ABOUT GUA SHA

Gua Sha is a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) technique which involves scraping, ‘Gua’, of the skin to intentionally produce transitory therapeutic petechiae, ‘Sha’, on the skin. Sha, or the redness that appears on the skin as a result of scraping, comes from congested blood cells in surface tissue that are extravasated, or pressed, through the capillary walls to the surface of the skin. This is not a bruise, because the capillaries are not damaged or broken. The sha looks a bit like a rash under the skin, or a rug burn; however, the process can actually feel quite therapeutic and nice.