ILe Talisman · The Talisman

The Talisman — Pure Copper Gua Sha

One object, in solid copper, made to be used every day for a very long time.

A gua sha is not an active. It does not replace anything in the formula — it changes how the formula is applied. Copper takes body heat within seconds and holds it, so the stone glides through an oil or a balm rather than dragging across it, and the four minutes it takes become the slowest part of the evening.

It arrives in its own pouch and it will not stay bright. Copper oxidises where it is handled, so the piece darkens unevenly, in the shape of the way you hold it.

  • Pure copper
  • Arrives in its own pouch
  • Made in Victoria BC
Philogeni Copper Guasha resting on a sea-shell on a white background
The Talisman · solid copper
Copper Guasha from Philogeni resting in a Coconut shell with M-Veil Resilience Balm and Antioxidant Serum
With the balm and the serum it is made to move through
IILa Patine · The Patina

The patina is the point.

A new copper tool is pink-bright and slightly anonymous. Within a few weeks the high points stay polished where your fingers sit and the hollows go warm brown, and the piece stops looking like something bought and starts looking like something used.

You can return it to bright with half a lemon and a little salt, and some people do. We would rather you did not. Nothing else in a bathroom cabinet keeps a record of having been picked up.

Le Geste

How it is used

4 min

the evening pass. Jaw, cheek, brow — always upward, always with slip underneath

Copper

warms to skin temperature in seconds and holds it, which a cold stone does not

Never dry

the tool needs an oil or a balm under it. On bare skin it pulls instead of gliding

IIICe qui va dessous

It needs something underneath.

IVFurther Reading

Four minutes, and what they do.

Read all entries

  1. Collagen Loss During Menopause and Your Skin

    What is actually happening under the skin when it starts to feel less firm — and what a daily massage can and cannot do about it.

  2. dull skin menopause

    Why Your Skin Looks Dull (And What Actually Brings Back the Glow)

    Circulation is one of the few levers you can pull by hand. Why four minutes of upward work shows on the face before any formula does.

  3. biomimetic skincare

    Lipid Barrier Repair for Menopausal Skin: A Complete Guide

    The tool is only as good as the slip under it. What the oil or balm you are working through is actually doing while you work.