What is Cosmetic Acupuncture?
Cosmetic Acupuncture (also known as Facial Rejuvenation) involves the insertion of single use, sterile, extremely fine ‘baby needles’ into the face to stimulate and enhance various aspects of the facial muscles or skin tissue that relate to the health and appearance of your skin, complexion, and facial muscles.
How does it work?
Many people are curious to know how Cosmetic Acupuncture works.
It’s therapeutic abilities can be explained via 4 main methods.
1. Blood circulation
Fine needling on the face stimulates the circulation of qi and blood, encouraging the carriage of nutrients and oxygen to the facial cells. This can brighten the complexion, improve skin texture, increase the skin’s ability to hold hydration, and result in glowing and radiant skin. Encouraging the blood circulation in the facial tissues can also reduce stagnation that might result in symptoms such as dark circles or puffiness under the eyes, hyperpigmentation, or a dull complexion.
2. Relax, tone, & lift
Using specific locations in the many facial muscles called ‘motor points’, acupuncture needles are inserted to stimulate the muscle fibres in order to achieve homeostasis – that is, to encourage them to relax if too tight or in tension, or to increase muscle tone if the muscles are weakened and as a result are sagging or drooping.
This technique can be used to counteract the signs of stress and aging that may manifest in the muscles of the face, and also regain tone back to facial muscles that have been weakened by Botox injection overuse.
It can also assist in preventing wrinkles and fine lines appearing or worsening by encouraging the facial muscles to remain in a relaxed state.
3. Tighten & firm
The insertion of multiple fine baby needles into the skin causes tiny ‘micro-wounds’ that trigger the body to not only increase blood circulation in the local area, but also the production of new collagen and elastin. At a cellular level, the needles are stimulating fibroblasts which are responsible for your skin’s ability to make more collagen, and are a key player in cellular tissue repair.
This technique increases skin tone, softens the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and enhances the density or ‘plumpness’ in areas of the face that may be sunken.
4. Internal balancing
In addition to facial acupuncture, body acupuncture points are also employed and prescribed to each Cosmetic Acupuncture patient according to Chinese Medicine principles and specific to each individual’s constitution. For example, if a patient suffers from a pale complexion, body acupuncture points known to ‘tonify blood’ may be incorporated in their treatment. Or if a patient is wanting to reduce the signs of aging, body acupuncture points to ‘tonify the Kidney energy’ might also be provided.