TikTok has quickly replaced Instagram as the go-to place to discover new beauty products, tips, dupes, and trends. From makeup transformations to breakout treatments, everything has the potential to be a viral sensation on the app. Plenty of BEAUTY BAY products have shot to instant fame (and sold out straight away) thanks to TikTok, and we’ve made our fair share of beauty discoveries after getting stuck into the cycle of endless scrolling.
Read on to discover Content Marketing Executive, Olivia’s latest TikTok beauty find…
Any skincare lover would jump at the chance to talk you through their seven (teen) step morning and evening skincare routine, and let me tell you reader, I am no different. But as much as I’d love to hold a seminar on the hows and whys of my regime, I will narrow my recommendations down to the tool that has changed my routine and my TikTok algorithm: the gua sha.
Hidden amongst the never-ending scroll of cooking, cat, and haunted house investigation videos (the algorithm knows me), I was finding myself becoming engrossed on the gua sha content to the point that I had to order not just one, but three gua shas; I had to try one in every stone. Although TikTok didn’t invent the gua sha or its benefits, we have ancient Chinese medicine to thanks for that (more on that later), it did open up this traditional tool up to the Gen Z and Millennial masses and show us why this unsuspecting little tool is one, if not thee, best thing you can add to your skincare routine.
So, let me give you a brief history lesson in an effort to show you just why TikTok made me buy three gua shas and counting. Gua shas were first recorded in history in the 1360s when Chinese medical practitioners would use the tools to massage their patients to help reduce the side effects and symptoms of illnesses such as colds, fevers, and lung problems. Much like today, the skin would be lubricated with a massage oil or balm and the gua sha, which translates to ‘scraping’ in English, would be used to massage the skin on the face and the body. Traditional Chinese medicine saw a multitude of benefits in using a gua sha, so much so, that the practice has survived over 700 years and has gone on to become one of TikTok’s biggest trends.
But what are the skincare benefits of using a gua sha? Beyond the fact that giving yourself a soothing facial massage at the end of the day is an ideal form of self-care, gua shas are believed to have countless benefits for the skin, the muscles, and the mind. And depending on what stone your gua sha is made from, the tool could be one of the best tools in your kit.
While most commonly used to treat muscle and joint pain, gua shas are also thought to help with (deep breath): reducing inflammation, brightening the complexion, decreasing dark circles, lymphatic drainage, reducing puffiness, softening fine lines and wrinkles, diminishing scars, contouring the face, and aiding product absorption. They don’t call it ‘the Botox of the Far East’ for nothing…
I wouldn’t be writing and raving about gua shas if I didn’t fully believe in their magic. There really is nothing better than settling in bed with hot tea, freshly skincared skin, a true crime podcast (it’s all about balance really) and massaging my face with my gua sha. And while sceptics may say that a pretty stone isn’t the skincare and wellness saviour we’ve all been searching for, I and most of TikTok strongly disagree. My skin has never been smoother, my mind has never been calmer, and my skincare recommendations have never been louder, all thanks to this centuries old, unassuming tool.
Unsure how to use a gua sha? We have that covered! See how to use a gua sha here.
