Tell us a bit about your signature acupuncture facial.
The treatment always includes an assessment and full body treatment, and that can vary depending on what is going on for the person that day and depending on what we are working on. There are body points that have a lifting and toning effect to the muscles of the body, body points that have a moistening effect for the face, body points that are good for the eyes, and of course body points for various emotional blockages that may be contributing to certain wrinkles or holding patterns on the face. For example, transverse lines across the forehead are associated with worry and over-thinking, so if I am treating that I will add body points that calm the spirit and help resolve worry and over-thinking. I also use some herbal masks before and after the needles for the face. The mask before the needles relaxes the face, promotes circulation and nourishes the skin. The mask after the needles is toning and tightening, cooling, and feels very good after the needle stimulation. For the needles in the face, I often needle the origin and insertion of the muscles to help with tone and lifting, which works well around the mouth and jaw line, but also for other issues. For fine lines I insert tiny intradermal needles using tweezers that help smooth out the lines, and if they are not too deep the lines will disappear after a few treatments. After the treatment I usually do some lymph drainage around the face and neck to enhance the treatment. The treatments are very calming, because when your face relaxes, your whole body relaxes.
What are the benefits of an acupuncture facial?
The acupuncture facial lifts and tones the face, reduces and eliminates fine lines, reduces puffiness, smooths the skin, relaxes the body, and resolves old stuck emotions. People feel great after a session!
How does acupuncture work?
Well, this is a big question and there are a few ways to answer it. One is from the biomedical viewpoint, and one is from the Chinese medicine viewpoint. According to Chinese medicine we have channels or meridians that run through our body and carry a vital substance called qi. There are 12 regular channels on the body like the 12 months of the year, and the map of them on the body is like the constellations in the sky. Originally the ancient Chinese counted 365 points on the body like the days of the year, although we have added a lot more over the last 2000 years. Along these channels are acupuncture points where the qi can be accessed more easily. From a biomedical viewpoint, many of the channels follow the pathways of the peripheral nerves in our body. The needles stimulate the peripheral nervous system and have a local effect on the area being treated. Of course, the peripheral nervous system is in constant communication with the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) so there is also a systemic effect on the body. The needles can relieve pain, promote circulation, induce a deep state of relaxation, release muscle spasm, tone muscle, regulate the hormones and more. So, there is a local effect and a global effect with acupuncture.
As for qi, this term is hard to translate. The Chinese character for qi is the vapors that comes off of rice as it is cooking. The idea is that qi is the subtle essence of something. Some people translate it as energy, but activity is probably a better choice. Qi is the activity of something versus the substance of it. For example the beating of your heart is it’s qi, we call that heart qi. Everything has its own kind of qi.