If you’re missing your monthly facials, the next best thing is an at-home facial. Not only is it a great way to maintain the appearance and health of your skin, but you’ll feel more relaxed as a result. Amy Chan, Assistant Group Director of Chuan Spa at Langham Hospitality Group, shares some great tips for using warm jade stone to give yourself an at-home version of Chuan Spa's Signature Yù Facial. It incorporates traditional Chinese medicine techniques and will help to calm the mind and release some tension.

Spa Profile: Chuan Body + Soul at The Langham, New York, Fifth Avenue

“Gua Sha is a massage technique designed to relieve tension in the muscles of the face, boost blood circulation, and encourage lymphatic drainage to banish bloat,” says Chan. “During these stressful times, it’s also a very relaxing form of self-care that is easy to do and doesn’t take a long amount of time. Ending your evening with this as part of your nightly skincare ritual will set you up for a relaxing night’s sleep because it hits all of the pressure points on your face and neck—and will serve to help you wind down.”

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Gua means “scraping” or “rubbing” in Chinese and is a technique is to scrape along important meridian points on each side of the face using a tool, which increases the blood flow. The ritual includes doing it three times on each side of the face on the various meridian points. It takes less than 10 minutes and can be a very relaxing way to get your skin ready for the evening!

This technique is best performed with a jade stone, although it can also be done with a soup spoon or a metal spoon. Jade has been used for centuries for healing—it’s said to have the properties to store qi (positive energy) in the body and to keep yin and yang in balance. It’s also known for its stabilizing and tranquilizing effects, it can maintain healthy blood circulation, and eliminate harmful waste toxins from the body.

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Here, Chan shares a simple DIY for performing your own at-home version of Chuan Spa's Signature Yù Facial, which can be performed daily in the evening  as a relaxing ritual.

Step 1: Warm the jade stone before application by immersing in warm water (37°C/ 98.6°F) or wrapping in a warm towel.

Step 2: Clean and moisturize your face. Moisturizer is key to ensure the adequate amount of glide for the jade.

Step 3: Take the jade (or the flat side of the spoon if you don’t have jade) and gently and slowly move it from front to back on along the various points on your face, making sure you lift up and hold for five seconds then release. Start on either side and repeat each move three times.

• Chin along the jawline

• Upper lip to cheek

• Wing of nose to cheeks

• Underneath the eyes (be more gentle in this area)

• Bridge of nose towards the forehead

• Start of the eyebrow to end of eyebrow

• Forehead

Step 4: Finish by gliding once for each movement and drain along the hairline to the back of ears and to the base on neck. This will push all the toxins into the drainage areas.

*Note: If you have acne, inflammation or sensitive skin, avoid that portion of skin to prevent discomfort.

For more information, visit langhamhotels.com and follow them on Instagram: @langhamhotels

[Images courtesy of Chuan Spa]

Kamala Kirk is a University of Southern California graduate and has been an editor/writer for more than a decade. She has written for E! Online, Total Beauty, TravelAge West, Malibu Times Magazine, and many more. She resides in Los Angeles and is a proud pug mom. Follow her on Instagram: @kamalakirk