The alternative medicine or Oriental medicine therapy of Gua Sha is becoming increasingly popular. This is because it is so easy to do oneself and delivers great results as both a beauty treatment for the face and throat, as well as for therapeutic sports healing.
The idea behind Gua Sha is that gently “scraping” a special tool across your skin will release toxins and increase blood flow and lymphatic circulation. It is a very effective therapy to revitalize the skin and stimulate collagen, as well as heal connective tissue, muscle, and tendon layers.
Gua Sha is used as a beauty treatment for the face and neck as well as a healing treatment for various parts of your body. Athletes are now using it to heal old injuries and recover more quickly from hard training. In both cases, however, oil should be used so that the Gua Sha tool can glide smoothly over the skin and the oil can also deliver an additional therapeutic effect.
Since many people aren’t familiar with either the therapy or the tools, we have reviewed some of the best oils to use with your Gua Sha tools .
We also include a buying guide to explain what oils to use with which type of Gua Sha therapy. If you just want to buy a Gua Sha tool and be done with it, we recommend the ENDIGLOW Anti-allergy Titanium Gua Sha Massage Tool.
A Spotlight On Some of The Best Gua Sha Oils 2022
Gua Sha Oil Reviews
Truweo Chi Jade Roller and Gua Sha Tools
We are starting off our best Gua Sha tools list, not with a single tool, but with a set of tools. The Original Truweo set contains two very useful Gua Sha tools.
The first tool you get is a traditional jade Gua Sha tool. Jade tools are especially good to use on your face and neck, as the stone is cooling and very soothing. You can use the Gua Sha tool other places, however, like your arms. You can also have someone use the tool on your back.
The second tool that you get is a jade roller. The jade roller is for your face and is used to smooth out your skin and help your lymphatic circulation after using your Gua Sha tool.
Both tools are designed very well. The jade roller glides easily over the skin. The manufacturers, Matykos, even recently upgraded their roller to make very little noise when you use it.
So, if you are put off by the roller because it might not work well or because it may squeak, don’t be, as neither of those end up being issues. The handheld Gua Sha tool is also very well-made. It is smooth, glides easily over the skin, it fits well in the hand, and above all else, it works.
Pros:
Two tools for a great price.
Both tools are well-made.
Jade roller glides easily and doesn’t squeak.
Handheld tool fits in hand and is completely smooth.
Comes with helpful storage case.
Con:
Roller can break if not used properly.
Rosenice Aventurine Gua Sha Scraping Massage Tool
Up next on our best Gua Sha tools list is a more traditional Gua Sha tool. The Rosenice Aventurine is a very basic, but otherwise effective Gua Sha tool.
The tool is made from real jade, which can you can tell both by looking at it and feeling it. When you pick up the tool for the first time, you can feel that it has a good amount of “weight” to it. You can tell a product is made using real jade when it feels a bit heavier than it looks.
In addition to being made from real jade, the product works well. It is obviously a very simple tool, but it does everything that you would want a Gua Sha tool to do. It fits very easily into your hand. It is very smooth and doesn’t have any jagged edges or anything of that sort.
It is a very easy product to use, as it only has one end that is meant to be used (some other Gua Sha tools, as you will see, have a lot of different ends that make them more complicated).
It is also very affordable, coming in roughly $10, you can’t go wrong with such a moderately priced item.
Pros:
Made using real jade.
Very smooth.
Fits perfectly in your hand.
Cheap.
Easy to use.
Con:
Doesn’t come with any sort of carrying case.
ENDIGLOW Anti-allergy Titanium Gua Sha Massage Tool
For the next Gua Sha tool on our list, we have something a bit different from the previous two tools that we reviewed. Whereas the previous two tools were made of jade (an extremely common material to make Gua Sha tools out of), this one is made from titanium, more specifically, medical titanium.
The medical titanium does offer some advantages, such as the anti-allergy and anti-microbial properties. The medical titanium is also a lot easier to clean. However, ultimately it comes down to your own personal preference. If you like the feel of the cool titanium against your skin, then the ENDIGLOW is the right tool for you.
