When it comes to beauty, getting poked in the face with needles is par for the course. Botox and filler have never been more popular or accessible, but facial acupuncture has also come a popular treatment for refreshing skin. Acupuncture has been around for centuries as a part of Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat anything from headaches to chronic pain and diseases. Inserting needles into various points on meridians throughout your body using acupuncture is thought to restore balance and a flow of energy in your body. Simply put: It’s resetting your body and face.
Facial acupuncture is ideal for anyone looking to give their face a little tune-up. “Facial acupuncture was originally used to help patients recover from a stroke or Bell’s Palsy, or to treat those suffering from internal deficiencies that showed on the face,” ORA’s acupuncturist Kanako Oshiumi, MSAc, L.Ac shares. Acupuncturists successfully treated the muscles on the face that were drooping or weakened, resulting in a more symmetrical and firmer appearance of the skin.
Over time, acupuncturists began to offer facial acupuncture as a cosmetic treatment that could also offer a variety of benefits from balancing internal systems. But what exactly does it do for your skin? We spoke with a few skin and acupuncture experts to answer all your questions.
What is facial acupuncture?
Facial or cosmetic acupuncture is a specific acupuncture treatment designed to effect and enhance the appearance of the skin and face. It has been practiced for thousands of years and has become more popular over the past decade. Celebrity Esthetician Ildi Pekar shares that generally, most facial acupuncture treatments include a full body acupuncture treatment which not only enhances the effects of the treatment, but also improves overall vitality and circulation while addressing additional underlying concerns that are not cosmetically relevant.
The process consists of interesting small needles into the face to create minimal microtrauma which will stimulate increased blood flow and a collagen building pathway. Dr. Simran Sethi of RenewMD shares that it is important to note that this is the same principle microneedling uses, but in microneedling there are about a hundred fold more microchannels made which makes the results more dramatic than just facial acupuncture.
“Treatments generally include a full body acupuncture treatment to address you as a unique individual patient and a targeted facial acupuncture treatment which can be tailored based on your needs and desires,” Pekar says. Acupuncture is a very balancing treatment and can help relax muscles of the face that are over-engaged, tighten muscles that are lax or have lost tone, improve the complexion and overall glow and appearance of the skin and improve and stimulate collagen and elastin production which can help to minimize wrinkles.
What are the benefits of facial acupuncture?
Facial acupuncture goes to the root of addressing the skin’s health. Oshiumi says facial acupuncture works by promoting the skin’s natural circulation, collagen production and regeneration to reveal more nourished, vibrant and youthful skin. Nearly anyone can benefit from receiving facial acupuncture—it’s a great treatment to use as preventative care for people of all ages.