The Blurb
I have suffered from back problems for most of my adult life. It’s a mixture of being disproportionately tall with questionable posture, sitting at desks and holding all the stress of London life in my shoulders and neck. This is a common problem with Londoners, and it’s not so easy to book in a deep tissue massage every time you get an ache!
If I’m honest, I didn’t know what fascia was before being introduced to Ashley Black’s work. Fascia is the connected tissue that holds our muscles, organs and gut together, it’s also what allows us to create fluid movement from head to toe. I also didn’t know that in order to build muscle we have to break it down, which develops scar tissue around the area and is the reason why we often ache after exercise.
Designed with over 25 years of research by Ashley Black, The FasciaBlaster was originally created to help heal the body more quickly after exercise, but – backed by peer reviewed independently published studies – it also boasts an array of benefits:
- It gets rid of knots
- It brings blood flow and increases circulation
- Helps with lymphatic drainage
- Reduces cellulite
- Relieves muscle pain
The Process
The blasters come in all shapes and sizes, depending on your needs and goals. You take the blaster (pictured below) and rigorously massage the skin up and down, and side to side. The blasters must be used on bare skin with oil.
I love a good massage but after years of trying the traditional route, I’m very eager to see if consistent ‘blasting’ (it’s a maintenance tool, to be used on the regular) will make that extra bit of difference.
The process, if you’re going all in, requires you to use the small claw to prep the skin and then move on to something with a larger claw to massage the area. There is also a refinement tool for trigger point therapy. Ashley’s website contains instructional videos, so you’re unlikely to get lost.
It’s important to select the tools that are right for your body. I started with a large black blaster, which is a large bulky piece, but I found it hard to use on my tiny back without knicking at my shoulder bones. After looking at my size, the team sent me a selection of smaller tools to use instead. Just to flag, my partner, who is 6 ft 4, absolutely loves the back blaster and won’t use anything else.
I found the smaller-sized devices so much easier to use. I have a small claw to warm up my skin, which works brilliantly on my calves (they tend to get very tense), and one for general use, which I can use all over my body, except for my face. The large claw also has a refinement tool at the end, which I have been using for trigger points. Honestly, nothing else I’ve ever used has worked so well on knots. I can literally feel them breaking apart and have to apply very little pressure.
Finally, I tried the OMG Blaster, a multi-purpose facial tool, which has 5 different applicators, including a tool that can double up to get to those hard-to-reach knots on your back. What I love about this is that it’s an all-in-one facial tool. I love all the facial tools, I am a facial tool hoarder, but I feel bad having so many machines that I’m sure aren’t that great for the environment, especially when you’re likely to go through phases of using/not using them. The OMG Blaster targets everything in one, and it will last you forever.
I’m instructed to ’blast’ problem areas for 20 minutes at a time, but the beauty of this is that even if you can only do this once a week, or if you can only give say 5 minutes of your day, you’ll still feel the benefits.
Top tip: If you decide to get more than one, the tools can add up to be quite bulky, so make sure you do your research and only purchase the ones you need!
The Results
I’ve been using the Mini 2 after/occasionally before yoga, or at the end of the day when I’ve walked all over town and my body is in need of it. My skin goes quite red after being treated, which is meant to happen as it’s encouraging blood into the area (a bonus for me, as I have poor circulation). My complexion feels rosier after I’ve (gently) treated the area around my face, and the OMG Blaster also works to exfoliate as well as to allow any creams or serums to absorb better (they just replace the oil). In terms of reducing cellulite, I’m yet to see any visible benefits but I haven’t been doing it that long, so I may need more time for that one. As for my muscle aches and knots, I feel like I’ve had a solid massage after a good blast, with knots well and truly broken down, whereas before, I was barely making a scratch with my battered old tennis ball.
I’m still experimenting, but the kit is always there for me in my living room whenever I need it, and I don’t need to book a masseuse every time my back tenses up. Game changer.
The Details
FasciaBlaster kits start at £191