If you are an athlete and plan on using Gua Sha on your muscles and tendons to remove adhesions and stimulating healing, this type of gua sha tool is probably best for you.
The product is very easy to use. It fits naturally into your hand and it is very easy to keep a hand on the tool while using it. The titanium glides very easily across your skin. Using this tool, you can apply enough pressure to properly do Gua Sha therapy, without hurting yourself.
The ENDIGLOW also comes with a bunch of nice little extras that make it even more worthy of consideration. This includes a nice, leather carrying case and a free eBook detailing various ways to use the ENDIGLOW. The eBook is written by a licensed and experienced chiropractor, making it a very useful addition to an already very useful product.
The only downside that we can think of for the ENDIGLOW is the price. The ENDIGLOW is a lot more expensive than the other two entries on the best Gua Sha tools list. While we personally think the quality of the ENDIGLOW makes it worth the increased price, some others may feel differently.
Pros:
Made using medical titanium.
Has anti-bacterial and anti-microbial properties.
Comes with great leather carrying case.
Comes with free eBook written by licensed chiropractor.
Con:
Not as cheap as other Gua Sha tools.
The Wave Tool
For this next entry on our best Gua Sha tools list, we are once again changing things up by looking at the “Wave Tool.” Now, the unique thing about the Wave Tool is how it has a wide variety of uses. When you first look at the tool, you can tell right away that it isn’t your traditional Gua Sha tool. Whereas most other Gua Sha tools (including most of the ones on this list) are smooth, the Wave Tool has plenty of crevices.
The tool is shaped differently to allow you to target different parts of your body. For example, you can use the rounded part of the Wave Tool to do traditional Gua Sha therapy on places like your face or arm. You can use the crevices on the tool to target different areas like your shoulder.
Another unique thing about the Wave Tool is the material that it is made out of. So far, you have seen tools that have been made out of jade and tools that have been made out of titanium.
The Wave Tool is made of neither, instead, it is made out of a mixture of nylon and glass. This is a very durable material, but otherwise, it doesn’t have any tangible effects on the actual tool itself. So, if you like the tool, don’t let the change in material scare you away.
Overall, this is an incredibly useful tool if you are interested in Gua Sha therapy as it allows you to do treatment of basically your entire body. However, it is the priciest option on the best Gua Sha tools list, so if price is an issue for you, you might want to look elsewhere.
Pros:
Made from durable glass and nylon mixture.
Can be easily used on entire body.
Fits nicely in your hand despite odd shape.
Capable of doing more than just Gua Sha therapy.
Cons:
No carrying case.
Very pricey.
Heart Can Feel Jade Gua Sha Scraping Massage Tool
This is the last of the best Gua Sha tools that we are looking at. With this tool, we are going back to the simpler style of tool that we featured at the start of the article. This tool is very simply shaped. You can easily tell which end is meant for Gua Sha therapy. The smooth surface of this tool is great, it goes across your skin easily and it works very well.
Really, that’s the main draw of the Heart Can Feel Gua Sha tool. Everything about it is simplistic, but that is good because it means it is easy to use and that it is inexpensive.
You can use the tool almost anywhere on your body. Although people will primarily use it on their faces, you can also use it on your neck, back, and feet.
Pros:
Very simple, proven design.
Inexpensive.
Works on face, hands, arms, feet, and neck.
Very smooth design.
Con:
Very easy to break and/or scratch.
Gua Sha Tools Buying Guide
In the introduction to this article, we said that we would be including a buying guide in addition to our best Gua Sha tools section. This buying guide is going to do a few things.
First, we are going to explain in a bit more depth what exactly Gua Sha therapy is and what the benefits of it are. Now, we know that quite a few of you out there reading this won’t need this information, however, there are many others out there who don’t know what Gua Sha therapy is and we want to provide a concise, accurate definition for those people.
Once we have finished establishing what Gua Sha therapy is, we are going to move onto the second part of the buying guide, which is where we will explain exactly what things that you should be considering when buying a Gua Sha tool of your own.
