymph drainage” point. Wiggle the tool just above the collar bone to activate lymph drainage. Amazingly, massaging this point will help to reduce puffy eyes.
Hit The Eyes. To de-puff under the eyes, place the comb edge of the tool under the outer third of the eye. Anchor the skin under your eye with a finger to avoid over-stretching. Using light pressure, trace from the outer third of the eye toward the hairline. Repeat from the middle third of the eye out toward the hairline. Lastly, trace from the inner eye to the hairline. This systematically pushes fluid out from the under the eye to de-puff.
Rally + Repeat. Continue with the rest of your gua sha practice then repeat it all on the opposite side of your face. If you’re in a pinch or just wanting to target the eyes, simply finish up the side you just worked on by sweeping back down the side of your face and neck to the lymph drainage point at your collarbone, then repeat the whole process again on the opposite side of your face.
Do you us a gua sha stone? What about a face roller? Tell us about your most-loved
beauty tools over on our private Facebook group, The Chat!
