This month Dr Lisa Scaeffer will be presenting our article on one of Traditional Medicine's best kept secret until now...
Cosmetic acupuncture, gua sha tools, jade rollers - have you been hearing about these lately? Every so often, a piece of our ancient medicine gets it’s time in the limelight - and currently, it’s Chinese medicine’s approach to facial rejuvenation.
Skin glowing, anti-aging, longevity promoting practices have over 2000 years worth of history in the practice of Chinese medicine.
The practice involves inserting tiny needles into the face in specific areas using the musculature and the meridians as a guide. Through the eyes of modern science, we see that the body responds to the micro trauma created by the needles insertion with a healing response. This process increases the supply of collagen and elastin in the area, which are the building blocks of the skin.
Chinese Medicine suggests that the needles circulate fresh Qi (energy) and blood through the face. This fresh blood moistens the skin and strengthens the muscles, and the enhanced circulation of Qi removes what is in excess - such as fluid, toxicity or stagnation (such as reducing spider veins). We see that the face is a direct reflection of the body, and so to find the root cause of the facial imbalance, we can look to the state of the rest of the body and mind. Interestingly, it can work both ways - and the shape and state of the face can highlight areas that may need attention within.
Regardless of which lens we look through to understand how it works, the process and benefits remain the same. Facial rejuvenation treatment benefits can include reducing the appearance of fine lines and softening deeper lines, improving muscle tone and the firmness and elasticity of the skin, helping to lift sagging and drooping, softening acne scarring and improving facial colour - often referred to as having that “glowy” look.
Every person is different and will receive individualized treatments, however some foods, like black sesame seeds, are known as every womans’ best friend in Chinese Medicine. They are said to brighten the eyes, blacken the hair and moisten the skin, a quick look at the biochemical ingredients tells you why. Black (and unhulled white sesame in slightly less amounts) contain good levels of zinc, Vitamin E, D and K, good amounts of Oleic and linoleic acids and are very high in anti-oxidants as well as taste great in salads and atop scrambled or poached eggs or as Tahini on toast! A combination of black sesame seeds, goji berries, walnuts and Chinese dates have been traditionally added to the diet to reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
Both Dr Ange and I currently offer facial rejuvenation treatments in the clinic. After understanding your goals for the treatments, you will receive a very relaxing facial massage with organic skin nourishing creams, followed by a combination of gua sha, facial and body acupuncture and jade rolling to target your area of interest. It's a blissful and calming facial that leaves you light and peaceful. We also sell gua sha and jade roller sets and can teach you how to use them from home! Or if you have them already, you can check out my how-to video on instagram at lisa_chinesemed for some extra tips!
Dr Lisa Schaeffer
Doctor of Chinese Medicine
Kinglake Chinese Medicine.