There are many benefits of using gua sha for the face during menopause. Of the most important is keeping the facial skin healthy, vibrant, and bright.
The surface of the skin holds decades of information. Our nutrition, hydration, underlying emotions, and overall health are revealed, especially in menopausal skin.
Long-time damage appears on the skin's surface like a road map of one's lifetime.
Facial muscles tighten with stress leading to jaw pain, neck pain, and chronic headaches.
Wrinkles form due to aging, whereas healthy skin shows fewer signs of damage.

TOP 10 BENEFITS OF GUA SHA FOR FACE: MENOPAUSE

Table of Contents

Fascia: The infrastructure Of Connective Tissue

10 Benefits of Gua Sha for the Face

Gua Sha Helps Women In Menopause

Products I Use

History Of Gua Sha

Traditional Chinese Medicine

The secrets of the gua sha stone have 5,000 years of being a natural healing remedy.
It was traditionally used for everything from decreasing back pain and releasing tight muscles to improving the lymphatic system and supporting blood circulation.
Traditional Chinese medicine describes the character for GUA as "to scrape." Whereas the character for SHA translates to "sand skin."
In other words, "sha-like skin" is dehydrated and reveals a rough texture over time.
Performing gua sha techniques can "scrape away" the long time effects of your skin's aging appearance.

Frictioning

Traditional gua sha treatment uses a flat surfaced device that gets dragged along the skin, causing friction.

The art of using the friction technique of long strokes along the surface layers of skin without much pressure can improve skin texture and the overall appearance.

Benefits of Frictioning:

improve blood circulation
drain fluid
detoxify tiny blood vessels
increase skin tone

The most common gua sha tool for facial treatments on menopausal skin comprises rose quartz, jade, or stainless steel.

Rose quartz is more rigid and sturdier than jade, making it easier to hold as a massage tool and, over time, is more durable.

The stainless steel tools can be kept in the refrigerator or freezer and used to help reduce under-eye swelling or dark circles.

Traditional Chinese medicine does not suggest applying anything cold to the skin because of its constricting nature. Cold is thought to stagnate blood and energy and prevent fluids from moving. Keeping gua sha tools or cooling ice globes in the freezer is a modern western concept.

Fascia: The infrastructure Of Connective Tissue

Wrinkles and menopause

Proper blood flow encourages the transportation of oxygen and moves waste products from the cells.

Whereas, the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles are unforgiving side effects of menopause.

Estrogen enhances the youthful appearance of the skin by promoting an oily wax secretion which helps to retain and restore the skin's moisture.

Less estrogen accelerates skin changes in postmenopausal women, increasing rapidly noticeable damage.

The three most prominent symptoms of estrogen-deficient skin in women include:

increased skin dryness
decreased firmness
decreased elasticity

Studies show up to 30% of dermal collagen may be lost in the first five years after menopause, and collagen decreases by approximately 2.1% per year.

Estrogen and immune function

Your skin type and the overall appearance of your skin rely heavily on the health of your immune system.

Once again, estrogen plays a significant role in the skin's functional integrity.

In fact, estradiol, a type of estrogen, is known to control the meaningful actions of our immune cells.

Some of the most significant effects of estrogen on our immune function and skin:

works as an anti-inflammatory, reducing redness
promotes the natural production of oils needed for keeping the skin elastic
improves our ability to heal scar formations
increases wound healing

Women with high levels of estradiol have a lower risk of developing severe symptoms and a lower incidence of death from Covid 19, according to the publication Hormones, in 2021.

Fluid Exchange

I hate being the bearer of bad news, but production of collagen begins to decline in our 30s!

The effects of this loss lead to dry skin and textural changes over time.

Fluid exchange can become imbalanced and cause swellness in areas...think puffy morning eyes.

Too much UV exposure (excessive sun time) can wreak havoc and contribute to the negative skin-changing symptoms of perimenopause.

Dehydration

Our skin is 70-75% water.

Drinking too much coffee and not enough hydrating liquids can further create more imbalances, including:

muscle pain
hot flushes
reduction in muscle recovery

10 Benefits of Gua Sha for the Face

Improves Skin Appearance

The scraping action of using the gua sha tool increases superficial and deep microcirculation of the skin.

Microcirculation helps transport waste products out of the cells and supports oxygen transport into the cells.

Think of it as you are breathing life into your facial skin!

The more good nutrients your skin can receive, the happier and healthier it will appear!

Reduces Under Eye Swelling

As the skin ages, the foundation begins to lack support.

The eyelids and the thin skin under the eyes lose strength.

Fluids and lymph can start to pool around the eye area leading to the appearance of "under eye bags."

Don't give in to embodying Puffy, one of the Seven Dwarfs of Menopause.

