Are you starting to feel old when you look in the mirror? If so, you may be facing a dilemma. Should you lean into looking older, or consider drastic cosmetic procedures that may show your age even more?
Thankfully, you have other options: non-invasive treatments that target the underlying causes of aging. They include facial acupuncture, microneedling, and LED light therapy, and they may be the best approaches for you.
What Is Facial Acupuncture?
When you receive facial acupuncture, it’s just like traditional Chinese acupuncture, where small needles are inserted into your skin at shallow depths on specific points. This stimulates your vital energy known as “qi”, so you can enjoy healthy tissue regeneration, circulation, hormone signaling, and muscle function. Your therapist can also insert needles in the facial muscles’ origin and insertion points, as well as their center, to enhance tone.
Should I Try Facial Cosmetic Acupuncture?
Rest assured if you’re considering cosmetic acupuncture, as the growing scientific evidence base for Chinese medicine hasn’t left it out. Clinical studies show that you are likely to enjoy benefits across several aspects of skin aging, some of which you won’t see with most conventional treatments.
Skin Hydration
Is your favorite moisturizer no longer working as well as it once did? If so, you’re not alone. One feature of skin aging is a fall in water and oil content. A case series of two women demonstrated that a month of weekly facial acupuncture increased skin oil content from 32% to 38% in the 50-year-old volunteer, and from 8% to 19% in the 29-year-old woman. Achieving these results could not only take years off your appearance, but also leave you feeling fresher and more hydrated!
Facial Contour
Of course, before you invest in any type of cosmetic treatment, you need to know that it’s not a placebo. Thanks to photographic analysis, you can enjoy peace of mind knowing that the results you see in the mirror are real.
A clinical study where 27 women received facial acupuncture found that most experienced at least one level of improvement on a five-point scale that measures elasticity. Here, the method of acupuncture didn’t rely on points. Instead, it involved needle insertion into the muscles and restored a healthy level of tone, helping you feel firmer from the inside out.
Wrinkle Depth
Do you worry that you may be too old to respond to facial acupuncture? It’s all good, as a course of facial acupuncture treatment significantly smoothed out smile lines and eye wrinkles in 107 volunteers, with the best results seen among women in their 70s. The facial points used are linked to providing nourishment, including to your skin, the connective tissue lying underneath, and your muscles. The improvements are likely thanks to an increase in collagen production and overall tissue integrity, reversing the fragility that could make you more prone to wounds and slow healing.
What Is Microneedling?
Microneedling has been well-known in the West for many years, and is highly effective despite a simpler mechanism of action. It involves applying the treatment with short (0.5-1.5m) needles across your skin to create tiny punctures. You may not feel anything at all, but it still triggers skin rejuvenation by enhancing cell growth and connective tissue (including collagen) production.
Many clinical studies show that you can expect a reduction in the severity of skin aging, acne, scarring, and even some forms of hair loss! You’re in luck if you love spending time outdoors, as it can even reduce skin aging related to sun damage. One trial showed that severity scores fell from 3.57 to 2.05 after six months, including improvements in fine lines and roughness. In another, participants enjoyed a 24% reduction in wrinkle depth, and an increase in skin thickness by 0.45mm. This is an important point, as skin thinning puts you at a higher risk of wounds and other damage.
LED Light Therapy
Don’t worry if you’re afraid of needles! LED light therapy doesn’t break your skin at all. Instead, it uses specific light frequencies, generally within the red or infra-red ranges, which stimulate energy production and regeneration while reducing inflammation and oxidative stress.
The research on LED light therapy not only shows that it’s effective, but also safe when you need to apply it over organs and tissues such as the thyroid gland. In the same study, women had significant improvements in skin elasticity, density, and hydration. Light therapy only mildly reduced wrinkle depth, but they were shallow to begin with.
Overall, facial acupuncture, microneedling, and LED therapy can be gentle yet powerful ways to help you look years younger and keep your brilliant smile. You can enjoy a naturally youthful appearance, without the “frozen” effect seen with traditional cosmetic solutions. If you would like to try it out for yourself, click here.
