The pull of GUA SHA

Dr Lim Xiang Jun of Dr Xiang Jun TCM in Tudor Court whips out two smooth slabs of jade from her pocket and asks if I am ready for my facial.

I nod okay despite feeling apprehensive.

She starts by squeezing a tube of aloe vera gel onto the jade stones. Then, grasping a stone in each hand, she proceeds to knead my face and jawline in swift, rhythmic movements, occasionally using the stones to exert pressure on certain points of my face.

It feels oddly relaxing.

It is my first visit to a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) establishment. I am here to find out more about a new beauty trend that has taken social media by storm: gua sha facials.

This practice, which involves massaging the face with a smooth-edged tool, has been hailed as the new elixir of youth, and is supposedly able to chisel jawlines, depuff eyes, zap acne and dial up the glow by at least a notch, among other things.

Videos with the hashtag #guasha has racked up more than one billion views on TikTok. A majority of these are made by Gen Zs who are keen on sharing their before-and-after gua sha transformations.

"God bless the gua sha tool," gushes one in her video.

Even celebrities such as reality television stars the Kardashians and singers Justin Bieber and Lizzo - who recently made her own gua sha video on TikTok - are raving about it.

The trend has also caught on in Singapore.

Co-founder and director of Our Music Studio Hazlina Rahman says she began practising facial gua sha regularly since last year. "I used to visit a beauty salon for radio-frequency facials every week until the pandemic happened. Then a friend introduced gua sha to me and it piqued my interest," says the 47-year-old.

She signed up for a three-day workshop to learn more. She now practises her new-found gua sha skills on her husband; her sons, aged 20, 26 and 28; and herself, and sees it as a convenient and safer alternative to high-tech facials.

"I was very enthusiastic in the beginning and did it for 45 minutes every day. Now, I dedicate my Friday evenings to it. It's a form of me-time," she says.

Ms Kelly Keak, managing director of beauty salon mtm labo, also swears by gua sha, saying it has helped her with water retention during pregnancy. "Try doing it on one side of the face first and you can usually see the effect as compared with the other side," says the 37-year-old.

Meanwhile, Ms Catherine Chan, 62, quit her corporate role in the healthcare industry in 2020 to pursue her passion for gua sha and TCM. She took up classes with preventive wellness organisation, Essentially Meridien, and is now a certified independent gua sha practitioner and trainer.

"It's a self-care movement," she says. "I used to spend thousands of dollars on facial packages, but I don't need all the fancy machines and really dislike it when the beauty salons push serums and products on me.

"Gua sha is easy to learn, it's quick and you can do it any time. I always do it right before dinner. Instead of going for a facial, which takes a long time, I just 'gua sha' myself in front of the TV for that instant radiance," she says.

She conducts regular workshops, teaching students of all ages and ethnicities the art of scraping online.

Demand for such classes has boomed, she says, especially among people overseas.

"We have had students from the Philippines, India, Finland and even China. They are made up of corporate executives, housewives and students.

"I even taught a caregiver, who learnt it because a family member had suffered a stroke," she says, claiming that gua sha can help to stimulate the acupressure points on the face and improve the condition of stroke over time.

According to cultural news e-zine Chinaculture.org, gua sha dates back to the Paleolithic Age, with the use of stones "to help alleviate the symptoms of disease".

But it was not until later that the term "gua sha" was coined.

Dr Lim, 36, who has a doctorate in TCM from the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, says: "Gua means scraping or using plates made of materials like horn, jade and bones to repeatedly move over a body part lengthwise. Sha is the red sand-like marks and spots on the skin surface that appear after. In TCM, the area which sha appears indicates stagnations and blockages of qi."

She believes that gua sha facials - when done correctly - could be one of the most effective beauty hacks out there.

"Do-it-yourself gua sha is great for simple general maintenance of facial beauty," she says. "These treatments are fully natural, with no use of chemicals and drugs and, therefore, carry no side effects as seen in Western aesthetic treatments such as Botox, fillers or lasers."

She also points out that "the face is more sensitive and delicate than the body". As such, facial gua sha is usually carried out using "smaller tools" with "smoother edges" to apply a gentler force.

These tools are widely available today. One can buy a plastic massager for a dollar online or splurge on more sophisticated-looking versions at Sephora. The beauty retailer sells Mount Lai, one of the most recognisable brands specialising in gua sha tools. It has everything from traditional facial scrapers and matching facial oils to more recent inventions like jade rollers and gua sha combs.

Founded in 2017 by former New York University student Stephanie Zheng, Mount Lai started off with only US$100 (S$137) in capital, but has been doubling in revenue each year since then. It now generates an estimated six figures in annual profits and is sold in a number of places, including American luxury department store chain Bloomingdale's.

But the commercialisation does not end there.

Many spas and beauty salons in Singapore and abroad are also capitalising on this trend, by offering gua sha facials alongside more traditional beauty treatments.

TCM clinics are getting in on a slice of the pie too.

Dr Lim reports that the pandemic has been a boon for her business, as more people are spending on wellness. About 90 per cent of the clients are expatriates, who learnt about gua sha in their home countries.