Use the flat surface of the quartz tool to gently push the fluid outward from the under-eye region. This stroking action will leave the area less puffy. Perform this 3-5 times per eye.

Tones the Face Muscles

Sagging jowls, double chins, and drooping skin are due to the shrinking of fat cells in our face and dehydration as we age. A skincare routine that includes facial gua sha can improve the tone of the muscles of the face.

Scraping the skin can help to improve muscle tone by:

increasing the temperature of the soft tissue
improve the rate at which fluid flows through the capillaries
brings more blood to the muscles of the face

Reduces Fine Lines

Gua sha can be an excellent alternative to botox.

Or, if you are a lover of injectibles, a daily skincare routine of gua sha can prolong the effects of botox.
No woman wants to see fine lines around her eyes or mouth as she ages.

Using the art of scraping the face along acupuncture points can improve the Qi (vital energy) in the skin and reinforce a youthful appearance.

Releases Jaw Tension

Does your jaw pop or click when you chew or yawn?

If so, you might have TMJD. Temperomandibular joint dysfunction.

That's a mouthful for sure! Big enough to cause its own disorder!

When your jaw muscles become too tight, they can pull on the joint, allowing your mouth to hinge open and close. On the other hand, if those muscles are overworked, too strong, or imbalanced, they can cause joint pain at the sides of the face.

Causes of jaw tension

grinding your teeth at night in your sleep

not wearing a mouthguard if you need one

biting on your fingers, pencils, or the insides of your mouth

eating large pieces of food improperly cut

emotional stress

chewing gum

With deeper pressure, scrape diagonally from the middle of the chin to the ear on both sides 3-5 times. This goes along the length of the Masseter muscle...the strongest muscle in the body, in relation to its small size.

Enhances Collagen Production

Blood flow to the skin, the largest organ in the body, is reduced by 40% between the ages of 20 to 70.

A study was done in Germany using laser doppler imaging and measured microcirculation on tissue that had been frictioned during a gua sha session.
The results showed a fourfold increase in surface microcirculation after the treatment.
The vascular system can be remodeled when blood flow improves (via a manual technique such as gua sha). Elastin and collagen are the two most vital components of a blood vessel.

Frictioning can lead to better skin by improving blood flow. Higher elastin: collagen ratio is seen in blood vessels with increased blood flow than in vessels with low flow.

Supports Lymphatic Drainage

Lymph is a watery colorless fluid that circulates in microchannels throughout the body. It does not have a pumping system like veins or arteries, so it relies on the muscle system (or movement) to help it flow smoothly through the body.

Being inactive reinforces stagnation of lymph fluid, and pooling occurs, which could lead to:

eye bags
sagging jowls
puffy eyes

Moving the body and manual techniques such as massage for the body or gua sha facials can stimulate the mobility of lymph.

The lymph system helps to remove impurities and toxins from the body and disposes of all byproducts through sweating, breathing, bowel movements, and urinating.

Decreases Incidences of Tension Headaches and Migraines

The muscles of the face and back of the neck can refer pain to the scalp.

In addition, the skull is covered in muscles and fascia. When the muscles of the face or neck get tight, they can cause tension in the head and scalp leading to tension headaches and migraines.

Facial acupuncture can release the trigger points in the jaw and neck muscles.

In contrast, gua sha can be an excellent follow-up to reduce facial muscle tension and decrease the incidences of headaches.

Improves Neck Mobility

Physical therapists that treat pain and soft tissue employ scraping as a manual therapy but call it the Graston technique.

This utilizes a stainless steel device that is dragged across the neck muscles in a frictioning motion, causing a reddening of the skin.

This increases the tissue's temperature, which improves soft tissue's flexibility.

Scraping of the neck muscles can:

release the tension of scar tissue
increases blood flow to the soft tissue
decrease pain responses of the skin and underlying muscles

Clears the Sinuses

Sinuses are air-filled spaces located in the skull. They play an essential role in your ability to breathe.

Inflamed, irritated, or clogged sinuses can be caused by:

bacterial infection
viral infection
an infected tooth
fungal infection

Using a salt water rinse, a Neti pot, steam inhalation with eucalyptus globulus, and gua sha techniques can reduce facial pressure and improve airflow.

How To Use the Gua Sha Tool For Clogged Sinuses

Using the edge of your gua sha tool, gently press the indentation where the nostril flares and hold that for 3 seconds
Use the flat side of the device, maintaining a soft pressure and gently friction outline the base of the cheekbone
Finish your stroke just before the opening of the ear

Gua Sha Helps Women In Menopause

Here you have 10 great reasons why you need to incorporate gua sha into your daily skincare routine.

Keeping your skin youthful even with the decline of estrogen is very possible!

Gua sha goes beyond the health of the skin! It helps with the overall health of the body by supporting the removal of waste products, improving lymph flow, enhancing the immune system, and can reduce pain.