Jade rolling is the buzzy beauty practice for clear skin—here’s how to do it yourself

Okay, these are so much better than cucumber slices. Rolling smooth, cold jade stones over your skin—using chic little beauty tools called jade rollers—has been playing a beauty booster role in skin-care treatments from Manhattan’s Cecilia Wong Skin Care to Santa Monica’s Alchemie Spa.

The idea comes from a centuries-old beauty tradition. Jade rolling is believed to have been practiced by wealthy Chinese women, explains Jayde Covenant, spa manager and aesthetician at Alchemie, and jade is known in Traditional Chinese Medicine as a healing semi-precious gemstone and is considered a sign of power and immortality, which is how it found its way into holistic spas.

What is jade rolling?

It’s not going to make you immortal (wouldn’t that be something), but rolling jade across the skin will get you glowing, Covenant says. “It revs up circulation, de-puffs the eye area, and improves skin elasticity—and since it promotes lymphatic drainage, it’s detoxifying.”

It can help calm and even out your complexion, the skin guru says, and make it noticeably less puffy, defining your cheekbones, jawline, and brows (as we can attest).

While the idea of using jade stones on your face sounds exotic, it’s actually pretty simple to DIY this beauty trend, and “you’ll notice the difference immediately,” Covenant promises.

So put on your sweatpants (or fancy spa robe), light a candle, and do your jade rolling at home. They cost about $9 each, Alchemie sells a double-end roller for $20, and you can pay upwards of $50 for a BMW version.

Here’s how to do it… 

How to practice jade rolling

Put your roller in the freezer a few hours before you want to use it (or keep it in there next to your smoothie ingredients until you’re ready to use it).

Step 1Cleanse your facial thoroughly.

Step 2Exfoliate. (Alchemie Spa loves Isun and The Body Deli products for Steps 1 and 2.)

Step 3Apply serum, moisturizer, or a mask (pictured during a facial at Alchemie, where they do it with two jade rollers).

Step 4Start rolling! Either start at the chest or the forehead, using outward and upward motions doing about three up-and-out passes per area. After just a few strokes on your face, neck and decolletage, you’ll see that your skin is brighter and your fine lines are, literally, rolled out, Covenant says.

Keep at it for about two minutes.

If you applied a mask and it starts to get sticky (this is good—it means the product is being pushed down into your skin), spray a little mist on your face to get things moving again.

If you applied a clear serum or moisturizer, this is where you’ll see your face start to flush. This is also good—it means you’re increasing the circulation to your face and helping with cell rebuilding, collagen boosting, and lymphatic drainage, Covenant says.

Step 5Wipe your face clean. Then add serum or moisturizer. (If you started with serum or moisturizer, the product has been pushed deeply into your skin during jade rolling. Give it another slather.)

And you’re done! There’s no harm in rolling every day, but it’s most commonly done three or four times a week. And in a wellness pinch, you can also roll the cool jade over your temples and sinuses to ease a headache—or over your jaw to destress.

For more information, contact Alchemie Spa, 310-310-8880 or visit alchemiespa.com

For more beauty intel, here’s what you need to know about dermalinfusion facials and microfusion facials.