Good Looks

Facial acupuncture seriously smoothed my forehead lines. Mind you, it took 35 hair-thin needles, a fraction of the width of those pictured here.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) doctors in New York City don’t widely offer anti-aging facial rejuvenation treatments. Call it a byproduct of their clinical training or cosmetic snobbery. That’s why you need Beth Hooper and Laura Kauffmann, two serious NYC-based acupuncturists who’ve created the AcuGlow and AcuLift facial treatments ($125) using principles of TCM and their own product line called She Essential Beauty, which contains Chinese herbs. “It’s a natural extension of the holistic approach [to beauty] that our acupuncture clients are already practicing,” says Hooper. In other words, chemicals peels might not be a fit for this group.

AcuGlow uses the She products in a traditional facial formula—cleanse, exfoliate, tone, and moisturize—along with acupressure, a pressure-point massage that helps “boost yin” (moisture) without needles, says Hooper, whose own skin is porcelain. But it was the AcuLift, and its 30-some hair-thin needles (about one for every year!), that really stuck it to my deep forehead creases from scowling at my computer screen. (A few more targeted my insomnia and digestion points.) After completing a thorough intake form and a one-hour treatment with Hooper in her tiny UES office, my previously impervious lines seemed more like shallow suggestions. How it works? “The needles create micro-wounds that boost collagen production and blood flow,” says Hooper, who adds that she and Kauffmann have seen best results in women 35 to 55. They recommend a series of 10 sessions, but it’s been two weeks, and I’m still coasting on the results.

$125 per treatment or 10 for $1,000; www.sheessentialbeauty.com; 866-502-3736

Have you had this treatment or any acupuncture facial experiences you’d like to share? Tell us, below!