Anti-ageing face massage is all the rage

TikTok has become something of an incubator for trends, as one of Gen Z’s go-to social networks for beauty hints and tips, as well as the hottest new innovations.

TikTokers have been going wild for Gua Sha, an anti-ageing beauty technique straight out of China.

TikTok views for Gua Sha total some 286.5 million, showing keen interest in this massage technique hailing from traditional Chinese medicine, which essentially involves rubbing or scraping the skin on your face (and sometimes also your body) using a flat stone, generally rose quartz or jade.

This age-old anti-ageing technique , as well as promising to sculpt and tone the face, also supposedly combats the signs of aging (wrinkles, fine lines, firmness) and is sometimes claimed to fight acne.

And TikTokers have gone wild for the technique, among other current trends.

The global search platform Stylight reports +468% search interest on Google Trends since the beginning of the year for the keyword “Gua Sha” – which translates as “scrape”

(gua) and “petechiae” (sha), which are tiny, flat red or purple spots of light bruising.

This enthusiasm has been echoed in online shopping behaviour on Stylight, with interest in the facial massage accessories category up by over 215% and a spike of over 700% for jade stones specifically.

Toners and blushers are also having a moment on TikTok, driven by over 216 million views for #sunkissed. Clicks on Pixi’s popular Glow Tonic increased by +300% on Stylight, with clicks on cream blushes up +38%.

Stylight insights also reveal followers for the #lipstickchallenge, which involves having pretty red lips all day long, despite wearing masks. – AFP