The Most Superficial Fascia

Housing the skin, fat, and first layer of structural fascia.

Believe it or not, fascia is visible. Yep, that’s right, it surrounds every single cell, including our skin cells. In all layers of the skin, the fascia houses vital components needed for tight, gorgeous skin. Fascia is also synonymous with the word collagen. When we stimulate collagen production, we are stimulating fascia to proliferate. If you want a deep dive, I discuss this in detail with all the latest research in my skin blog. For this blog, just know that when we talk about skin, fascia is a vital part of it.

Fascia also houses our lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is a network that helps maintain fluid balance, filter out harmful substances, and support the immune system by transporting lymph, a fluid containing white blood cells. It is crucial for overall health and beauty because it helps protect the body against infection, removes toxins, and facilitates the absorption of fats and fat-soluble nutrients. The lymphatic system is not only housed in fascia. New research from the National Library of Medicine suggests that fascia and lymphatic systems are inseparable. ⁽¹⁾

Lymphatic Scrubbers - Our Lymphatic Scrubbers boast long and short silicone bristles, ideal for brushing and scrubbing the skin's surface. They excel at flushing temporary blood flow to the surface, desensitizing the skin, and invigorating the lymphatic system. These scrubbers even stimulate blood circulation in the surface capillaries, a crucial step in skin quality.

Lymphatic Flushers - Our Lymphatic Flushers feature edges designed to flush muscles, promoting fluid movement gently. Their unique ability? They help you discover areas of concern, uncovering dents, lumps, and various fascia issues like restrictions, adhesions, and dysfunctions.

Small Claw Tools - Resembling the original FasciaBlaster claws but in a more compact form, our Small Claws penetrate the superficial fascia and address shallow depths, such as the initial muscle layer. Start with these until you can confidently apply more pressure, gradually transitioning to our larger claw tools.

Cupping Set - Cups, if used with low suction pressure, can provide a slight stretch of the fascia and bring blood to the skin's surface. They can be a great way to desensitize The Surface Layer of the body and prepare it for FasciaBlasting.

The Peripheral Layer

The First Structural Layers of Fascia tissue and Myofascial tissue

If we could peel off a surface muscle of the body, we would be left with a single muscle, as seen in the GIF above. That muscle would be covered in a sheath of fascia. This “fascial sheath” seems to be getting all the attention in the media, but it is just one very limited aspect of fascia. And it’s also a limited aspect of myofascial tissue, which means myo=muscles+fascia= myofascial. Muscles and fascia are entirely inseparable. The fascia wraps every single fiber of a muscle, creating a web-like pattern. Muscles are, in general, slimy and smooth. So if your “muscles” are tight, holding stress, in knots, not firing correctly, or won’t grow... It’s the fascia to blame. I explain myofascial tissue in this video.

The fascia is the system within myofascial tissue that can stretch, release, adhere, and react because it is the primary sensory organ. Fascia is AS or MORE IMPORTANT than muscles in every human movement and sport. For the people in the back…Fascia is AS or MORE IMPORTANT than muscles in every human movement and sport. So, to wrap this up simply, muscles are the fascia’s bitch, and if you’re training and restoring your muscles, you need to understand the role of fascia and train and restore it too.

Treating the Peripheral layer is super easy to understand because you can use any small claw fascia tool. Used lightly, you will palpate The Surface Layer described earlier in the blog but with a little more pressure into the first layer of muscle, you will get into The Peripheral Layer. Here is the tool suite you have to choose from.

Small Claw Tools - We always recommend transcending the layers in every treatment. The small claw tools are also part of what we recommend for The Surface Layer, used lightly. For The Peripheral Layer, press much harder into the muscle tissue as your body allows comfort.

The Deep Layer

Layers of Muscles, The Organs, and the Fascia that surrounds them.

So, imagine that we have removed the skin and the first muscle layer over the entire body. We are now left with the magical world of everything below. All our deep musculature, organs, and the fascia that surrounds and penetrates it all.

For our deep muscular system, we can imagine the “straws video” from The Peripheral System above, where each individual muscle fiber is “wrapped” in fascia, creating a web throughout all the muscles in the body. In between the muscles is a sheath of structural fascia gliding between the muscles. I always say, “There aren’t 600 muscles in the body; there is one, divided into muscular pockets.” The human muscular system is similar to the inside of an orange.

But I like to show real anatomy. I love this pic of a thigh cross-section, similar to an orange, where you can clearly see the fascia separating the muscles and the weblike fascia running through the muscles. As you look at the picture, consider that it’s the fascia housing the blood, nerves, and energy to the muscles, allowing them to contract and stretch. We would want the most supple and native fascia possible for the maximum use of our muscles.

