Facial rejuvenation. Oh yes! My first course after I qualified as an acupuncturist was in cosmetic acupuncture. I was so excited to be able to help women feel better not just on the inside but on the outside too.

Fast forward and many of my patients have facial acupuncture alongside their regular health boosting body acupuncture and the benefits are palpable.

So what is gwwwwahhhhhh ssshhhhaaaa (that’s how you pronounce it)? Simply put it’s scraping the skin. Yes, scraping! Back in the day pretty much anything was used – spoons or coins, anything with a smooth edge that could scrape the skin effectively.

These days there are lots of fancy gua sha tools available, moulded into different shapes to get into different parts of the face (or body) effectively. You can just use a spoon, it depends on what you want to achieve and how much you want to invest.

In my practice I would use gua sha in a similar way to ‘cupping’ (if you don’t know about that, you should!). I use it for pain. In Chinese medicine pain is caused by a blockage. It makes sense, like a traffic jam, everything is congested and nothing can get through. And when things aren’t flowing it’s painful nothing can reach the area that needs the support to help it heal.

Enter gua sha, cupping or needles. Stimulating an area to support movement.

How do you know when you’ve done it right? Mostly you’ll see what looks like a bruise on the skin. The colour can vary and for an acupuncturist the colour produced gives us an indication of the patient’s health – it’s another form of diagnosis. So, if it’s very red there’s probably too much heat in the body and if purple there’s blockages.  

Acupuncture meridians flow through the whole body, including the face. So when looking at a patient I can see from looking at certain areas where they may have an imbalance. For instance, very dark under the eyes would suggest a Kidney imbalance, a line between the eyes some issue with the liver. In a full cosmetic acupuncture treatment, points on the body would be used alongside the body to support gua sha on the face.

These days I only really used the gua sha for pain relief and the odd self-facial so I’m really chuffed to have Justine Masters, an expert in Menopausal skincare and a whizz at the gua sha. She’s talks about how you can look after your skin during menopause and demonstrates a little facial gua sha. So, have your spoons at the ready when you join us.*

To watch us as we talk bite-sized wisdom check out @menopoised on Instagram for our IGTV

*Warning. Gua sha usually creates some marks on the face that look like bruising. So, I’d recommend not doing it with us live if you’re planning a big night out …oh that’s none of us then!

About Justine

Justine is an holistic facialist specialising in embracing the natural beauty of skin at any age.

She’s qualified as a Level 3 skin therapist and trained in Gua Sha, Osmosis skincare, Oxygen Therapy, LED Light Therapy and Radio Frequency. In person, she works with the latest techniques and the best in natural products. She’s an expert in treating menopausal skin.

As part of her consultations she helps her clients to understand their own skin and what works best for them in terms of their own skin regime and skincare products. They leave not only glowing but with a greater understanding of how the right products can work for them so they can help themselves.

She also offers online facials. To find out more about Justine visit her website here.

About Jo Darling MBAcC Lic Acu

Jo is a Brighton-based Acupuncturist with a Bachelor of Science degree in Acupuncture from the University of Greenwich. Her training includes western medicine pathology, physiology and anatomy. She is also a member of the British Acupuncture Council.

Jo is passionate about women’s health. She has helped 100’s of women live healthier, happier lives. She has spent over 10 years practicing acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, reflexology and Chinese herbs.

As well as fertility, pregnancy and natural menopause Jo specialises in the treatment of breast cancer patients particularly those thrown into early menopause by chemotherapy. This work inspired Menopoised.

For more information about her work visit her website.

About Menopoised

We understand the challenges of menopause because we are menopausal. That’s why we created Menopoised. The Menopoised Menopause Magnet is a first of their kind, acupuncture inspired, safe, effective and side-effect free. Our products have been created to support a broad spectrum of issues, designed to help guide women through a positive menopause.

How Can Help You?

If you’re suffering with hot flushes and night sweats, we can help. When we trialled our heroine product, the Menopoised Menopause Magnet, over 80% of our participants experienced a reduction in the intensity and frequency of their hot flushes and night sweats within a week of use. Read about our research here.

Stay in Touch

If you’d like to join the Menopoised conversation and be first to hear about Menopoised news, offers and selfcare tips to manage your menopause naturally - sign up here.