What is Cosmetic Acupuncture?
Cosmetic Acupuncture is also sometimes referred to as Aesthetic Acupuncture or Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture and other trademarked names. It’s a safe, natural, and non-invasive way to improve the health and appearance of your skin and face without surgery, botox, or dermal fillers and their associated risks and recovery times.
Cosmetic Acupuncture is known to treat acne, rosacea, brow tension, aging skin, wrinkles and fine lines, and other skin concerns. Acupuncture engages weak muscles, relaxes tight muscles, increases blood flow, and increases the production of new collagen in your skin. Applying acupuncture to motor points of facial muscles lifts weak muscles that lead to drooping skin, and releases tight muscles that lead to fine lines (like Botox, but without the neurotoxins!). Improved blood circulation brings in fresh nutrients and oxygen to your skin, which leads to healthier skin overall and a radiant, glowing complexion. Increased collagen production leads to firmer and smoother skin.
Cosmetic Treatments at Peony Tree Medicine
At Peony Tree Medicine, we use a combination of Traditional Chinese Medicine and modern technology to heal your skin, smooth wrinkles and fine lines, improve facial muscle tone, and release facial muscle tension. During your cosmetic acupuncture treatment, very fine needles are inserted into motor points of the muscles of expression and traditional facial acupuncture points. We also treat acupuncture points on your body in order to holistically address your unique skin concerns. Once the needles are in, we’ll use Celluma Pro LED Light Therapy (low-level-light therapy), which acts on a cellular level to eliminate acne, repair damaged cells, improve skin texture, and reduce hyperpigmentation. After the acupuncture, you’ll receive either a facial guasha, facial cupping, or facial massage treatment to improve lymphatic drainage and removal of cellular waste from your skin, smooth out expression lines, and increase blood circulation for a lovely glow!
Benefits of Facial Acupuncture
- Improves skin tone and texture and imparts a radiant glow
- Improves facial muscle tone
- Releases areas of tension that chronically affect mood and cause expression lines
- Releases jaw tension
- Helps heal acne, rosacea, and other skin concerns, especially along with light therapy and dietary/lifestyle modifications (which will be included in your treatment plan)
- Smooths and reduces fine lines and wrinkles
- Helps lift areas that droop as we age or as muscles weaken
- Decreases overall stress and tension which affects posture, facial expressions, lymphatic drainage, and skin health
- The addition of systemic acupuncture points on your body can address other general health concerns, such as headaches, insomnia, and PMS or painful periods!
- Effective form of preventative skincare for those in their 20s and 30s
How many Cosmetic Acupuncture treatments are necessary, and how often?
For the best results, this is the treatment plan we recommend for most:
- Week one: 3 treatments per week
- Weeks two and three: 2 treatments per week
- Weeks four through seven (or ten): 1 treatment per week
- Ongoing maintenance: 1 treatment per month
Acupuncture, like other treatments and habits, has a cumulative effect. Sessions are more frequent at the beginning of treatment as your face builds “muscle memory”, so to speak. We space the sessions out as your face retains this “muscle memory” and the changes begin to last longer between treatments.
Your results will depend on your age and your general health. Those in their 20s-30s may begin to see results after 2-3 treatments, and those over 40 are more likely to see visible improvements after about 6-7 treatments. As with going to the gym, eating healthfully, sleeping, or meditating, consistency is crucial for lasting change. Coming in monthly once you’ve reached your desired result is recommended to maintain your results.
** If you have had Botox or Dermal Fillers, book your Aesthetic Acupuncture appointment for at least 4 weeks after your botox or filler procedure.**
Facial Cupping
Facial cupping is typically performed with mini silicone (or glass) cups designed specifically to treat the face. Much like body cupping, facial cupping improves blood circulation and lymphatic drainage and releases muscular tension that creates expression lines (for example, “11s”). This improves facial complexion and helps your body remove toxins and cellular waste from the skin. Cupping increases collagen production locally, which helps decrease visible wrinkles and improve the texture of your skin. With regular treatments, facial cupping helps change your patterns of tension (such as frowning or squinting) and reveals a glowing complexion and smoother, firmer skin.
Facial cupping is very gentle, and doesn’t typically leave any marks on your skin.
Facial Guasha
At Peony Tree Medicine, we often use guasha as a part of our Cosmetic Acupuncture Treatment. Guasha treatments rejuvenate and de-puff facial skin by improving blood circulation, improving lymphatic drainage from the face, and locally boosting the body’s production of collagen to decrease fine lines and wrinkles and improve skin texture. Facial guasha treatments also release muscular tension that causes expression lines and affects your mood. Regular treatments will make you feel radiant and relaxed.
Facial guasha is very gentle and doesn’t leave marks on your skin.
Photo: a facial guasha treatment at Peony Tree Medicine.
This is part of the Wu’s Head Massage & Facial Guasha Treatment, and Cosmetic Acupuncture.
LED Light Therapy (Celluma Pro)
Backed by NASA research, the Celluma Pro LED light therapy device treats pain and inflammation, muscle and surgery recovery, acne, wrinkles, and other skin concerns by radiating specific frequencies of light through your body. Infrared light therapy reduces pain and inflammation, improves blood circulation, and speeds recovery from injury. Red light therapy improves cellular regeneration and rejuvenates your skin. Blue light therapy (at a different wavelength than the light of your computer screen) kills bacteria associated with acne. LED Light Therapy is a painless, non-invasive treatment. Peony Tree Medicine integrates LED light therapy into both facial and body treatments.
Photo: LED light therapy curing a cosmetic acupuncture treatment at Peony Tree Medicine.