What Is Gua Sha Therapy
If you read through the first part of our article, the best Gua Sha tools section, then you probably already have a good idea of what this therapy is. However, if you skimmed through and still aren’t sure, we are going to explain it. Gua Sha Therapy is very simple, it involves the use of a stone instrument to massage the skin, it is that simple.
There are a few things to consider here. Firstly, Gua Sha therapy can be done anywhere on the body. A lot of the best Gua Sha tools are meant for use on the face, but you can also find ones meant for the back, the legs, the stomach, and anywhere else that there is skin.
Now, you may think that this is a very painful therapy. You would be forgiven for think that, it is, after all, a therapy that involves massaging your skin with a stone. However, the therapy isn’t painful for a few reasons.
Firstly, good-quality Gua Sha tools (such as the ones we reviewed at the beginning of our article) should not be sharp. In fact, good-quality Gua Sha tools will actually be blunt. So, your skin isn’t scrapped off, nor should the tool be causing cuts or anything like that.
Secondly, Gua Sha therapy isn’t rough. Sure, you should be pressing fairly hard, but when properly done, you shouldn’t be applying enough force to actively cause pain. If you are experiencing pain when doing this therapy, it might be because you are either using low-quality tools or because you are doing Gua Sha therapy wrong.
Finally, we come to the question of what Gua Sha therapy is meant to do. There are a couple of different things that the therapy can do, and different people do it for different reasons. First off, the therapy helps increase blood flow to an affected area.
Anyone with even a bit of cursory medical knowledge can tell you that applying friction to an area increases blood flow to that area (it is why rubbing your leg when it falls asleep helps wake it back up). So, if you have some stiff muscles or sore muscles, rubbing the area with a Gua Sha tool can help increase blood flow to the area and alleviate pain and/or stiffness.
Increasing blood flow to an area can also help make that area look more vibrant and healthier in the long run. Hence why many people use Gua Sha tools as beauty products. When used consistently, Gua Sha therapy can make your face look vibrant, youthful, and radiant.
Secondly, Gua Sha therapy can be used to “cleanse” a specific area. It does this by helping to scrape away dead skin cells. This will be of interest to people who put a lot of effort into trying to keep their skin healthy. This aspect of Gua Sha therapy works best when combined with other face care products.
Finally, some do Gua Sha therapy because it can help with various medical ailments. We aren’t going to comment too much on this aspect, as it is better left to individuals to determine if the therapy is right for them.
Buying A Gua Sha Tool
Now that we are all on the same page as to what Gua Sha therapy is and how it can be helpful, we can move onto the next part of our buying guide, which is explaining how to buy a good Gua Sha tool. This section won’t be too long because there isn’t a whole lot to discuss as Gua Sha tools are fairly simple.
Smooth Edges
The biggest thing to look for when shopping for a Gua Sha tool is smoothness. You want to make sure that the tool that you use is completely smooth. Any rough or jagged edges make the tool unusable.
An ultra-smooth tool offers by far the best experience. While rough or jagged edges won’t be an issue if you buy from a reputable company or from our best Gua Sha tools list, it is something to keep in mind if you go shopping at a physical store or buy from non-reputable sellers online.
Handheld Or Not
So, while going through our best Gua Sha tools list, you may have noticed that roughly speaking, there are two kinds of Gua Sha tool out there. Handheld tools and ones that are attached to something.
The handheld tools are great for using on your face or other areas that you can reach. Ones that are attached to rods are good for getting places like your back, which you wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach on your own.
Different Materials
Different Gua Sha tools are made using different materials. There aren’t really any major medical benefits to using one kind of material over another.
While assembling our best Gua Sha tools list, we included a wide variety of tools made from different materials, including titanium, green jade, and more.
Concluding Thoughts
That is it for our best Gua Sha tools article, we hope that you found it enlightening and helpful.
If you have questions that weren’t quite answered in our buying guide, then you should let us know by leaving a comment.