The Wash

Every woman is looking for the proverbial fountain of youth. After treating hundreds of women battling acne, wrinkles, and aging for years, we've come to realize there is no magic pill for skincare that will heal your skin overnight. Skincare is all about consistency. We can't stress enough the importance of a skincare routine. Give your face some TLC daily, and your skin will thank you for years to come.  Skincare routines do not need to be complicated. In fact, the easier, the better.  We're skincare minimalists, so we created an easy 3-step system for you to do a gua sha facial at home. We like to keep it holistic and straightforward because it saves us time, money, and improves our overall health. We're advocates of our TOMA Essential Skincare Kit that has done wonders for our clients and us, but today we are going to talk about an ancient Chinese facial massage that does more our for skin and health than any topical product we use. Ancient Chinese Gua Sha Facial Chinese Medicine doctors invented Gua Sha or "wind-scraping" to remove pathogens and improve circulation in our bodies. Oftentimes this causes redness and bruising as blood is being moved to enhance circulation. For use on the face, the intense scraping method is a  milder "gliding" version to help tone and firm the skin.    Similar to body scraping, facial scraping’s goal is to facilitate circulation and lymphatic drainage for a youthful, dewy glow.   As you gently "scrape" your face, fresh oxygenated blood stimulates cell renewal. The blood transfers nutrients that make cell regeneration and repairs efficient, which is vital for healing scars and boosting collagen production. Every woman should add gua sha scraping to their routine. It's highly effective and only takes 5 minutes.  Not quite sure how to gua sha at home? Learn how to with our "How-To Gua Sha Scrap at Home."  In just 5 minutes a day, you can experience al these wonderful benefits of gua sha!   Benefits of Gua Sha: Lymphatic Drainage   Your lymph is a clear fluid that transports white blood cells throughout your body. Lymph nodes are congregations of tissue that filter out old cells and create new white blood cells for your body.  Your lymphatic system is CRUCIAL to your immune system. It's twice the size of our circulatory system, yet unlike our circulatory system lacks a pump (or heart) to clean and move lymph automatically.    Lymph circulation or drainage through lymph nodes only happens through muscle contraction or movement or massage. With modern sedentary lifestyles, our lymph systems are susceptible to damage and sluggishness.  A sluggish lymph system can cause:   Swollen or puffy skin Chronic Fatigue Colds or illness Acne and Skin Conditions   Facial gua sha is just one piece of the lymphatic puzzle but works magic to heal chronic issues in our faces like sinus pain, mucus, oiliness, and jaw clenching. Opening up the lymph nodes in your neck and face can really help jumpstart the whole system and increase your overall energy.   Gua Sha Benefits: Cystic Acne   Yes, you can use gua sha on your acne as long as the skin is not broken and always on clean skin. An added benefit of gua sha tools is using it to calm the inflamed breakout. Place the tool in ice water for a minute then hold the flat side on the breakout for a minute or two. Never gua sha over broken skin or pustules!   People with cystic acne typically have sluggish and congested skin. Gua sha helps to move the congestion and improve circulation to the surface, which reduces flare-ups faster. Gua sha also helps the appearance of acne by reducing redness, size, and scarring of breakouts. Basically, it can help prevent and heal acneic skin, rather than allowing acne to sit there and try to heal itself.     Gua Sha Benefits: Acne Scars   As you gently scrape your skin, you're bringing fresh oxygenated blood to the surface which stimulates cell renewal. The boost of nutrient-rich blood makes tissue repair more efficient and effectively reduces acne scarring.    Gua Sha Benefits: Puffy Skin   With gua sha, it's all about circulation. Puffy skin, or edema, is due to the accumulation of excess fluids under the skin. Fluid retention can be caused by various things and can be as simple as overeating salt in your diet.     However, gua sha can help move blood and lymph to remove excess fluids from your face. When you eliminate excess fluids, you're effectively tightening your skin and contouring the skin to your muscle. The results are a tightened and more chiseled facial complexion.    Gua Sha Benefits: Dark Circles & Dull Complexion   Dark circles and a dull complexion are your skin’s way of saying, "you need more sleep." Some beauty naps combined with gua sha to improve blood flow to your skin will help you get rid of dark circles and bring back a rosy glow to your cheeks.    Gua Sha Benefits: Wrinkles & Fine Lines   In addition to improving circulation, gua sha does wonders to release facial tension. By relaxing our facial muscles, we can release wrinkles and lines that are created due to various tension patterns we hold in our face during stress.    Gua Sha Benefits: Jaw Clenching and Grinding   We recently went to our dentist who said she no longer treats as many cavities as she used to. What's keeping her in business? Cracks and tooth damages due to clenching and tight jaws.     As many as 20% of people hold their tension in the jaw and are unaware of grinding their teeth.   A gua sha facial massage can relieve tight jaw muscles and bring awareness to our clenching. By building our awareness, we can retrain our jaw muscles to relax.   Is gua sha an overnight treatment that will cure all? No, but you can see quick results. Skincare takes dedication and with gua sha added to your regular routine, the results will be remarkable.    Nothing beats a quicky at home gua sha sculpting facial.    

