Gua Sha Around the Nose and Smile Lines
The small territory between the nostril and the corner of the mouth is the most searched-for part of the face and the least served by gua sha. The strokes are short, the pressure is minimal, and the honest answer to “will this get rid of my smile lines” is no. What the area does respond to is a puffy morning look around the nose, a tight feeling around the mouth after a long day of talking, and better spread of whatever you put on.
Everything here happens in a space about the width of two fingers. Long sweeping passes have no room to exist.
The landmarks
The groove beside the nostril. A narrow crease running from the side of the nose down toward the mouth corner. Tissue here is thin and folds constantly, because it folds every time you smile.
The side of the nose itself. A flat, bony run from the bridge down to the tip, with almost no cushioning.
The upper lip. A short, delicate strip above the lip line, one of the easier places on the face to overwork without noticing.
The chin and the corners of the mouth. Small pads of muscle that get held tight if you clench, purse or concentrate hard.
Tool and pressure
Use the shallow scalloped edge, not a point. A pointed corner concentrates whatever force you apply into a spot the size of a pen tip, which is the last thing this area needs. If you are unsure which edge is which, gua sha tool shapes explained walks through them.
Barely any pressure. Treat this like the under-eye area rather than the cheek — the weight of the tool and very little more. The bone beside the nose has no padding over it, and the lip area has nothing behind it at all.
Short passes, two seconds each. One to two centimetres of travel, lift off, reset. Two or three repetitions is enough. This is the smallest and most easily overdone part of any routine.
Plenty of slip. Nose and lip skin drags easily. If the stone catches even slightly, add oil rather than pressing on — the whole area sits close to the nostrils, so keep the amount modest and avoid anything that stings.
The strokes
One: cross the fold, do not follow it. Set the edge just beside the nostril and glide outward across the crease toward the middle of the cheek. Lift, reset. The convention is to work outward across the fold rather than travelling down along it, which keeps the stroke moving away from the crease instead of into it. Be clear about what that is: a sensible, comfortable convention, not a demonstrated effect on the fold.
Two: the side of the nose. Rest the flat of the edge against the side of the nose and glide from the tip upward toward the bridge, then out along the top of the cheekbone. Two light passes per side. Do not press into the bridge.
Three: the upper lip. From the centre of the philtrum, glide outward toward the mouth corner along the line above the lip. Feather-light. This is the stroke people most often overdo, and this is the skin that shows it.
Four: the mouth corner, up and out. Set the edge at the corner of the mouth and glide up and outward toward the cheekbone. If you purse or hold your mouth tight while concentrating, this is the one you will feel.
Five: the chin. From the centre of the chin, glide outward along the jawbone toward the ear, matching the direction of the jawline sequence.
Six: close downward. One light pass down the outer side of the neck. Keep off the front and sides of the throat entirely.
What this does and does not do
Does: eases a tight feeling around the mouth and nose, softens the look of overnight puffiness in the mid-face for a few hours, helps a serum or oil sit evenly in an area that usually gets skipped, and feels pleasant.
Does not: remove, shorten or shallow out a nasolabial fold. That crease exists because of how the face is built and how it moves — the way skin attaches, the volume in the mid-face, and years of repeated smiling. None of that is something a stone reaches. A fold may look slightly less obvious for an hour or two if the area was puffy, and it will look exactly as it did before by evening.
Anyone showing you a dramatic smile-line before-and-after is showing you lighting, oil and a freshly stroked face. The evidence for facial gua sha is thin generally and there is none worth citing for folds specifically. We take that apart in what before-and-after photos actually show and set realistic timelines in how long before you notice anything.
Two things this is not for
It is not a treatment for sinus congestion or facial pressure. People search for it constantly. Gliding a stone beside your nose may feel nice, and that is the whole claim. Facial pain or pressure, congestion that will not clear, a fever, or swelling around the eye or cheek should be assessed by a clinician promptly. Nothing on this site is medical advice.
It is not going to help a breakout on the nose or chin. These are the areas most prone to congestion, and running an oiled stone across an inflamed spot irritates it without clearing anything. Work around them, or skip the area that week — see gua sha with acne-prone skin.
Cautions for this area
- Skip it entirely over broken skin, sunburn, a cold sore or any active infection around the mouth or nostrils. A cold sore in particular means leave the whole area alone until it has fully healed, and wash the tool thoroughly (cleaning and care).
- The nasolabial folds and lips are among the most commonly filled areas on the face. After filler, toxin or a resurfacing treatment, take your timing from the practitioner who did it — see gua sha after injectables and procedures.
- Ask first if you bruise or bleed easily, take blood-thinning medication, are pregnant, or have perioral dermatitis, eczema or rosacea in the area — reactive skin around the mouth is common, and the sensitive-skin approach applies.
- Stop if it stings or pinches, and give the area a fortnight off if you see pinpoint marks.
The short version
Scalloped edge, almost no pressure, one to two centimetre passes: outward across the fold, up the side of the nose, out along the upper lip, up from the mouth corner, out along the chin, then down the neck. Expect a nicer-feeling, briefly less puffy mid-face. Do not expect the folds to go anywhere.