How to take care of and clean your Ying Yu Jade Roller

People love the Ying Yu Jade rollers.  Professionals use them, women use them for facial beauty, and many use them just for good health, treating muscle pain, keeping qi energy flowing smoothly.

And people often ask how to clean and take care of jade rollers.

If you are using the jade roller just for yourself, you don't need to clean or sanitize after each use.  You can wipe the jade roller with a soft cloth after using to remove sweat, body oils.  If it's really needing cleaning, you can use warm water and shampoo or dish soap like Dawn,  and a soft cloth, then wipe it to dry.  

You can use a drop of baby oil on the metal part that holds the roller if it squeaks.

The metal on the jade roller is made to be adjustable, for smooth easy rolling or if you are using for a special purpose you might want it to roll more slowly and deliberately.  You can squeeze the metal together lightly.  Or if you want it more loose, you can carefully pull it so make it more smooth and quieter.

The jade rollers are hand made with minimal machine work.  If the roller part falls off the jade stem, use a little superglue to attach it the way you want it, and let it dry flat and set for about 24 hours.

If you use the jade roller professionally and need to clean after each use, you can wipe it with alcohol, the use warm soapy water.  Dry immediately so the metal stays in good condition.  Never boil jade in hot water.  That kills the qi energy.  Heat is what is often used on gemstones to color treat.  And heat is harmful to jade.

Jade likes to be stored in a cool, moist and dark place.

If you take care of your jade, it will last for a long time.

Genuine Natural Soothing Cool Chinese Ying Yu Jade Rollers

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Protect Your Jade

Life here has been crazy the past few days because of the weather.  Thursday we went out with a friend to celebrate her birthday at Disney Springs.  We left the restaurant around 7:15 PM and saw what looked like a big storm coming, and very soon.  But people were pouring into walkways so we didn't think it would be that big of a storm.  We walked quickly to the car, and just when we got inside, the rain poured, and poured.  It took us an hour to get home, just in time to hear a tornado warning for our area.  We later saw photos of how threatening the clouds looked.  We were lucky to escape the tornado, but it was quite flooded here. Of course, I worried about all the jade I have stored in our home, and in Florida, it's rare to have a safe basement.  We have no safe space.

Then last night we heard a storm was coming, and it was the most terrible storm I every experienced.  I don't think we ever had anything like this in central Florida.  The winds were almost tornado speed, but the worst was the 40 minutes of hail.  First the hail was small, then golf ball size.  It looked like snow outside.  In fact, it was 4 inches deep at the height of it, and still on the ground mid morning today when it was 80 degrees outside.  And that hail did a lot of damage to our home.  Our skylights in the kitchen in bathroom are cracked and leak, our roof is bare to the wood in places, and there are holes torn into the siding.  Windows and screens cracked.  it's a mess. 

I spent today cleaning up outside.

I'm hoping all the good jade qi energy will protect it.  And keep our home from falling apart and taking the jade with it.  Three hurricanes came through in six weeks when we moved here in August 2004.  I put the jade in the car during the storms, and it stayed safe there.

For most people, taking care of your jade is easy.  If it gets dirty, you can wash it in warm water and soap.  If it needs polishing, you can use a spray wax cleaner like Pledge.  If it really needs a good waxing because of nicks, you can melt a candle and use the wax when it cools slightly, let it get hard, then polish with a soft cloth.  If you wear a jade bangle all the time and want to wear another jade bangle next to it, you can put a bead bracelet or other kind of metal "spacer" bracelet between the two. 

Most people who break their jade do so when they either knock their wrist with a jade bangle on it on a hard surface, or when taking it off, dropping it on the floor or a hard surface.

Don't leave your jade in direct sunlight, and don't ever put it in boiling water to clean it.  If you need to store your jade, store it in a dark, cool place.  That's how I store all the jade on the web sites.  And jade likes moisture, so dark, cool and moist keeps jade in good condition.  I have seen jade, here in Florida, kept in warm, light storage, and it changes so much that it looks like color treated jade.  In fact, that's how gemstones are often color treated: with heat and light.

