Tallow Balm for Gua Sha: How to Get the Glide Right

Can you use tallow balm for gua sha? Yes, and it is a lovely match once you know a couple of tricks. Where it usually goes wrong is easy to picture: the stone starts to drag halfway through, it tugs at your cheek, and you give up. That is almost never the balm's fault. It is usually the amount, the temperature, or the timing.

Gua sha only works as a ritual if the tool glides. A dry stone pulling across your face is not relaxing for anyone. This guide covers how much balm to use, how to warm it so it actually slips, what to do when the tool starts to catch, and how to keep your tool and your jar clean.

Written by Jackie, co founder of Wild Gold Tallow. After 15 years of dry, sensitive skin and petroleum creams that never lasted, she helped create this balm and now uses it on her own face every day.

Why tallow balm for gua sha works (and where it is different from a face oil)

Most gua sha tutorials reach for a thin face oil. Oil glides beautifully, but it also runs, and a lot of it ends up on your collar. A balm behaves differently. It starts out solid, melts into an oil on warm skin, and gives the tool a bit more cushion underneath.

Ours is whipped from 100% grass fed suet tallow, USA emu oil and first colostrum. That whipped texture melts quickly between your fingers, which is exactly what you want here. Tallow is also a fat that sits close to the oils your own skin makes, so whatever is left on your face after the ritual tends to sink in rather than sitting there like a film.

The honest tradeoff: a balm has a little less slip than a runny oil. So you have to help it along. That is what the rest of this guide is about.

How much tallow balm to use for gua sha

For everyday moisturizing, we suggest an amount about the size of a grain of rice for the whole face. Gua sha needs more than that. The tool has to ride on a layer of balm the whole time, and a rice grain will be gone before you finish your first cheek.

Start with roughly a pea sized amount for the face, and a little more if you work down your neck too. You can always add. If you finish and your skin still feels slick, just press the extra in with your palms or blot gently with a tissue.

How to warm tallow balm so your gua sha tool glides

This is the step that fixes most of the dragging. Cold balm goes on unevenly and clumps under a tool. Melted balm spreads into a thin, even layer that a stone can slide across.

• Warm it in your palms. Rub the balm between your palms or fingertips for a few seconds until it turns from whipped to glossy and melted.
• Press it on, then smooth. Press your palms onto your cheeks, forehead, chin and neck, then smooth outward so every area you plan to work on is covered.
• Warm the tool if it is cold. Stone and steel tools can feel cool, which some people love. But a cold tool can firm the balm back up on contact. If it starts to drag, hold the tool in your hands for a moment.
• Try slightly damp skin. A balm spreads further over skin that is a little damp from washing. If you ever notice a slight grainy feel from the colostrum, damp skin helps it melt in before you pick up the tool.

A simple tallow balm gua sha routine, step by step

There are whole books on gua sha technique, and we are not going to pretend this is one of them. Here is the order that keeps the balm working for you.

• Start with clean skin. Wash your face and pat it so it is still slightly damp.
• Apply warmed balm. Use the pea sized amount above, pressed and smoothed over face and neck.
• Hold the tool almost flat. A flatter angle gives you more surface sliding on the balm and less edge digging into skin.
• Use light pressure. Gentle, slow strokes moving outward. It should feel pleasant. If anything feels sore or leaves marks on your face, ease off.
• Re apply the moment it catches. When the tool starts to stick, do not push through. Warm a tiny bit more balm and press it onto that area.
• Leave the rest on. When you finish, press any remaining balm into your skin with your palms instead of wiping it away. That leftover layer is your moisturizer.

Skip any spot that is irritated or broken, and as with anything new, patch test first. Our balm contains colostrum, which is dairy derived.

"It absorbs beautifully into the skin, leaving it deeply moisturized and glowing."

That is YM, one of our customers, and it is the feeling you are after at the end of a gua sha session. Not a face full of grease. Soft skin with nothing left to wipe off.

When the gua sha tool drags: quick fixes

If your tool catches or tugs, one of these is almost always why:

• Not enough balm. The most common one. Add a little more to the area you are working on.
• The balm has absorbed. If you go slowly, your skin may drink in the first layer before you are done. That is normal. Just add a touch more partway through.
• The tool is too cold. Warm it in your hands for a few seconds.
• The angle is too steep. Lower the tool so it lies flatter against your skin.

