People in search of a youthful appearance are turning to Cosmetic Acupuncture.
Marianne Power,39, (image of her below)tried the cosmetic acupuncture treatment thought to be the new alternative to Botox.
The treatment is being touted as a natural alternative to Botox. "I see a lot of people who have tried the
Botox route but prefer cosmetic acupuncture," says John "Botox hides a problem but acupuncture does so
much more, it enchantes the skin's own ability to regenerate."
But can needles really turn back the clock.?
Acupuncture, however, is an ancient Chinese treatment with recognised benefits, the technique, I. Which
needles are inserted into the skin, has been used to treat everything from backache to migraines and
fertility problems.
But more importantly, say John, acupuncture addresses the health issues that might be causing skin issues.
And in my case, there seems to be many.
He starts by looking and taking my pulse-at which point he asks if I have a family history of heart disease.
I tell him my dad died of a heart attack last year.
He says I have a genetic tendency towards blood circulation and cardiovascular issues, he also sees problems
with my digestive system-another of my father's weak spots. He thinks I'm anaemia, have candida and that
my puffy face is a result of suffering fluid retention.
This is a lot of news to be given in a facial-what does that have to do with my frown lines? Beauty comes
from inside,' he says. "If you don't address these issues, it does not matter how many needles you stick in
your face, your skin is not going through look heathy." It makes sense.
Next, he inserts needles in my feet, legs and hands. He says the needles in my body are to help boast blood
flow, increasing the amount of oxygen my skin gets.
"Without proper circulation, your skin is not getting enough nutrients, where blood is moving there is life,
when it stops, the we die."
Good circulation will boost my digestion and drain any fluids in my face.
John places 95 needles in my face - it takes about 30 minutes, most don't hurt, just those around my mouth
and nostrils.
"Some of these needles are going quite deep-up to a couple of millimetres into the bottom epidermis. This
idea is that these needles will break collagen fibres, and then the skin reacts to this trauma by triggering a
repair response. The tiny, dehydrated collagen fibres that broke will heal themselves, double in size, and
become firmer and stronger."
The needy are also doing the same with elastin fibres, he says, as well as boosting production of hyaluronic
acid, which is what keeps are skin moist and plump.
Marianne was to ld the treatment would help her skin to regenerate rather than improve the surface appearance.
When you have both you are freezing the muscles, which means you're not moving them. Over time this causes
those muscles to atrophy-lose strength and volume-so your forehead goes flat. After about four or five treatments,
your forehead muscles become so weak that Botox will no longer work. Then you're into the territory of getting
face lifts.
"When your muscles are frozen, blood is not able to come through the muscles, which cuts of the oxygen to the
skin, meaning the skin is less nourished and becomes drier and paler. It's like your body can no longer support
it," he says.
I'm not against Botox. If you have frown lines they will vanish, but in the long term it does not benefit your
skin. I've seen people develop wrinkles in funny areas-around the nose-because your skin has to bend somewhere.
The morning after the treatment she says her skin was smoother and brighter with less wrinkles appearing less
defined.
To reap the benefits, John says you need to have this treatment regularly-twice a month for a couple of months
and once more a month after that. This is a bit of an issue as he charges £245 an hour-but oh my goodness, I
want to go back. A week later, my skin still looks different.
We might not be able to spend hundreds to have needles stuck in our face, but we can all eat better and go on
long walks to boost circulation-and those things will probably have just as much as have effect on our skin as
the latest beauty treatment. In a dream world I would be doing both.
By Marianne Power for the Dailymail 27, September 2017