Facial acupuncture benefits are the same as regular acupuncture benefits meaning there are so many underrated passive benefits that you may not think of such as regulating the body's immune response, reducing stress levels, improving digestion and sleep. Facial acupuncture is also a great treatment for many neurological symptoms such as brain fog because when we needle the face we stimulate the facial nerves which is great for our cognitive health.

Facial acupuncture brightens the skin in two different ways. First of all the needles create a vasodilation effect around the insertion site, increasing blood flow and circulation to the face, this new blood flow contains RBC’s, WBC’s, oxygen and nutrients which naturally give the skin a beautiful glow and a brighter complexion. Secondly, everytime a needle is inserted it’s creating a micro-trauma, the body responds by speeding up cellular turnover in these areas, turning a dull complexion into a brighter one.

Facial acupuncture can help with both acne and skin aging. For acne, it depends what the cause of it is because there are so many underlying factors involved in acne cases. If the acne is likely to be hormonal then we place different points around the body in an effort to re-modulate the hormones and reduce the body's stress response. Secondly since acupuncture is great for soft tissue healing it can reduce the appearance of acne scars by producing more collagen and elastin, this is also how acne reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles associated with skin aging.

When I perform acupuncture facials I curate the treatment based on my patients needs so no two facials are exactly alike. For example if they are concerned about jowls or sagging around the neck then I needle the platysma muscle insertion site around the jawline. For TMJ I needle a point called Stomach 6 which is located right in the belly of the masseter muscle and will release the tension of the jaw. If someone has a lot of facial edema then I needle a point called Du26 which reduces facial swelling. If someone has a lot of stress or anxiety then I will needle a point between the brows called “yin tang” . This point is known in Chinese medicine to “calm the spirit” and it’s also located around where we develop 11 lines from furrowing the brow.

The only individuals that should avoid facial acupuncture are those who have had botox within the last 3 weeks and fillers within the last 4 weeks. People who are anxious about needles and have never had acupuncture before should start with a regular acupuncture session to ease their tensions before going in for an acupuncture facial, this makes the experience a lot more enjoyable for the individual. If the individual is not needle phobic then starting with an acupuncture facial is just fine because we include body acupuncture in the treatment as well