Morning or night gua sha with tallow balm?

Either works. Night is the easiest, since you can use as much balm as the tool needs and leave whatever is left on your skin while you sleep. Our guide to tallow night cream covers evening use in more detail, so we will not repeat it here.

If you do gua sha in the morning and wear makeup afterward, the extra balm is the thing to watch. Press in or blot off whatever is left before foundation goes on. Our guide to tallow balm under makeup has the details on timing.

Keeping your tool and your tallow balm clean

This part is not glamorous, but it matters. A gua sha tool spends its life covered in balm and pressed against your face.

• Never dip the tool into the jar. Scoop balm out with clean, dry fingers or a clean scoop, then warm it in your hands. Dipping a used tool carries whatever is on it straight into the jar.
• Wash the tool after every use. Warm water and a gentle soap, then dry it completely.
• Keep water out of the jar. Our balm has no water and no preservatives, which is a big part of why it keeps well. Wet fingers and wet tools change that.

We wrote more about what makes a tallow balm last, and the habits that shorten it, in does tallow balm expire.

Which tallow balm we would pick for gua sha

For a face ritual, we lean toward unscented. Your nose is inches from the balm for several minutes, and a plain, clean scent is easier to relax into. Our Colostrum Tallow Balm in unscented is the one most people start with, and you can browse the full unscented tallow skincare collection too. If you would rather the scent be part of the ritual, the Mountain Rose version is gently floral.

A note on value. Gua sha uses more balm per session than plain moisturizing, so a jar goes a bit faster if you do it every day. Plenty of people save the full ritual for a few evenings a week and use a rice grain amount the rest of the time.

Where gua sha fits in our own routine

I will be honest. Gua sha is not part of some long family tradition for us, and I am not going to invent one. What we do know is the balm. We made it for ourselves long before it had a name, on our farm outside Asheville, North Carolina. I spent about 15 years on the petroleum creams a dermatologist recommended, and the relief never lasted. A friend of ours, Rachel, who makes tallow skincare, suggested blending our own first colostrum into a tallow balm, and that is how this jar came to be. Now the whole family uses it every day, kids included.

What we can tell you is how this balm behaves, because we use it every day. It wants to be warmed, it melts fast, and a little more than you think is the right amount for any tool. If you want more on using the balm on your face in general, start with our guide to tallow for face. And if you like turning skincare into a slower ritual, our Holistic Face Ritual digital book is about that bigger picture of caring for your face.

Tallow balm for gua sha FAQ

Can you use tallow balm for gua sha instead of face oil?

Yes. Tallow balm melts into an oil on warm skin and gives a gua sha tool a cushioned glide. It has a little less slip than a thin face oil, so warm it in your palms first and use a bit more than you would for everyday moisturizing.

How much tallow balm do you need for gua sha?

Start with about a pea sized amount for the face, and a little more if you include your neck. That is more than the rice grain amount we suggest for daily moisturizing, because the tool needs a layer to ride on. Add more whenever the tool starts to catch.

Why does my gua sha tool drag with tallow balm?

Usually there is not enough balm, the first layer has already absorbed, the tool is cold, or it is held at too steep an angle. Add a touch more warmed balm, warm the tool in your hands, and hold it flatter against your skin.

Should I wipe off tallow balm after gua sha?

No need. Press whatever is left into your skin with your palms so it works as your moisturizer. If your skin still feels slick, blot gently with a tissue, especially before makeup.

Can I dip my gua sha tool into the tallow balm jar?

We would not. Scoop the balm out with clean, dry fingers or a clean scoop instead. Dipping a used tool carries water and whatever is on the tool into the jar, which can shorten how long your balm keeps.

The bottom line on tallow balm for gua sha

Tallow balm for gua sha works best when you use more than your usual moisturizer amount, warm it until it melts, keep the tool nearly flat, and add more the moment it catches. Then press the rest into your skin and let it be your moisturizer. Keep the tool clean, keep it out of the jar, and patch test anything new.

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.