Another TCM physician is Dr Michelle Zhang, in her 50s, who works at Sin Kang TCM. While the clinic has been offering gua sha facials for some years now, she says the treatment started to grow in popularity only since 2016.

"There is a twofold increase, year-on-year, in the demand for these services. Our customers are predominantly Chinese, but we do on occasion get non-Chinese ones," she says.

Dr Lim advises consumers to be cautious when going for gua sha treatments.

"Many gua sha facials sold in spas and salons are done by people who are not trained. The treatments are usually touch-and-go and have little or no effectiveness or may even cause injury," she says.

An effective technique takes months, if not years, to achieve, she adds.

"Ideally, it should take at least eight months to a year of training. It should encompass theory, practical training and examinations. There should also be a one-year internship period when, after certification, the therapist is tagged to a licensed TCM doctor for on-the-job training to maintain his or her certification," says Dr Lim, who has been practising TCM for 17 years. "Right now, there is no such protocol, but I believe someone has to step up to push this move."

Freelance beauty writer Smita DeSouza admits that the explosion of #guasha videos on Instagram and TikTok left her feeling bemused.

"It was interesting to see how an East Asian traditional technique was becoming mainstream and the whole beauty world jumping on the trend," she says.

But the 38-year-old was also curious. So last year, she swung by Sephora to pick up her own gua sha tool - a $43 rose-quartz facial massager. "I didn't even last a month," she says. "I got the red spots - you're supposed to - and became scared, so I stopped."

Unfortunately, this is just one of the many misconceptions about facial gua sha, says Dr Lim. "You're not supposed to get red spots with facial gua sha," she says. "If you see these appearing, it means you're doing it wrong."

She adds that confusion and disinformation abound, fuelled largely by social media.

"Gua sha is increasingly used in the West, but a majority do not know what they are doing. Many people think the greater the force used in gua sha, the better the effect. This is a big mistake. There is also no one-size-fits-all technique. Basically, any form of manipulation - be it right or wrong - with a jade tool on the face is considered gua sha."

She adds: "Looking at the trends of gua sha videos and their popularity on social media, gua sha is more of a tool to bring fame and exposure to the person doing the video. Anyone from influencers to next-door neighbours can claim to be an expert in gua sha and become popular overnight."

She also believes gua sha has become a victim of its own success, with profits now overriding authenticity. "A lot of times when traditions go abroad, they are improvised, repackaged and claimed as newly created therapies by the business-minded when what they are offering are basically pirated versions of decades-long traditional techniques," she adds.

Not surprisingly, some quarters are voicing their dissent.

In an article for lifestyle website HelloGiggles, American beauty writer Jennifer Li wrote that the ancient practice is now synonymous with "instant Instagram likes" and "profit through appropriation".

"While I don't see anything wrong with sharing the practices of different cultures and discovering what a foreign culture has to offer, there's a very big difference between (cultural) appropriation and appreciation," she says.

Dr Lim says it is important for beauty influencers to understand the story and philosophical context behind the trend instead of just blindly hopping on the bandwagon.

"According to TCM theories, the meridian lines on the face are all connected to the internal organs. Any internal health issue can show up on the face as acne, pigmentation, rashes, eczema or wrinkles. As gua sha is a health treatment to begin with, and true beauty should be holistic and not just skin-deep, the facial should encompass techniques to heal the internal organs that are out of balance as well."

In the clinic, she combines the facials with acupuncture to "amplify" and "prolong" the effects of gua sha.

As I lie there, basking in the afterglow of a particularly satisfying - but short - facial, Dr Lim waves a packet of needles in my face: "Ready for your next treatment?"

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The newbie's guide to DIY facial gua sha

For those planning to take on this TikTok trend of gua sha for the first time, here is advice from Dr Lim Xiang Jun of Dr Xiang Jun TCM.

"Always keep your gua sha sessions to less than 30 minutes. When done for too long, it can cause too much friction and heat and may cause more harm than good. One of the guiding principles in TCM is moderation because 'too much of a good thing will reverse all benefits'."

"People tend to think, 'the harder I scrape, the better it is'. But undesirable outcomes such as friction burns, tears and abrasion can result if brutal force is used. You do not want the red 'sandish' marks to appear - it's not body gua sha."

"Go for the simplest one that combines smooth curved edges as well as round pointed ones. The smooth curved edge can be used for almost all larger surface body areas, while the round pointed edge can be used for smaller corners like around the eyes and nose. The winged part can be used for the jawline. Anything fancier than that, including jade rollers, is just a marketing gimmick."

"The effectiveness stems from the technique, not the tool. Do note that what you can achieve at home may differ from what you can achieve if the gua sha is done by a qualified TCM practitioner. This is because certain movements and techniques are more difficult to execute when you're doing it on yourself."

"People with sensitive skin; those who are taking oral Western medicinal drugs for their facial conditions; people with known allergies and diabetes; and women who are pregnant should tell their doctors before doing a gua sha facial because the doctor will have to adjust the pressure and technique accordingly. For those who have had plastic surgery or Western aesthetic treatments, more precaution needs to be taken."