Facial gua sha scraping tools are Instagram's newest beauty trend. Just a quick search of skin care and you're sure to see women applying rollers and scraping tools to their face all in the name for anti-wrinkles and aging. Publications like Harpers Bazaar are even calling facial gua sha the "natural facelift" or "botox of the east" because it's non-toxic and delivers IMMEDIATE results. But gua sha existed long before Instagram’s inception. Traditional Chinese Medicine invented gua sha scraping treatments for whole body healing. In fact, gua sha translates to "scraping-wind" and is designed to remove pathogens from the body, often times with deep pressure.  There are TONS of benefits to gua sha. There's so many we won't get into the nitty gritty here, but if your curious, read all about The Amazing Benefits of Gua Sha Facials for your Skin.  Do a quick Google search for Chinese gua sha scraping and what you will see may scare you. You’ll find videos of Chinese doctors vigorously using a gua sha scraping tool to rake the skin inflicting red streaks that resemble a hickey all over their patient’s bodies. It’s a little rough, we know, but when done correctly, a gua sha scraping tool works wonders for moving energy, breaking up scar tissue, removing painful knots, and improving circulation.  Though body scraping is widely used in Chinese medicine, the facial gua sha scraping tool is becoming, “the secret to skin care” according to Vogue. In facial gua sha, the principles of moving energy remain the same, although the pressure is much gentler. The simple technique improves circulation, aids lymphatic drainage, improves skin elasticity, addresses adult acne, and helps build collagen.   In addition to the facelift effects of gua sha, the techniques may be used to treat: Jaw pain Puffiness Acne Oiliness Dryness Stiff neck Tired eyes  Facial gua sha is vastly different from body gua sha as it's gentle and is designed to improve circulation, not to remove pathogens. Though the techniques and purposes are different - one key element remains the same - gua sha is highly effective in improving your skin. Whether you're struggling with acne, wrinkles, or a sluggish complexion, daily gua sha scraping at home will enhance your skin's health.  Since the benefits outweigh the costs, we believe every woman should apply a quick gua sha regimen in her daily skincare routine.  Here's a breakdown of how to use a facial gua sha scraping tool so you can give yourself a natural face lift at home. The Technique to using a Facial Gua Sha Scraping Tool   Light to medium pressure with facial gua sha is recommended. However, under your eye always use featherlike pressure to protect the delicate skin. When you use gua sha, you want to scrape and lift up to improve circulation and flow. It is important to finish scraping one side of your face first before moving onto the other side. Doing one side, then the other helps move energy, circulation, and lymph all the way up your face.  The long curved part of gua sha tools is for the neck and areas that do not huge bone like the forehead. The V-angle is used to hug the bone in areas like the jaw, cheek, and brow. The longer notch is ideal for under the eye. This is how you use a facial gua sha scraping tool in three easy steps:  1. Cleanse Your Face before Using Your Gua Sha Scraping Tool   Always wash your face before you start scraping, so you don't spread oil or bacteria. 2. Apply Gua Sha Oil to Your Face Apply three-five drops of TOMA’s Sculpting Treatment Oil to help your gua sha tool glide over your face and nourish your skin.  3. Scrape Your Neck Then Your Face Always scrape your neck first before your face to improve energy flow and circulation.  Let's dive a little deeper and talk about how to use gua sha on your neck and face for the natural facelift everybody raves about. How to Use a Facial Gua Sha Scraping Tool on Your Neck Always start gua sha by scraping your neck. Scrape from your shoulder to the bottom of your ear lobe and massage with a wiggle movement Scrape from the middle of your throat to your chin and wiggle Scrape with the V-angle on your throat moving upwards and wiggle under your chin  Continue scraping all the way over to the other shoulder Once you’re done scraping your neck, move onto your face.  How to us a Facial Gua Sha Tool on Your Face 1.Scrape your chin, from your chin, along your jaw to your ear and wiggle                     2. Scrape along your cheek to your ear and wiggle  3. Scrape under your cheekbone with the notch to your ear and wiggle 4. Scrape very gently under the eye to the temple and wiggle 5. Scrape your brow bone to the temple and wiggle 6. Scrape your forehead from underneath the brow, over it, and up to the scalp and wiggle More and more women are opting for gua sha scraping over botox treatments. It's more than just an Instagram trend, it's using your body’s natural ability to get the results you want. It's a medicinal treatment because it WORKS. We promise you'll see immediate results just after scraping one side of your face.  But gua sha works deeper than just reducing fine lines and healing acne. Gua sha rebalances your energy not only for healthier skin but a brighter healthier you with less stress, more energy, and more happiness.   Can botox do this? We don't think so. KEEP READING: The Benefits of Gua Sha The Ultimate TOMA Rebranding Guide