Originally published in July, 1998 issue of Whole Life Times

The Newest Wrinkle in Facelifts
Acupuncture For Beauty
by Lucy Postolov, L.Ac.

When You Are Old
How many loved your moments of glad grace, And loved your beauty with love false or true, but one man loved the pilgrim Soul in you, And loved the sorrows of your changing face.

-William Butler Yeats

Although we can appreciate the sentiment of Yeats' love for his intended, there are ways to diminish the effect of life's sorrows on our faces. Her in Southern California, where youth and beauty reign supreme, many plastic surgery candidates are choosing acupuncture, a 5,000-year-old, non-surgical method of facelift. Why are patients turning to acupuncture? Often, they're put off by the pain, swelling, scarring and long recuperation that accompany surgery. In addition, acupuncture boosts health as well as looks. With acupuncture, you can not only look seven to ten years younger, you can feel better too. Although facelift by acupuncture generally requires 10 to 15 treatments, one enthusiastic patient reports more rapid results. "After about the sixth treatment, people began commenting on how much better I looked" she says.

The patient originally started acupuncture treatments for health reasons, and later included the wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. The treatments not only smoothed her wrinkles, they reversed some of her facial sagging.

"I had been struggling with health problems since the 1994 earthquake," the patient says. "Finally, someone recommended acupuncture. In less than two months, the treatments have taken years off my face and added years to my emotional and physical health."

A Beverly Hills realtor- a natural beauty who normally needed little or no make-up and is decades away from a facelift-recommends acupuncture even before one starts thinking "lift."

"People think I lead a glamourous life, and I guess I do," she explains, "but between my career, charity work and my son, I'm always on the run. Life in the fast lane has its down side, and when I get tired and stressed, I not only feel it, I see it. My eyes look dull, I get circles and my skin gets pasty." Just a few treatments restored this woman's innate radiance, good looks and high energy.

Acupuncture doesn't just treat cosmetically. It works on the entire body, beautifying from the inside out.

How age affects the way we look
The contours of a person's face are determined by the condition of the muscles beneath the skin. A young woman has firm skin because her muscles are strong and elastic, and the skin has moisture. As a woman ages, the muscles weaken and actually diminish in function. That's when wrinkles become deeper and the skin becomes dry. Most wrinkles occur around the eyes, lips and neck. Wrinkles do not, as is often thought, arise from the predominance of a particular emotional sentiment. Rather, they are the traces of years of continuous muscle movement throughout the face.

How acupuncture helps
Acupuncture can successfully treat all kinds of facial wrinkles. The acupuncturist places fine needles at a variety of pressure points on the face, neck and legs. The specific points chosen depend upon the location of the wrinkle. The needles increase the flow of blood to the face and stimulate the body energies, or chi., which move along pathways called meridians, and the increased flow of blood and chi enhances muscle tone and skin tension from within the body. The face lifts itself through the muscles rejuvenation and tightening action.

About Acupuncture
Acupuncture has been used to heal for 5,000 years. Although it was born in the Orient, it's been used successfully in Western countries like England, France, Germany and Russia for hundreds of years. Real acceptance of acupuncture in the United States, however, began only in the early 1970's: during President Nixon's trip to China, when New York Times reporter James Reston required an emergency appendectomy, acupuncture was used as an anesthetic. The amazed Reston reported on its effectiveness, and the use of acupuncture in America began its phenomenal growth.

Today, hundreds of thousands of Americans have discovered for themselves just how well acupuncture can work-itÕs often more effective than Western medicine, and nearly always less expensive. The World Health Organization has determined acupuncture to be effective in treating more than 100 conditions, including: stress, sexual dysfunction, addictions asthma an allergies, high blood pressure, chronic pain, depression, infertility, PMS, sciatica, vision problems, headaches, hot flashes and much more.

An acupuncture treatments lasts approximately 30 minutes in a calm and relaxing atmosphere, where soft music and guided mediation enhance the healing process. Needles are disposable, eliminating the risk of transmitted disease, and they are so thin and flexible that their insertion is virtually painless.

After an initial 10 to 15 treatments, a patient will need monthly or bimonthly maintenance sessions. The results may last as long as a surgical face lift. Acupuncture is a simple, affordable, health way to take years off your face and revive your emotional and physical health. -L.P.