Cosmetic Acupuncture isn’t new; it has actually been around for thousands of years! Although the modern tools used today are very different than what was used long ago, the underlying principles are the still the same. Those principles are to utilize the body’s natural healing ability to reduce the effects of aging and heal damage done to the skin. Damage such as scars, sun damage and even things that show up on the skin from within the body, such as liver spots.
The anatomy of the face is unique in that the face actually has two layers of fascia. These two layers along with the 72 muscles of the face allow for all of the facial expressions we use to express our emotions. Over time, and due to a multitude of internal and external factors, our body’s tend to, produce less collagen and our skin starts to lose it’s elasticity, causing our most used expressions to become “fixed” on our face as wrinkles. This plumping, nourishing collagen is referred to as the “yin” of the skin in Chinese medicine. With less collagen and less elasticity, gravity also plays a role in how our face appears over time. As my Cosmetic Acupuncture teacher says, “there are two types of faces; faces that have fallen, and faces that haven’t fallen yet”. Sagging skin is the result of diminished yin.
Cosmetic acupuncture is not a facelift, but it can help a facelift last longer! Cosmetic acupuncture works with the entire body and face to bring qi (life energy) and blood to the face to add a glow to the skin. Increased blood flow carries nutrients to the cells and stimulates the production of collagen and elastin to help reduce redness, dark spots, wrinkles and sagging skin. The body acupuncture points used in Cosmetic Acupuncture help improve digestion, immunity and circulation, which tend to diminish as we age.