You can't always choose where you will live, and you don't make your choice of where to live based on keeping your jade safe.  And I'm still looking for a safe place to keep all this lovely jade inventory during stormy weather.

Jade Bangle Bracelets for Everyone? No.

We spent the last two days visiting my mother-in-law and her husband, about a three hour drive from where we live.  When we visit, we spend the night and return the next day. I'm so blessed that my mother-in-law and I get along very well, so it's a pleasant visit. 

She's in her 80's, fairly healthy, and still the stylish, fashionable woman she was when she was younger.  She greeted me wearing a cute capri pants outfit and a new piece of jewelry, a diamond bar necklace that's popular now.  Our taste in jewelry is similar, so of course I liked it, and kind of wished I had one, too.  But she just cannot wear a jade bangle bracelet.  Her size is about 62mm, and I've brought her several very fine quality old mine jadeite bangles.  She wears it for a couple of days, then the next time I see her, she gives it back to me.  She should probably wear a 59mm bangle, but she won't put up with the temporary pain of getting the smallest jade bangle size she can wear on her wrist. 

She likes jade, and the kind of jade that she likes to wear is not grade A natural color.  She likes  the color treated deep lavender or green, with added sterling silver  or preferably gold so the jade is set in a metal.  And that's the kind of jade I don't buy and/or sell.  When I go to the gem and jewelry trade shows, I often find the color treated C grade or even fake jade there, and buy some to put away for gifts for her.  Some of that kind of jade is set in metals that make it very attractive and I'm sure they would be big sellers online, but for the few more years I'll keep "doing the jade business", I'm staying with natural jade and jadeite.

She won't wear the jade bead bracelets, because they are "too plain" for her taste.

So jade bangle bracelets aren't for everyone.  Women who love jade bangles wear one all the time.  And if a woman isn't a jade lover, she probably won't buy the smallest size she can get on because of the pain of putting it on, and then won't be happy about it "clunking around". 

Jade bracelet for women who don't like the bangle style

Jade Rollers for Facial Care and Beauty

Over the weekend a customer was asking questions about jade rollers to use on her face.  She had purchased one on ebay and returned it because it was cracked and chipped and the metal was unpleasant, and it smelled bad.  I personally use the small jade roller with the point on the end.  The small jade roller feels the right size for my face, works good under my eyes, on my nose and between the eyebrows, my prime wrinkle area.  Then I use the point to stimulate wrinkles, and areas that seem to need more attention, slightly pressing it on the skin I'm working on.  But I keep a double jade roller on my night stand, because I can use the small roller on my face, and the larger roller on my neck and chest, and areas of my body that hurt.  I think the peaceful qi energy of the jade stone helps me relax and sleep better, as a bonus.

The customer wanted to buy another jade roller, a better quality that we have made for us by our jade carver in China who knows what women expect in appearance, workmanship, and they don't smell bad.   She was hesitant, then decided to buy a jade gua sha tool.  I cautioned her not to use it on her face, because gua sha is used to  scrape the skin
until the petechia of that surface is completely raised and all the sha is up, which is how it helps healing.  And that makes the skin red because it raises the blood, which when used on the face will probably break the small capillaries.  And you don't want to do that to your face.  The result will be vein damage which is visible and very unattractive, and may not go away.   

Jade Gua Sha Tools, Chinese Medicine Tradition

 She told me her cosmetician uses gua sha tools when giving her a facial.   

I wouldn't sell her a jade  gua sha tool.  She wasn't happy with my "customer service", declining her order.

If you want to make the most of your jade roller treatment for your face, you can use heat over the wrinkle areas first, then use the coolness of the jade roller to over your face to stimulate the cells, especially over the wrinkles.  That's how we designed our FrownEase wrinkle reducer kit, with a hand made heat pad that includes Chinese herbs and jade pieces, followed by the jade roller, and the option to apply Frownies patches over the wrinkle areas of between the eyes, corners of the mouth.  I used this routine for a year before we decided to sell them. 

