Bian stone gua sha: an old tool and a slow technique

Gua sha reached the beauty press as a jawline trick and a before-and-after photograph. That is a shame, because the technique is older, gentler and a good deal more interesting than the marketing suggests. Used properly on the face it is not a scraping motion at all, and it is one of the most pleasant things you can have done to you.

The stone

We work with Bian stone: a dense, naturally cool stone that has been shaped into smooth tools for a very long time. Cool is the operative word. A Bian stone needs neither heating nor chilling. It sits at a temperature that feels grounding against skin still warm from massage oil, and it holds that temperature through a long sequence. The edges are rounded, the weight is even, and the tool does much of the work provided the hand holding it is patient.

How it is actually done

Facial gua sha is a light to medium pressure technique. Oil goes on first, always, because the stone should glide and never drag. Strokes move outward from the centre of the face and downward along the sides of the neck, repeated many times along the same path rather than raced once across the whole face. A full sequence takes in the jaw, the cheekbones, the brow, the space behind the ears and the top of the shoulders. Done well it feels rhythmic and very slightly hypnotic.

What it does and does not do

• Encourages circulation, which is why skin looks brighter and more even immediately afterwards
• Eases the jaw, which most of us clench through the working day without noticing
• Makes the face look a little more defined for a day or two, which is a real effect and a temporary one
• Does not replace medical or aesthetic treatment, and is never performed over active acne, a rosacea flare-up or recent injectables

The results are cumulative in the way that any habit is cumulative. A single facial looks good that evening. A short home sequence three times a week, with an occasional professional treatment, keeps the jaw softer and the skin more even over a period of months. Your therapist will show you the home version at the end of the appointment, and it takes four minutes rather than forty.

If you would rather have it done for you, the technique appears in two places on our menu: a full sixty-minute gua sha facial, and the middle section of the Holistic Harmony ritual, where it bridges the body work and the facial care.