When I first discovered gua sha, I really did not understand how purposefully stroking my face with a smooth stone could make a noticeable difference in my appearance. But fast forward to today, and I can't imagine my beauty routine without it – it's been that effective.

It started on a Saturday afternoon when I was trying to find space under my bathroom counter for a new hairdryer. As I pushed and shoved things around causing various bottles and jars to tumble out onto the floor, I asked myself in frustration: Do I really need all this stuff??

No beauty product in the world—no matter how expensive or "revolutionary"—can ever match the transformative power of a consistent face yoga practice. This isn't something the beauty industry wants us to believe.

A lot of modern "beauty routines" seem to be rooted in a kind of subtle aggression toward ourselves—scrubbing, stripping, peeling, freezing, burning, injecting. Procedures and products that essentially say, "Your natural state is SOOO not good enough. Let's scrape it off and start over!"

I was standing in a section of high-end skin care products in Ulta, holding a $247 facial serum that was supposed to "reverse the signs of aging" and "turn back the clock" on my skin. And suddenly, I had this thought…

If I could sit down with my 40-year-old self, here are the three most important things I would share about skin health and beauty. (They might surprise you.)

Taking time for ourselves isn't selfish – no matter what that niggling inner voice might be telling you. It's an absolutely necessary aspect of being the best humans we can be.