FrownEase Jade Roller Wrinke Reducer, Ying Yu Jade Exclusive

I don't know how gua sha use on the face ever got started.  Every time I sell a jade gua sha tool, I want to write a note on the receipt "don't use on your face".  I just hope people have the sense not to use it.

Use a jade roller. 

 

"The Jade Carver Always Leaves Something Behind" - Cracks, Chips in Jade Bangle Bracelets

Yesterday morning I had breakfast with one of my best girlfriends who always wears a translucent light green Chinese jade bangle bracelet for the qi energy.  She's had the one she was wearing for at least 5 years.  I noticed it had a crack in it, a major crack that ran through the entire width.  And I asked her if she wanted a new one.  She didn't.  She still loved the color, the qi energy and the way it felt on her wrist.  Her qi energy and the jade energy were in a good relationship.  She said that she's  not perfect, her jade is not perfect, and that's just fine with her.

And I understand that because almost all my jade bangle bracelets are seriously "not perfect".  There's a Chinese saying: the jade carver always leaves something behind.  Perhaps a small nick while polishing, a scratch or even a chip during the carving process.

A customer who recently purchased a jadeite bangle from the clearance collection of grade A with certificates contacted me after she received it and told me how much she loved her new jade bangle, and that the cleavage lines and other "imperfections" added to the natural-ness and she truly loved it.

I bought a jadeite bangle for myself that had gorgeous imperial green veins and would have cost thousands of dollars because of the imperial green color, but the jade stone itself had cleavage lines that looked like cracks throughout.  So I got it quite cheap.  And I love it.

A jade carver in China who made the Chinese jade gua sha tools for me never made a "perfect" one.  They all had carving marks on them.  I later learned that jade gua sha tools had a tradition of being imperfect.  The Chinese "barefoot doctors" were very poor and couldn't afford to get gua sha tools, a staple of their practice.  So they begged for the scraps of the jade left over from jade carvings, and the carvers made their gua sha tools from these cracked, chipped jade pieces.  It's still a tradition in China for the gua sha tools to get scratches or some kind of damage in them, even if they are first carved perfect, and scratched later.  However, in the Western world we need "perfect" jade.  And not perfect jade goes into the Clearance collections.



Jade carvers have told me that jade bangle bracelets that have cracks in them make them stronger than jade bangles with no cracks, because the crack takes the tension off the roundedness of the bangle shape, so when it strikes something hard, it has less likelihood of breaking as a "perfect" one might.  That's what causes the clarification lines in jade stone, nature's way of taking the pressure off the stone, especially the fine grain old mine jadeite. 

A crack goes up and down the width of the bangle.  A clarification line goes around the bangle.  Clarification lines are not damage.  Just part of natural jade.

Clarification line in jade bangle

Crack in jade bangle

Buying Jade Bangle Bracelets in China

I will never forget seeing a statue of Guan Yin, Buddha of Compassion, that somehow the statue maker got a jade bangle on her wrist.  It was slender, elegant, very calming.

Then while shopping for jade in China, I saw a jade bangle very similar to the one on  Guan Yin's wrist, and I had to calm myself down so the jade seller wouldn't see how much I wanted it.

Jade shopping in China is quite an experience.   First, you need a lot of Chinese cash, which means spending a couple of days at the Bank of China to change your American dollars to Chinese yuan.  There's a limit on the daily amount, so it took at least three days to get the thousands of dollars in cash approved and ready to spend.  Jade shopping is a cash only business.  And there are no prices on the jade: it's all about bargaining.

And first, it's getting to reputable jade sellers.  The jade markets in and around Guangzhou are easier to shop in, but I see a lot of fake certificates changing hands, and have very little trust in the jade for sale there.  It's mostly commercial quality, for foreigners.  So I would take a several hour bus ride south, near the Burma border, to buy directly from the jade carvers.  I could see they were using genuine natural jadeite stone, and what you see is what you get.  I wore a good quality jadeite bangle bracelet and when they saw I "know jade", the good stuff would appear from under the table.  Chinese jade sellers usually put their lower quality on display, then when they decide you know what good quality is, the better quality would be shown to you.  I had learned an ancient Chinese method of testing jade qi energy, and when they saw me doing that, I was "okay" with them.

