51: Gua Sha Facial Massage with Amanda Torres, MS

This week Gen goes solo to interview the amazing Amanda Torres on the podcast! Amanda is the creator of the food and wellness website The Curious Coconut and best-selling author of Latin American Paleo Cooking. She is currently writing a Fast & Flavorful Weeknight-friendly Paleo cookbook due to release in early 2020. Her professional background is as a neuroscientist and she worked for more than a decade in biomedical research, so you'll find plenty of fascinating science tidbits in all of her work. She is the lead researcher for the online fertility, pregnancy, and parenthood program Baby Making & Beyond. 

WHAT AMANDA IS ALL ABOUT: At the age of 25 after the intense stress of grad school, she found herself facing many painful and scary health conditions, including debilitating hidradenitis suppurativa, pre-diabetes, IBS, hypertension, as well as being obese. Western medicine only offered her a dozen different drugs and a bleak outlook. Knowing that there had to be a way to feel better, she adopted a Paleo diet, made lifestyle changes, and embraced Chinese medicine. This holistic approach allowed her to put the HS into remission, lose 80 lbs in a year (which she has maintained since 2010), and get off of all those medications. She was inspired to found The Curious Coconut in 2012 so that she could educate and empower people suffering through similar health struggles to take control and live healthier, happier lives. She talks about Chinese medicine, acupuncture, yoga, meditation, ancestral nutrition and delicious real food recipes, and holistic pet health. 

During this week’s episode we’re diving into a fascinating topic — Gua Sha Facial Massage! Amanda has become a bit of an expert on the subject [make sure to read her extensive blog post on the subject!] so we couldn’t wait to bring her on the podcast to chat! Facial gua sha is a specific type of massage adapted from ancient Chinese bodywork that utilizes a scraping tool to improve the elasticity of the skin, reduce the appearance of puffiness and fine lines, ease facial muscle tension, promote a brighter complexion, and promote lymphatic drainage. Gua Sha tools can also help facial oils and moisturizers to absorb better into the skin — and we are here for that!

Gen and Amanda talk all about…

• the benefits of Gua Sha

• Amanda’s experience with Gua Sha

• facial vs. body Gua Sha

• advice for Gua Sha beginners

• the best Gua Sha tools

• contraindications for Gua Sha

• Gua Sha vs. Facial Rolling

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Resources:

• Where you can find Amanda:

  • Website: https://thecuriouscoconut.com

  • Instagram: https://instagram.com/thecuriouscoconut

  • Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/thecuriouscoconut

• Amanda’s Gua Sha tool recommendations:

  • Steel: Stainless Steel Gua Sha Tool

  • Jade: Jade Roller and Gua Sha Set

  • Rose Quartz: 3 Piece Rose Quartz Gua Sha Set

  • Nephrite Jade (the Ferrari of tools): , Lanshin Pro

• How to Do Facial Gua Sha for Lymphatic Drainage and Anti-Aging Benefits | Amanda Torres, MS

• Amanda’s Gua Sha Product Recommendations

  • Cleanser: Beautycounter Pure Calm Cleansing Milk or 5YINA Divine Bio-Adaptive Cleanser 

  • Hydrating Mist: Beautycounter Nourishing Rosewater Mist or 5YINA Quiescent Hydrolat

  • Facial Oil: Beautycounter Facial Oils or 5YINA Quiescent  (choose the appropriate oil based on your skin type) touch base with us via email if you have questions on which oil is right for you!

• Harvard study demonstrating increased antioxidant activity immediately after gua sha and persisting for 5 days https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19718012

• 2018 randomized controlled trial deomonstrating gua shato gua sha to “dramatically” inhibit expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-a, IL-6, and IL1B https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0254627218309087?via%3Dihub

• Recent small pilot study that showed twice daily full-body moisturizing in elderly adults (age range 58-95) reduces inflammatory cytokines TNF-a, IL-6, and IL1B to levels of 30-year olds after 1 month https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jdv.15540

• Genevieve Blair | @gennybbeauty

• Cassie Kanable | @thenorthwestkitchen

• Rebel Heart Radio | @rebelheartradio

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