When it comes to gua sha and jade roller, two beauty tools, it’s hard not to associate them. Also as facial beauty equipment with a long history in China, they both rose up in the same period and appeared in front of people. They are always inextricably linked.
So which one is better between them? Or are the two comparable? Let’s have a good discussion today. We will compare these two products from various aspects.
The Benefits of Gua Sha and Jade Roller:
The Benefits of Jade Roller:
- Improves blood flow
A study published in Complementary Medicine in Medicine evaluated the short-term effects of using a massage roller on the face. A five-minute facial massage can dilate blood vessels and improve blood flow to the cheeks, research has found.
- Reduces puffiness
Massaging with a jade roller helps to reduce puffiness by stimulating the lymphatic vessels of the face to promote lymphatic drainage.
- Tighten the skin
According to one study, facial massage can alter the expression of certain structural proteins in the skin, stimulate elastin fibers, and promote collagen development. So massaging your skin regularly with a jade roller and anti-aging serum may have similar effects.
- Boost Your Mood
Facial massage can help relieve anxiety and lift your mood. Researchers at Kyushu University’s Institute of User Science found that a 45-minute facial massage activates the sympathetic nervous system and reduces psychological distress. Massaging your face with a jade roller can have a similar effect.
- Improve Your Skincare Routine
You can use the jade roller to apply serums, creams, lotions and eye creams. It helps spread the product evenly without tugging at the skin and allows you to control the direction of application.
The Benefits of Gua Sha Stones:
- Promote blood circulation. From a TCM perspective, the Taiyin Meridian (composed of the lungs and spleen) and the Yangming Meridian (composed of the large intestine and stomach) are responsible for the overall health of the skin. When you gently shave your face with a gua sha tool, you are stimulating your Yangming meridians. You’re also sending a signal to your body that the area needs more blood circulation.
- Improve fine lines and wrinkles. Gua Sha can temporarily improve the appearance of a new and very mild person. Gua Sha should not be the first choice for long-standing wrinkles, though.
- Promote lymphatic drainage. Gua Sha can reduce puffiness by removing fluid buildup, experts say.
- Relieve muscle tension. Experts state that by regularly applying pressure with a gua sha tool, users can untangle knotted areas and release built-up muscle tension.
- Improve your mood. Like rolling, gua sha can also improve your mood.
From the perspective of efficacy, there are many overlapping parts between roller and gua sha. However, the effect of gua sha is more comprehensive than that of rollers. Gua Sha is not just for the face, it can be used on the body as well. It seems that in terms of efficacy, gua sha is better.
How to Use Gua Sha and Jade Roller:
How to Use Gua Sha
Step 1: Cleanse and Tone
Gua Sha is best performed on clean skin. If using a toner, apply after cleansing. Also, make sure your hands and the tools themselves are clean. All you need is a drop of detergent and water.
Step 2: Apply Facial Oil
Apply a generous amount of face oil to your face, neck and décolleté. Oils can help the tools glide more easily, but it’s also fine if you prefer a cream or water-based lotion. Note that you may need to reapply more throughout the process.
The 3 step: Gua sha
Now you can start your real Gua Sha practice. Hold the tool at a 30 to 45 degree angle and very gently pull/scrape it across the skin. In general, all movements should be upward and follow the lymphatic flow. Repeat each movement three to five times before moving on to the next area of skin.
Campbell-Semien recommends the following as part of a Gua Sha facial:
- Jawline and Chin: Glide the tool from the center of the jaw up to the earlobe to contour the jawline.
- Forehead: Starting in the center of the forehead, divide the forehead into three sections and slide the tool outward. Scrape once, then move down a bit and scrape again.
- Cheeks: Start on the nose and sweep up along the cheeks and cheekbones, moving outward to the ears. Scrape once, then a little further down, then a little further down to the center of the chin and then another shave.
- Fundus: Start at the inner corner of the eye and slide outward to the temple.
- Brows: Glide up and down the brow bone—from the inside out.
- Lips: Swipe back and forth on lips about five times for a plumping effect.
