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Facial Acupuncture

Facial Acupuncture will be made available for booking in late Summer or early Fall 2024.

Facial Acupuncture focuses on the deeper layers - fascia, muscles, and the lymphatic system to ensure a smooth flow of Qi and blood to the face. The treatment of root causes of imbalance with a focus on meridians in the upper body, head, and face may result in looser muscles in the area, less puffiness, face sculpting and lifting, a brighter complexion, and a subtle softening of some wrinkles. 

I offer the “Deluxe Treatment,” in that it offers much of the ancillary services that one would get during a facial with the added benefit of body and facial acupuncture needles all in one treatment. 

I also offer the “Feel Good Facial,” a shorter version that includes fewer ancillaries and is less concentrated on altering facial appearance (though that might be a benefit anyway!) but moreso on bringing fresh Qi and Blood to the upper body, face, and scalp, where tension tends to stagnate.

The Deluxe Facial Acupuncture Session

Initial Deluxe Treatments are 120 minutes. Return Treatments are 105 minutes.

Facial Acupuncture Treatment works best when done weekly for at least ten weeks. I do offer single sessions and 5-packs, but industry consensus is that these subtle, overtime changes are most noticeable and more likely to be maintained with ten weekly sessions. Irregularly scheduling treatments or having large gaps between treatments may slow or hinder any improvements you are trying to see with facial treatment. When purchasing a package, all of your sessions must be booked on the spot and must be used within four months (16 weeks). If you are unable to use all of your package within 16 weeks, the monetary value of the remaining sessions will be used as credit for a future purchase. Single sessions are best for those who have completed five or ten weekly sessions and want to come in for periodic (usually monthly) maintenance.

Results

Results vary from person to person and can be dependent on age, general health, lifestyle, and/or state or condition of the skin or facial muscle tone at the start of treatments. Effects may be slow and subtle and may require multiple treatments to get the desired effect. Ten (10) treatments is the average number of treatments per series and are ideally done weekly. Maintenance treatments are recommended and are usually scheduled monthly. Some repeat the ten treatments annually or every other year for additional maintenance.

Facial treatments include some combination (NOT necessarily all) of the following, depending on your presentation and facial acupuncture goals:

  1. Intake We talk about your system as a whole, your lifestyle, your stress levels, your diet, your sleep, and other issues that you may be dealing with. This helps me to form a thorough Chinese Medicine Diagnosis so that I can treat the WHOLE Body and System, not just your face.

  2. Light Cleansing (I typically use Korean Beauty Brand: Pyungkang Yul due to its commitment to Clean Beauty. They use minimal ingredients and Environmental Working Group approved ingredients). Alternatively, you can come into your appointment with a freshly washed face free of make-up or product. For extra [gentle] disinfection, I may swipe the face with some colloidal silver or alcohol-free witch hazel. Before I begin massage, I’ll do a mist toner and add some facial oil.

  3. Neck, Chest, Facial Acupressure Massage which may or may not include Buccal Massage for TMJ if your assessment calls for it. This will also light lymphatic massage around the chest, armpit, and neck.

  4. Hot Towel, Toner, and Facial Mask, Facial Steamer Once you are on the treatment table, I will apply a hot towel for muscle relaxation and to open the pores, swipe with some toner, and apply a paper mask. I may add a facial steamer to enhance the absorption of the nutrients in the mask.

  5. Microcurrent For contouring, lifting, and toning

  6. Ultrasonic Facial Spatula For deep, but gentle exfoliation

  7. Guasha This will be an extension of the microcurrent and massage; to further sculpt and massage, really focusing on the fascia layer and lymph movement

  8. Facial Cupping Instead of pressure, cupping lifts the fascia layer to relieve tension and encourage lymphatic movement

  9. Body Needles I will always do a little bit of body needles to keep your Spirit grounded during the facial treatment. These needles will always be tailored to what's going on with you internally.

  10. Acupuncture Facial Needling with LED Lights Take a cat nap with needles and LED lights on the upper body. The deep relaxation will allow the body to incorporate all of the services that were done prior

  11. Finishing with Guasha Roller, Guasha Mushrooms, and/or Cryoglobes This final step is calming and cooling and closes the treatment. It also helps to prevent and/or distribute any possible [light!] bruising or [temporary!] redness that may occur.

The Feel Good Facial Acupuncture Session

The Feel Good Facial is available to my Return Patients only. If you have never had an acupuncture session with Kat, you must first book an Initial Acupuncture Session or if Facial Acupuncture is your primary reason for seeing Kat, book an Initial Deluxe Facial Session. There is no Initial Session for the Feel Good Facial, which makes this a great medium for my returning patients who want to give Facial Acupuncture a try.

The Feel Good Facial is 75 minutes.

So you want to try facial acupuncture, but you're not entirely ready to have an entire deluxe session? This might be a good medium for you. This facial treatment is not so concentrated on the goal of altering the facial appearance, but rather bringing relaxation to the face and upper body, where Qi, Blood, and tension tend to stagnate. It is primarily massage and needles. I may add the Infrared Lamp to bring a little more warmth to the session if I believe it pertinent to your constitution or presentation that day…or simply if you want a little more warmth added to make your relaxation extra cozy.

Feel Good Facials are 75 minutes and include the following:

  • Cleansing I typically use Korean Beauty Brand: Pyungkang Yul due to its commitment to Clean Beauty. They use minimal ingredients and Environmental Working Group approved ingredients

  • Toner Mist + Facial Oil I create an emulsion with these two items to lock in moisture and hydration. The mixture is also what I use for massage.

  • Massage I massage the upper chest, front shoulders, neck, upper shoulders/ back, and face.

  • Gua Sha I gua sha the face, neck, upper shoulders, and scalp. 

  • Hot Towel This is used to relax the face, integrate the massage, and wipe off the oil.

  • Body Needles I apply needles based on your presentation/ constitution.

  • Facial Needles I apply facial needles based on your presentation/ constitution and your facial goals.

  • Skincare I finish you off with toner, moisturizer, and sunscreen. I send you home with a Korean face mask from FaceTory.

A note on cosmetic enhancement…

Facial Acupuncture has the potential to elongate the time needed between cosmetic enhancement and/or enhance the effects of cosmetic procedures.

Cosmetic Enhancement Policy

However, please be aware that if you have had cosmetic enhancements (botox, fillers, injections, surgery), please wait at least 3 months before scheduling a facial acupuncture treatment with me. For Accutane/ Retinoin procedures, please wait 12 months. This is because of the potential for acupuncture needles to disturb the enhancement while it is still settling.