Our organs are also surrounded by fascia. It is goopy, viscous, and liquid fascia, like when we gut a turkey for Thanksgiving. I always teach this concept with this simple photo of Jello ™  with fruit inside. Imagine that your organs are the fruit, well placed inside the fascia like this. The fascia, like the Jello™, holds the organs in place and provides energy and nutrition to them. You can think of fascia not just surrounding organs, but around every mass structure of the body. And we want this fascia to be unobstructed and energy flowing.

To address The Deep Layer with FasciaBlasting, we have tools that can descend into deeper layers.

You may ask yourself, “But how do we FasciaBlast into our deep muscles and organs?” We have tools that can penetrate quite deep into muscle and organ tissue. However, even if the FasciaBlaster tools can’t physically touch the area, we have reason to believe that the fascia tissue can continue to remodel in depths below where the act of FasciaBlasting is occurring.⁽²⁾ In our peer review and published ultrasounds seen above, you can see the fascia remodeling down to the bone of the thigh, where FasciaBlasters cannot reach. This gives us hope for areas like the brain, bladder, heart, etc.

Here is the suite of Larger Claw Tools. I invite you to explore tools that can palpate deep into myofascial and organ tissue

We also have The Nugget Tools that can penetrate deep into muscle adhesions and stubborn fascial areas at this level, such as a deep cellulite dent or a joint adhesion. You can choose from our Nugget Suite here.

The Abyss

The fascia that surrounds our deepest layer at the bone level

The Abyss layer of fascia is widely known as the periosteum. It is a dense, fibrous fascia that envelops the outer surface of bones, except at joints, where cartilage takes over. It is crucial during bone development and repair, as it generates osteoblasts, the cells that form new bone tissue. It also contains a rich network of blood vessels, nerves, and lymphatic vessels, which is key in nourishing bones and ensuring sensory perception. This occurs because The Abyss Layer is fascia, and fascia throughout the body houses and “merges” with blood vessels, nerves, and lymphatic vessels.

Fascia acts as an anchor in joints, facilitating muscle attachment to the skeletal system. The presence of fascia and sensory nerves also makes it highly sensitive to pain. This multifaceted fascia is essential not just for bone health but for overall skeletal integrity, contributing to both stability and flexibility throughout life. I love that you can see the fascia surrounding the bone so clearly regenerating in our science. Look at how new native fascia is remodeling on the surface of the femur bone with just 90 days of FasciaBlasting.

Although some of our Large Claw tools can reach The Abyss Layer, my favorite tool to use to directly palpate the periosteum is the Nugget. When FasciaBlasting, you always want to begin each session by loosening all the layers, going deeper and deeper, pain-free as the body allows. Here is our Nugget Suite again, in case you missed it in the Deep Section.

Tips to transcend the layers

Restoring the fascia little by little, layer by layer

Our step-by-step approach ensures you’re in control as you navigate the world of fascia. This approach is like melting away the layers of an onion, gradually revealing the healthier you beneath. It’s not about pushing deep; it could be mildly uncomfortable but never causing unnecessary pain. Allow your fascia to warm up, promoting temporary blood flow to the FasciaBlasting area.

The movement should be brisk but light, barely pushing beyond the tools weight. The aim is to work in harmony with your body. As each layer gives way, transition to the next layer, gradually increasing the pressure. Think of it like the

cake example. Move from the icing into the cake. Then, the next icing and cake… and so on.

Repeat this process, opening the fascia, step-by-step, layer by layer, with the recommended FasciaBlaster. This allows your body to guide the way. Gradually increasing the pressure, each session will become more comfortable and even pleasurable. This is how you know your fascia is getting better!

The beauty of this layer-by-layer technique is that you will regenerate the fascia of all the layers along the way. This is substantial for human health because restoring the fascia layers will provide the optimal environment for cells. My take on total body fascia restoration is that total body health, where disease cannot dwell, occurs when the fascia is healthy and can feed and illuminate the cells.

And I am not the only one who feels this way, Dr. AT Still, the creator of Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine said in his manifesto… 

“I know of no part of the body that equals the fascia as a hunting ground. I believe that more rich golden thought will appear to the mind’s eye as the study of the fascia is pursued than any division of the body. Still, one part is just as great and useful as any other in its place. No part can be dispensed with. But the fascia is the ground in which all causes of death do the destruction of life.”

So, to wrap it up. I always say, “When in doubt, blast it out.” This blog dives deep into the science of blasting layer by layer and what we can restore. You can grab your Layers Kit and play. FasciaBlasting is safe and allows you to be your own advocate. Slow and steady  🐢 wins the race. We recommend “The Layers Kit” below to get started on your journey!