- Neck: Divide the neck into four areas and scrape each section from the bottom up.
Step 4: Remove excess and complete regimen
You can massage the remaining product into your skin with your hands if desired, or you can wipe off any remaining oil or cream with a damp cloth. Afterwards, complete your daily skincare routine.
How to Use the Jade Roller:
Step 1: Cleanse and Tone
Gua Sha is best performed on clean skin. If using a toner, apply after cleansing. Also, make sure your hands and the tools themselves are clean. All you need is a drop of detergent and water.
Step 2: Apply Facial Oil
Apply a generous amount of face oil to your face, neck and décolleté. Oils can help the tools glide more easily, but it’s also fine if you prefer a cream or water-based lotion. Note that you may need to reapply more throughout the process.
Step 3, start your roller massage:
- Cheeks and chin. Place the large end of the jade roller on your chin, apply medium pressure and roll it toward your ear. Repeat 5-6 times in the same place, then move up the cheeks. Repeat on the other side.
- Next, move up to your forehead. Starting in the middle of the forehead, roll the larger end toward the ear. Repeat 5-6 times with the same movement, then switch to the other side of the forehead.
- Under eyes. Using the smaller end, apply medium pressure and roll from the inner eye to the outer corner. Repeat 10-15 times, then switch to the other eye.
- Follow the same method as under the eyes, just above the eyes!
- Crow’s feet. Using the smaller end, apply medium pressure and quickly move the smaller end of the roller up and down the corner of the eye. Repeat on the other side.
In terms of the steps to use, it seems that there is not much difference between gua sha and rolling, so are they also the same in difficulty? Not really. From the way of use, gua sha is more complicated. Because Gua Sha has many different parts, they correspond to different areas of your face. And when using gua sha therapy, the angle formed by gua sha therapy and the face is also particular. But the Jade Roller comes in a circle or bucket shape, so no matter what angle you’re at, you’ll get consistent results. Therefore, in terms of difficulty of use, jade rollers are more convenient.
The Price Difference between Jade Roller and Gua Sha Tool:
Generally speaking, the average price of jade facial rollers is higher than that of jade gua sha tools. Under the same material, the price of the product is greatly affected by the labor cost, and the labor cost is also affected by the production process. The more steps required to produce a product, the higher the additional labor cost in the middle.
Generally speaking, gua sha tools only need to go through the final quality inspection after polishing, but jade rollers are different. The finished products of jade rollers need to undergo a strict quality inspection after polishing. All qualified products will be passed to the next area for assembly. After the assembly is completed, the final quality inspection will be carried out before they can be distributed to the market. Therefore, compared with the jade gua sha tool, the jade roller will add two additional labor costs.
In addition, the production difficulty of jade rollers and the loss ratio in the production process are also higher than those of jade gua sha tools. For various reasons, the average price of facial rollers is slightly higher than that of gua sha tools. But the gap is not big, the average price is about 20%-30% more expensive.
Maintenance of Gua Sha and Jade Roller:
Jade rollers and Gua Sha tools are easy to maintain. Just keep them in a dry, cool area. Because high temperatures may cause your crystal scraper or roller to lose its color or even crack.
In terms of the requirements for the surrounding humidity, the facial roller is more stringent, and it needs a dry environment more. Because face rollers often contain other metal accessories, we all know that metal is prone to rust and damage in wet environments.
From the comparison of the four aspects, the gua sha tool won three victories, while the roller only won one. So does this mean that we should only choose gua sha tools and lose face rolling? Not really. Because with our current high-paced life, it is difficult for us to devote a lot of time to a comprehensive facial gua sha activity. The convenience of using the facial roller makes it easy and time-saving in daily facial beauty. In fact, jade rollers emerged as an alternative to Gua Sha tools.
Which to choose? If you want to experience a more comprehensive and perfect facial beauty effect, Gua Sha is the better choice. If you want to simplify your use process as much as possible, the face roller is just the right choice. But why not consider getting both tools at the same time? That way, you don’t have to struggle with efficacy and convenient options (and at a much more affordable price.)
