Wrinkles, age spots, and jowls…oh my!

Facial rejuvenation acupuncture is known by a few names: acupuncture facelift, cosmetic acupuncture, and most accurately by the title of this blog---facial rejuvenation acupuncture.  Here's why: "cosmetic" means "superficial" and there is nothing superficial about the profound changes that occur deep in the body during this treatment.  "Facelift" brings to mind the "done" (artificial) look that occurs with many facelifts; this treatment will make you look anything but artificial. Now that we’ve added micro needling to our facial rejuvenation line-up the results are tenfold! (Check out the 4-month Makeover or Trial Package on our booking site for more info!

So what type of results can you expect? You can expect to see a smoother, more relaxed look to your face.  Yes, lines will be softened, cheeks will appear less puffy and more sculpted, brows and lids will look more lifted, but the greatest change will be in what we call "shen"----your visible spirit.  We've all seen elderly people who have a gorgeous vitality to their eyes and expression that bursts through any amount of wrinkles and sun spots...THAT SPARK is what truly transmits the message of vitality and youthfulness to those who see them!  The bright spark in the eyes is, to my mind, the biggest and most important feature setting apart facial acupuncture from Western “youth” treatments. We have all seen women whose eyebrows are up, jaw is tight, cheekbones full…and their eyes look dead. It’s a creepy look. Facial rejuvenation acupuncture not only addresses concerns on the face, it gets to the root cause of any premature aging or underlying disease in the body and spirit.  

Adding in microneedling with apple stem cells and Chinese herbal preparations has really boosted the results I’m seeing. Another name for microneedling is collagen induction therapy because the thousands of tiny, quick punctures reach layers in the skin where your body’s own stem cells are stimulated to produce more collagen and elastin. Collagen and elastin create the scaffolding that holds up our face!

We'll begin this series with exploring signs of aging and their causes.  

 We'll start with the dreaded "age spots" or "liver spots". These are small areas of increased pigmentation that are most often associated with long-term sun exposure. Most are seen on the cheeks, as in this picture, and are often more prevalent on the left side of the face from spending time driving in the car. 

In Chinese Medicine, we do often see them in people with Liver Qi Stagnation. Through facial acupuncture, we can diminish them by needling around them with tiny dermal needles to help them disperse. In addition, we treat the constitution of the patient both with acupuncture and herbs in order to move stagnant Liver Qi and bring balance back to the body, helping to prevent recurrence.

Our next sign of aging poorly is sallow skin tone. Even within various ethnicities, you can detect skin that has a more yellow or "wan" look to it, as opposed to the pink glow that indicates youth and good blood flow. This sallow complexion can arise from an overtaxed liver, poor blood flow not nourishing facial tissue, anemia, smoking, or other medical conditions. 

This sign of aging is so common that when makeup artists need to "age" an actor or actress, a deeper yellow makeup is used. Sallow skin is an instant, subconscious tip off that someone is showing unfavorable signs of aging poorly. To combat this, circulation both in the body and to the local tissues is improved through acupuncture, qigong, and botanical medicine. Facial acupuncture instantly improves facial circulation, while body acupuncture will address underlying conditions.

(If you'd like to start overall anti-aging practices right this minute, go check out www.holdenqigong.com. He has fantastic 7-minute routines that will change your world 7 minutes at a time.  I don't get anything by recommending him, I just think this is the best and most direct way to begin to study this amazing form.)

 Next up is jowls and turkey wattle. Jowls are the loose skin or puffy areas that hang below the jaw line on the sides of the face. A wattle is hanging skin and puffiness just below the chin. Often, the sides of the neck will seem to part, making the center sag unattractively. 

Chinese Medicine sees this as the Earth Element (Spleen) failing to uphold, among other things. In the Western Medicine paradigm, this has a lot to do with tension in the neck, both the back of the neck and the front, especially the Platysma muscle. This muscle runs from the chest, up the sides of the neck, and into the cheeks. The two sides become disconnected from each other through poor diet, neck tension, and aging.

Treating the platysma is part of our protocol in our Facial Rejuvenation acupuncture, as is treating the antagonizing muscles creating the tension in the first place. We also address underlying digestive function (Spleen) with herbs and acupuncture so that connective tissue and muscles are strengthened.

Wrinkles: The secrets your face is telling about you!

Let's get down to the nitty gritty. Most patients I see talk about the wrinkles they don't like, even if I'm not doing facial rejuvenation acupuncture on them.

Wrinkles happen for a number of reasons: lack of collagen, poor nutrition, aging/gravity, needing glasses but refusing to use them...but most of the wrinkles I see are caused by EMOTIONS, both good and bad. 😏😤😢 These lines become ironed into our faces because of prolonged strong emotions.

We can often embrace the happy crinkles under our eyes from smiling and joy, but I have yet to meet someone who loves their furrowed brows or lined lips. Did you know that Traditional Chinese Medicine involves facial diagnosis? That's right, different wrinkles reveal what's going on in your life. The next few posts will reveal what a couple of these lines mean, and you can see if they apply to you!

Don't worry, these lines CAN be changed through acupuncture, as we address underlying causes as well as the lines themselves.

If you're interested in scheduling facial rejuvenation acupuncture, treatments are done in a series of 12.  The first 4 can be done 2x/week for the first 2 weeks, then 1x/wk for 8 weeks.