There are no prices on jade.  I would take my time choosing jade bangle bracelets and pendants, then the bargaining would begin.  If the jade seller saw I was especially fond of something, of course the price would increase.  Poker face works good when negotiating.  Every time I purchased a quantity of jade bangle bracelets, I would choose one for myself.  That goes with my philosophy of buying and selling jade that I would personally wear.  So I couldn't try on the ones I liked, just hope it was the right size for me.

That's how I bought the jade bangle similar to the Guan Yin statue, and the jade bangle was just a couple mm too small for me.

JHBB574 small jadeite bangle bracelet

After business was completed, the session often ended with a tea ceremony with the jade carver and his associates, other people might stop by and join, and I learned that tea ceremony was as good as getting gemology testing and certificates.  It was "guanxi" relationship between us.

Yes, jade shopping was an amazing experience.  Good enough to balance out the bus trip, bus station facilities, eating in restaurants where the staff brought a pot of boiled water to your table to rinse of the plates, eating things I didn't recognize, the heat, the filth, the lack of toilets, the bugs. I often left my clothes and shoes in the last hotel room I stayed in China before we returned to USA.

I am a true jade lover. 

Learning about jade from my mentor in Sihui jade market

What Does My Jade Bangle Mean? Colors of Jade Related to Health and Wellness

Customers have been buying the Chinese "river jade" bangle bracelets, and asking about what is the best kind of jade for their health and wellness.

Chinese river jade is natural color. The color comes from minerals in the river where the jade is mined. It is called "China's National Jade" and used exclusively by Chinese people until jadeite was introduced in the 19th century. It is used in Chinese medicine for health, and often worn by Chinese people as "medicine" for the healing qi energy. The jade is purchased by YYJ jade carver in China and made exclusively for YYJ.

Today was an auspicious day for taking photos of the river jade bangle bracelets.  We take all photos outside in natural daylight so what is see is what you get, as they require very little editing.  That's one of the features of genuine and natural Chinese jade: they photograph well.  And the sun was in perfect position to be behind the jade bangles, so you can see the translucence in the jade stone.

Chinese River Jade natural color bangle bracelet #NJ2380 Ying Yu Jade

Some jade bangles have already been added, and the remained of those that are photographed will be added through tomorrow.  You can view them in the "What's New" Collection.

Jade and Chinese Medicine - Wearing Jade for Health and Wellness in March

According to Chinese medicine, Spring is associated with the Wood element which has to do with growing, living entities, such as trees, plants, and human bodies. The Wood element also governs the Liver and Gall Bladder. The Liver has to do with planning and decision-making, so you may feel a new sparkle and vitality in the spring. You may even be inspired to act upon new ideas.

The essence of spring and the Wood element is birth and new beginnings. The Wood element governs your mental clarity and your ability to focus, plan, and make judgments. When a person has a Wood imbalance, it is much too easy to make poor decisions and become disorganized. When the Liver is out of balance, it can direct energy upwards to create headaches, neck and upper back tension, or even rage and depression. That’s right: the Liver not only spreads Qi energy to your other organs like a distributor, but it is also in charge of the smooth flow of your emotions.

The emotions of anger and frustration are related to the Wood element, and many people don’t know how to release their emotions in a safe way. Suppressed emotions can cause serious health problems, and suppressed frustration and anger specifically injures the liver and gall bladder.

"Moss in Snow" Pattern Buddha of Compassion Guan Yin Jadeite Pendant #JHP39

If  you wear jade to balance your body qi, this is the time to wear your "moss in snow" color jades. This pattern is visually beautiful, deep green veins on icy white "snow". The colors of this jade correspond to the organ qi, and balance you as look at it visually, and wear it. The mossy dark green "yang" color will enhance your body health as you are in the last cold days of winter, while the white "yin" gives beauty and balance.

"Emerging Spring" Color Pattern Estate Pre-Owned Jadeite Bangle Bracelet #V1293

A Collection of Jade for Spring is listed on Jade Heaven and Ying Yu Jade.