Clue: it's not on the face. 

This is an acupuncture point that is considered "the command point of the face and head," which means that it has an extra powerful effect on stimulating blood and qi (energy) circulation to the top of your body.

This is why it is considered a master beauty point. It has even been studied to have a measurable increase in blood perfusion to the face. 

Where is this fascinating point? Not on your face, but on your hand!

Located on a fleshy mound (often tight and sometimes knotted on many people) in between your thumb and pointer finger, this point is called 合谷 - "He Gu" or "Joining Valley." You may recognize this point as one that is often referred to as the "headache point."

Stimulating this point with a needle, acupressure, massage, or even Gua Sha can be very helpful for relieving issues affecting the face and head - like facial swelling, sinus congestion, eye pain, toothache, jaw pain, dizziness, and many more. 

How to work with He Gu / Large Intestine point #4: 

I often like to start my facial Gua Sha practice at home by stimulating He Gu with my Gua Sha tool. For some of you, the muscle located at He Gu will feel tight, hard, or even knotted. It gets a lot of action, with all the swiping motions our thumbs do all day on our smartphones, aka "tech thumb."

Many of you will notice this immediately helps your hands feel lighter, less tense - which means the blood is flowing better. 

Smoothing any knots or obstructions here this with Gua Sha, Acupressure or massage techniques will not only release the tension, it will open the flow in the entire Large intestine channel from your hand to your arm, shoulder, face and head. This point is also really important for stimulating the smooth flow of energy in the entire body. Needless to say, this point is major.  

Check out our Reel for instructions on how to find this point and work with it. I like to make sure I'm stimulating it for about 3 minutes on each hand in total. Find a short song that lifts you up and keep stimulating until it's over. Repeat on the other side. Enjoy!