Anti:Aging: Energy and Circulation

According to Victoria Mogilner, a doctor of Chinese Medicine, certified acupuncturist, and author of Ancient Secrets of Facial Rejuvenation (New World Library), facial acupuncture’s <a href="http://www.feelgoodforlife.com/health/anti-aging/">anti-aging</a> benefits result from clearing blocked meridians, which are energetic pathways in the body. “Something like stress ages you ten times faster because it blocks these meridians,” Mogilner explains. “But by opening meridians, you create a younger, healthier-looking face naturally.”

Applying makeup, washing the face, or massaging the face can all stimulate these energetic pathways, but facial acupuncture is a more refined method of opening meridians, drawing upon health-promoting practices that have been proven over thousands of years.

“The cosmetic acupuncture system works on preserving youth from both the inside and the outside,” explains Martha Lucas, Ph.D., a licensed acupuncturist in Denver and expert commentator for the anti-aging website www.realself.com. “The procedure brings more qi [life force] and blood to the face, thereby improving skin tone, circulation, and the health of the facial muscles.”

The acupuncture facelift also acts as a call-to-action, encouraging the body to focus its healing forces on the face. “From a modern medicine perspective, the needling causes micro traumas in the skin,” continues Lucas. “The body responds by sending fibroblasts of collagen and elastin to those sites to heal them … this can improve the elasticity of the skin, and ‘lift’ the face.”

This natural route to a firmer, more youthful face is not instantaneous. Typically, acupuncture facial rejuvenation lifts the face gradually, over the course of several sessions. But it ultimately yields results that range from subtle rejuvenation to dramatic enhancement. “You can generally expect more even skin tone and more supple skin, minimization of fine lines, reduction of deeper lines, improvement in the jaw line, tightening of the skin,” says Lucas. “There can be some eyelid lifting, and I have seen reduction in the lines on the neck and décolletage as well.”

Facial rejuvenation with acupuncture is an effective preventive <a href="http://www.feelgoodforlife.com/health/anti-aging/">anti-aging</a> treatment as well. By the time women hit their 30s, their collagen, elastin, and oil production have already declined and wrinkling will be the result -- unless preventive action is taken. It’s never too early to focus on facial rejuvenation. With facial acupuncture, those showing signs of aging and wrinkles can both slow the aging process and reverse some of the signs of aging.