Gua Sha Facial
The Gua Sha Facial is a relaxing, therapeutic, experience that benefits skin of any age. Gua sha loosely translates to 'scraping, rubbing, or pushing' and essentially is a tool-assisted type of massage. If you are needle-shy or like a traditional type of facial then the Gua Sha Facial is the ideal service for you.
Rooted in Chinese medicine, gua sha is a therapeutic modality used to move stagnant 'qi', or energy, in the body; stagnant qi is stuck energy that can lead to pain or health issues. Traditionally gua sha is used to help alleviate pain by using a smooth-edged tool to gently scrape areas of the body where there is pain or stagnant qi to help improve circulation and promote healing.
Gua sha can be done on most parts of the body however we are discussing facial gua sha which is a gentler style, though achieving the same results.
Gua sha is gentle, and the intensity can build depending on the types of knots that your acupuncturist encounters.healing.
Cupping is primarily done for pain at the muscle areas of the back, neck, and shoulders. Cups are either left stationary on the body or moved along the muscle areas, depending on your comfort level.
Cupping is a deep tissue therapy that can affect body tissues up to four inches deep from the external skin level. Cupping circulates the blood and lymph to release toxins in the body, refreshing the veins and blood vessels. In Chinese Medicine pain is seen as stagnation, or lack of movement in the area; cupping brings circulation and fresh blood and lymph to the surface, displacing 'stuck', stagnant fluids, creating movement, and decreasing pain. Depending on the level of stagnation patients can presents with 'cupping marks', which is discoloration at the cupping site, see photo above. Cupping marks can be mild to very dark; this is normal, marks will fade away after a few days.
Cupping is not just for musculature issues, it is great for relieving stress and anxiety and for a general relaxing experience. It can also be used for lung issues, such as asthma or the common cold and assists with breathing issues and congestion. Folk medicines of many different countries continue to use some form of cupping.
To reiterate: cupping may leave skin discoloration at the cupping sites which appear similar to bruising. This is normal, so do not be alarmed. Marks will fade away within a few days to a week, depending on the degree of discoloration.