Jade Gua Sha Facial in Arcadia: 75 Minutes, Step by Step

The booking page lists 10 steps for this facial, reproduced below exactly as written. The one decision you make is the skin solution: Hydrating, Brightening or Anti-Aging. Say what your skin has been doing that week and choose it with your therapist.

On that list the gua sha comes after the cleanse, exfoliation, steam and facial massage, so the stone works on skin that is warm, clean and already slick with product. The serum infusion and the mask come after it, and daytime appointments end with SPF.

Mostly in three things: how the skin is prepared, how well the stone glides, and how steady the pressure stays. In the studio your face is cleansed, exfoliated and steamed before the jade touches it, and a serum infusion and mask follow the stone work. At home most people spend five minutes at a mirror on skin that has had none of that.

Someone else holding the stone can keep it almost flat against the skin, at the same light pressure on both sides of the face, while you lie still with your eyes closed. Facial gua sha strokes generally run from the centre outward and upward: chin toward the ear, cheek toward the temple, along the brow toward the hairline, then down the side of the neck. In a mirror it is easy to press harder on one side and to tip the stone onto its edge, where it drags.

A stone on dry skin tugs. In a facial it runs on a film of oil or serum, so it slides without pulling, including over the thinner skin around the eyes. The most common home mistake is too little product. Facial gua sha should feel like firm stroking and never like scraping, so say so straight away if any stroke feels sharp.

Keep using your own stone between visits if you like it. Light pressure, plenty of slip and a clean tool are the habits worth copying from the studio.

Expect slow strokes repeated several times in one area before the next, a stone that starts cool and warms on the skin, and more pressure along the jaw and cheekbones than around the eyes. It should feel closer to a firm face massage than to anything sharp. If you clench your jaw or grind your teeth, say so at the start, because the muscles at the angle of the jaw are often where the tightness sits.

It may leave the face looking less puffy and feeling looser for a while, but the research behind facial gua sha is small and short. The menu's wording, "improve circulation" and "lift facial contours", describes what the facial aims for rather than a proven result.

The best-known circulation study is a 2007 pilot study of 11 healthy adults, in which one session of gua sha on the back raised surface blood flow about fourfold for the first 7.5 minutes. That was the heavier body technique, which deliberately leaves red marks. For the face, a 2025 randomized trial had 34 women aged 20 to 50 use a gua sha tool at home for 10 minutes, five times a week, for 8 weeks. Their facial contour measurements shrank by about 2.2 to 2.4 mm and their muscle tone readings softened, while skin elasticity did not change.

Two millimeters is measurable but modest, the trial had no long follow-up, and no one has tested a single 75 minute session. Our guide to gua sha and the evidence goes through the studies in more detail.

Wait if your face has an active breakout, broken or sunburned skin, or a recent injection or procedure. Gua sha strokes the same areas many times, and the facial around it includes exfoliation and steam, so skin that is already irritated is likely to feel worse afterwards.

For injections, the American Academy of Dermatology's filler aftercare advice is to avoid touching the treated area for three days unless you were told to massage it, and it lists swelling and bruising that tend to clear within 7 to 14 days. Gua sha crosses exactly those areas, so check with the provider who did the work before you book.

Rosacea or skin that flushes easily does not rule the facial out, but tell your therapist before the steam and the stone. Lighter strokes and fewer passes over the cheeks are fair things to ask for.

Book the Customized Facial for a cleanse and one skin solution in 60 minutes, the Jade Gua Sha Facial for that same facial plus stone work in 75, and Myofascial Facial Lifting when your neck and shoulders feel as tight as your face. The gua sha facial costs $60 more than the Customized Facial at the regular rate and $30 more at the member rate.

Myofascial Facial Lifting runs 90 minutes. Its list keeps the cleanse, exfoliation and steam, then spends the time on chest lymphatic detox, shoulder and neck lymphatic drainage, ear and scalp relaxation, and facial myofascial lifting and massage, with no gua sha step and no skin solution. LED light belongs to a fourth option, the 90 minute Luxury Facial, and our comparison of all four facials sets them side by side.

Keep the rest of the day easy on your skin. Some pinkness along the stroke lines is common after facial gua sha and usually fades within a few hours; marks or tenderness that last into the next day are worth a call to the studio.

How often to come back is up to you. No study has tested a schedule for professional facial gua sha, and the 2025 trial used five short home sessions a week rather than monthly visits. If you like the result, a studio session every few weeks with light home use in between is a reasonable rhythm to try.

The Jade Gua Sha Facial is $196 at the regular rate and $98 at the member rate, for 75 minutes. The booking page lists both rates for every session; ask the front desk how membership works. You will also see a single-price listing there, the 75-Minute Premium Jade Gua Sha Facial at $196, which carries no member rate.

To add a head spa on the same day, book Package D as a second session. The two together take 135 minutes and come to $352 regular or $176 at the member rate.

O2 is open every day from 10 AM to 8 PM; the booking page shows the last start time for a 75 minute facial. Book online or call (626) 857-6608, and mention any recent injections, peels or sunburn when you do.

The studio is at 1432 S Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA 91007, on Baldwin between W Duarte Rd and W Camino Real Ave, about 0.2 miles south of the Vons at Baldwin and Duarte. From Pasadena, take the 210 east to Baldwin Avenue and drive south for about 2 miles, past Westfield Santa Anita; allow about 15 to 20 minutes. From Temple City it is about 5 minutes, with Las Tunas Drive crossing Baldwin roughly a mile south of the door.