Gua‐sha, Jade Roller, and Facial Massage: Are there benefits within dermatology?

To the Editor, Guasha, Jade Rollers, and facial massages are alternative treatments that improve blood flow and lymphatic drainage resulting in clearer skin. Guasha and Jade Rollers originated from ancient China, becoming part of the Western beauty routines during the 1970s. Today, they are popular due to recent social media trends.1 Guasha treatment uses a polished jade stone to scrape skin gently. Jade Rollers resemble a small paint roller made of jade stone used to massage skin. Both methods require an upward and outward motion to reduce inflammation, improve skin complexion, and decrease wrinkles. We aim to compare these techniques and the content of top 10 websites of the respective technique as determined by the Google search algorithm. Google search was performed using “Guasha,” “Jade Roller,” and “Facial Massage.” Top 10 website results were reviewed for content, including proposed benefits, proposed risks, mentioned studies, references cited, and quoted experts. Websites for advertising and selling products were excluded. The most common websites (Table 1) were beauty websites (11 websites), followed by health websites (10 websites) and news websites (9 websites). Common benefits proposed included reduced inflammation, decreased wrinkles, reduced puffiness, improved blood circulation, improved lymphatic drainage, muscle tension relief, and migraine relief (Table 1). Common proposed risks included bruising, risk of infection, and skin irritation (Table 1). Five websites cited studies, and study types included randomized control trials, systemic reviews, and case reports (Table 1). Experts quoted were aestheticians (27%), dermatologists (16%), Chinese medicine providers (16%), acupuncturists (11%), healthcare providers (2.3%), massage therapists (2.3%), and 25% did not specify (Figure 1). Guasha, Jade Rollers, and facial massages involves mechanically manipulating the skin to enhance the immune function of the skin. Guasha has been shown to increase both blood and lymphatic flow.2 Additionally, one study showed that shortterm (5 min) facial massaging with a Jade Roller increases blood flow and lymphatics, while longterm use improves the body's vascular dilatation response.3 It may also have antiaging effects under proper stimulation.4 Other proposed benefits of Guasha therapy are not well understood, and further research is warranted to evaluate their true effects on the immune, central nervous, and respiratory systems. As alternative medical techniques like Guasha increase in the United States, patients interested in these techniques may turn to search engines such as Google for education. However, as this study demonstrates, these websites have proposed many benefits, with very little research to support them. Furthermore, only 30% of websites recognized potential risks that have been described in the literature, such as contact dermatitis, minor burns, and infection.5 Thus, to properly educate their patients and ensure their safety, dermatologists should be aware of these techniques, potential benefits, and sideeffects, as well as the information on the internet. Guasha, Jade Rollers, and facial messages carry many proposed benefits, few of which have been illustrated in the literature. As these techniques continue to increase, further research into their true benefits is warranted. Dermatologists may contribute to these efforts through research and raising awareness of these techniques' known benefits and risks.


Gua-sha, Jade Roller, and Facial Massage: Are there benefits within dermatology?
To the Editor, Gua-sha, Jade Rollers, and facial massages are alternative treatments that improve blood flow and lymphatic drainage resulting in clearer skin. Gua-sha and Jade Rollers originated from ancient China, becoming part of the Western beauty routines during the 1970s.
Today, they are popular due to recent social media trends. 1 Guasha treatment uses a polished jade stone to scrape skin gently. Jade Rollers resemble a small paint roller made of jade stone used to massage skin. Both methods require an upward and outward motion to reduce inflammation, improve skin complexion, and decrease wrinkles. We aim to compare these techniques and the content of top 10 websites of the respective technique as determined by the Google search algorithm.
Google search was performed using "Gua-sha," "Jade Roller," and "Facial Massage." Top 10 website results were reviewed for content, including proposed benefits, proposed risks, mentioned studies, references cited, and quoted experts. Websites for advertising and selling products were excluded.
Gua-sha, Jade Rollers, and facial massages involves mechanically manipulating the skin to enhance the immune function of the skin. Gua-sha has been shown to increase both blood and lymphatic flow. 2 Additionally, one study showed that short-term (5 min) facial massaging with a Jade Roller increases blood flow and lymphatics, while long-term use improves the body's vascular dilatation response. 3 It may also have anti-aging effects under proper stimulation. 4 Other proposed benefits of Gua-sha therapy are not well understood, and further research is warranted to evaluate their true effects on the immune, central nervous, and respiratory sys-

tems. As alternative medical techniques like Gua-sha increase in
the United States, patients interested in these techniques may turn to search engines such as Google for education. However, as this study demonstrates, these websites have proposed many benefits, with very little research to support them. Furthermore, only 30% of websites recognized potential risks that have been described in the literature, such as contact dermatitis, minor burns, and infection. 5 Thus, to properly educate their patients and ensure their safety, dermatologists should be aware of these techniques, potential benefits, and side-effects, as well as the information on the internet.
Gua-sha, Jade Rollers, and facial messages carry many proposed benefits, few of which have been illustrated in the literature. As these techniques continue to increase, further research into their true benefits is warranted. Dermatologists may contribute to these efforts through research and raising awareness of these techniques' known benefits and risks.
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