Beauty Lesson: Britta Plug on the Basics of Gua Sha

Rip & Tan: Tell us a bit about your background. What led you to a career in beauty and, more specifically, to be a holistic esthetician?

Britta Plug: I’ve loved baths, body scrubs, masks, and time spent alone in the bathroom for as long as I can remember. It’s always felt somehow sacred to come home to myself in that way. In high school, when everyone else was sending off college applications with high hopes and future plans, I was suffering terribly from PTSD after a difficult experience. I could barely get myself to class, and knew that college would be a certain disaster for me at that time. I had previously loved hosting spa nights for my friends, taking them through rituals of exfoliating and masking, finished off with a facial massage from me.

I myself had benefited from receiving facials when my forehead erupted with its own topography of acne a few years earlier, and the dimly lit essential oil-scented facial room felt like a place that my frazzled nervous system could feel safe, and I loved the idea of holding a safe space for others to let their guard down and receive as well. And so the decision was made to go to esthetics school, imagining that I would circle back and get a degree when I felt better equipped.

After I completed my training through the Swiss-based CIDESCO program, I knew I wanted to work with products and practices that were as natural and holistic as possible—it’s simply what was most interesting and magnetic for me. Over the years, I found avenues of study that kept me engaged and growing in my career, and I eventually realized that I wasn’t actually going to get that degree I’d planned on. I’d truly found my career, and perhaps even a calling.

Rip & Tan: What’s the story behind Wildling Beauty? How do your products aim to reframe skincare as self-care?

Britta Plug: Wildling was first conceived when I met one of my two co-founders, Jill Munsen, after I finished teaching a facial gua sha workshop in LA several years ago. Jill’s background is in product development for major beauty brands, but she had also studied western herbalism and had a small line of her own organic herbal products at the time. She suggested we collaborate to enhance the facial gua sha effects with a custom stone that would be more functional and elevated than the generic ones I was using at the time. We had no idea that our little project would grow into what Wildling has blossomed into today!

Acupuncturist Gianna De La Torre completed our trio, and I love how we each contribute from our very different skill sets to alchemize into the products and rituals we share with the world.

The products we create contain vibrant and fresh whole plant infusions that further enhance the rituals and engage the sensory experience of smell. The sense of touch is engaged through the ritual, further inviting you back into your body. The gentle movements of facial gua sha help to engage the parasympathetic nervous system, helping you downshift from go-go-go to being present with yourself. additionally, the face, like the reflexology of the hands or feet, is a map of the whole body. When we work on the face, the entire being benefits. As such, our products and rituals truly do marry beauty with self-care. We often get messages from customers, exclaiming how wonderful it is that their wildling kits have helped them carve out that time just for them. Or how much better they feel, and how much better they sleep after doing their ritual.

Rip & Tan: Where does the gua sha practice derive from and what are the benefits of incorporating it into your routine?

Britta Plug: Gua sha comes from Chinese medicine and has also been used as a folk technique and for healing in many other cultures. It has primarily been used on the body for things like fever reduction, pain reduction, or clearing the lungs. The point when it started to become used in a much more gentle fashion on the face is undocumented to our knowledge. The main function is to move stagnation and restore the vibrant flow of blood, Qi, and lymph to the tissues. The benefits can include a fresh glow, firming and lifting, reduced puffiness, smoothing of fine lines and wrinkles, and relaxation of tense muscles. Of course, there’s also the benefit of calming the nervous system, which is crucial for so many functions of the body that keep us feeling and looking radiant.

Rip & Tan: How can one use their gua sha stone to combat for following skincare needs?

Britta Plug: For wrinkles & fine lines: the comb edge on our empress stone is perfect for performing a cross friction technique over fine lines and wrinkles.

For depuffing: for depuffing the most important thing is to move along the pathways of lymphatic drainage

For breakouts: for breakout-prone skin focusing on lymphatic drainage is key. It’s important to avoid working directly over breakouts, as well as otherwise broken or inflamed skin.

Rip & Tan: What does your facial gua sha ritual look like?

Britta Plug: I always start with a freshly washed face and apply an oil. Then, I grab my Empress Stone (made of Bian stone, which has been traditionally used for healing in Chinese medicine and contains over 40 trace minerals), and get set up somewhere I can sit down and relax while I do facial gua sha.

Rip & Tan: Beyond your gua sha, what skincare and self-care essentials do you count on day after day?

Britta Plug: I practice Qi Gong every day and do therapeutic bathing practices such as Epsom salt baths, a contrast (hot/cold) shower, or a jump in our local springs most days. For skincare, I also love using red light therapy. Staying well hydrated and getting some movement in daily are also essential for my mental, physical, and skin health!

Rip & Tan: What does living well mean to you?

Britta Plug: I’ve been gravitating more and more towards simple pleasures. Eating delicious and nutritious fresh foods, spending time with people I love, starting a fresh new day with a walk with my dogs, a good snuggle session, or a swim in the springs. I’ve drastically slowed down the pace at which my life moves, and am significantly happier and healthier. I’m extremely grateful to have the space to go slow and savor this beautiful life.