Grooming Glamour

GROOMING & GLAMOUR Slow Beauty

By Amanda Dahl

Among the wide-ranging effects of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, beauty routines for many have transformed to focus on skin care and prioritizing rejuvenation over getting dolled up. Local brand Blissoma, it seems, has always been ahead of this curve.

“There’s a renewed interest in self-care,” owner Julie Longyear says. “[People] are doing more for themselves at home than ever before. It is empowering to know that you can do a lot for yourself.”

Blissoma’s skin care products are based in plant science, and the brand recently added something new to its arsenal: the gua sha tool. Longyear expounds upon the benefits of using such a stone in your daily routine: “When you build habits around things that feel good in your hand, things that feel good on your face, it incentivizes you to maintain the habit,” she says. “It makes it more enticing to participate in the ritual.”

What makes gua sha, a natural therapy of rubbing the skin that is based in traditional Chinese medicine, so effective?

“These tools [commonly] have different curved edges,” Longyear details about the stones used for this practice. “There’s usually a concave edge, a convex edge, and one is a more pronounced dip to fit over surfaces like the edge of the chin. “The moonstone tools that we offer have a toothed edge, which allows the tool to grab the skin. You can use that edge to break up adhesions in the tissue underneath the skin. This gives people options to manipulate the skin and stimulate it in new ways.” This simple tool may sound complex to use, but Longyear has done the heavy lifting for you. She provides a how-to video for first time users, with expert research to back up her methods.

“Working with the skin enhances circulation,” Longyear says. “It flushes lymphatic fluids, and it releases tension in the muscles and fascia, [connective tissue that provides internal structure and has nerves]. This helps with nutrient delivery, oxidation of the tissue. It can provide lift to the face, especially when done over time.”

To maintain hydration balance this winter, she recommends incorporating the Restore Omega Facial Oil into your routine by adding a dollop in with your daily moisturizer. The Lavish Recovery Beta-Glucan Mask can also work wonders in improving your skin’s hydration balance.

Using gua sha techniques to apply these key products can do even more for your skin, which also has a visual benefit, says Longyear.

“The whole idea is to create more movement convex edge, and one is a more pronounced dip to in the tissue and more vitality,” she says. “The skin fit over surfaces like the edge of the chin. looks radiant. If you could encapsulate the idea “The moonstone tools that we of slow beauty – doing more with less, offer have a toothed edge, valuing the things we have versus having more – that’s always what I’m after.” ln adhesions in the tissue underneath the skin. This gives people options to manipulate the skin and stimulate it in new ways.” This simple tool may sound complex to use, but Longyear has done the heavy lifting for you. She provides a how-to video for first time Blissoma, 2730 LaSalle St., St. Louis, 314-771-5006, blissoma.com