know I would be the person who ends up with a face like a Barbie that’s been left too close to the fire. It
doesn’t help that I have another friend who did have a terrible Botox experience that resulted in a weirdly
arched eyebrow that was definitely more Spock than Scarlett in Gone With the Wind.
So when I read an online feature touting gua sha facial massage as the new, non-invasive, side-effect-free
alternative to Botox, I knew I had to try it. The article was accompanied by before and after photographs of
the author highlighting a (very slightly) tightened jawline, (incredibly subtly) lifted brows and neck wrinkles
magically melted away (in the right light). I was sold.
Gua sha is nothing new. Also known as kerokan, scraping or coining, it’s a common practice in traditional
Chinese medicine. It’s called scraping because practitioners use various implements to literally scrape a
patient’s skin to the point of causing bruising in the belief that it has health benefits. The word “sha” refers
to petichae, the little red or purple dots that indicate bleeding under the skin.
Photographs found online of the aftermath of a traditional gua sha massage are quite shocking, looking more
like crime scene pictures than the lovely “look no jowls” shots that the beauty bloggers post. In fact, a
review in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology lists some of the side effects of gua sha as
dermatitis, burns and hematuria, which is the presence of blood in urine. There have even been incidences
in which damage caused by gua sha has required skin grafts.
Having learned all that, suddenly Botox was looking like the sensible option but facial gua sha as adapted for
the Instagram age is, thank goodness, a somewhat gentler pursuit more suited to a spa than a dungeon. It’s
all about gentle strokes in the pursuit of increasing circulation and banishing puffiness.
Use the energy of aventurine to bring more abundance and opportunities into your life. That sounded great.
By the time I’d splurged on one of the teeny bottles of oil, my bank account was badly in need of some more
abundance
Naturally, as is the case with any wellness fad, facial gua sha requires new stuff. Expensive stuff. With a
fistful of vouchers left over from Christmas, I hot-footed it to Space NK, where I eschewed the usual
scented candle I always buy when faced with a bewildering array of cosmetics and picked up a gua sha
massage tool by Odacité, an LA based brand with a French accent. To go with the massage tool, Odacité
offers a rainbow of essential oils, comprising only natural and organic ingredients, free from synthetic
chemicals and never tested on animals. Their price does however suggest they may contain unicorn’s tears.
The green aventurine “crystal contour” tool (£40) I chose was an elegant thing, like a flattened Barbara
Hepworth sculpture in the shape of a friendly ghost. The blurb on the box explained that it was hand
carved, would help to reduce the look of wrinkles and fine lines, diminish the appearance of dark circles and
remove particles of dirt and oil from the skin.
In addition to all those wonderful qualities, the packaging further claimed that “the whimsical energy of this
shimmering crystal is especially conducive to the power of prosperity and good luck. Use the energy of
aventurine to bring more abundance and opportunities into your life”. That sounded great. By the time I’d
splurged on one of the teeny bottles of oil (£38) to use with the crystal contour whatsit, my bank account
was badly in need of some more abundance ASAP.
If you don’t like green, Odacité also offers a rose quartz tool, which promises to “open up your heart chakra
to every kind of love that you need” and one in dark blue sodalite, which Odacité claims “re-establishes
peace and tranquillity, releasing fears and tensions”. That’s an awful lot of promises for three bits of flat
stone. I decided I would be happy if at the end of this expensive adventure I just looked slightly less tired.