The Art of the Face Massage, with Oil

Warm hands, a golden oil, unhurried minutes: the face massage is the most intimate of gestures.

A facial oil for gua sha has one task: to let the stone glide. Without it, the tool pulls; with it, each stroke becomes a caress. The same oil serves the hands alone, for those who massage without a tool.

Why use a facial oil for gua sha?

Gua sha, a gesture inherited from traditional Chinese practice, draws a smooth stone across the skin. The oil creates the glide that keeps the stone from pulling, and turns the gesture into a pleasure. It must be rich enough to stay present under the stone, and light enough for the skin to drink it in afterwards.

How to use a gua sha with face oil

Warm the oil between your palms and press it over the face and throat. Hold the stone almost flat against the skin. Draw it slowly, from the center of the face outward and upward: along the jaw, across the cheekbones, from the brow toward the temples. Light pressure, always in the same direction.

Facial massage steps, without a gua sha

The hands alone are enough. Warm the oil, press the palms against the face, then glide the fingertips from the chin toward the ears, from the nose toward the temples, from the center of the forehead outward. Close by resting both palms over the eyes for a breath.

Which oil for a face massage?

An oil with presence, warm and silken. The Rich Elixir Serum holds argan from Douar Aït Baha and prickly pear at its heart; jojoba and apricot kernel oils lend it the satin glide that stays under the stone, until the skin drinks it in.

The stone cools, the oil warms, and time slows down.

Maison AQAY Paris. Single-estate argan skincare, formulated in Paris.

Sources

• Nielsen A., Gua Sha: A Traditional Technique for Modern Practice, Elsevier, 2013.