by Maritza Kerekes, Psy.D, LAc, Dipl.AcThe Science of Holistic Beauty: How It Works
As a practitioner deeply rooted in both acupuncture and psychology, I am often asked how holistic treatments like facial acupuncture and microneedling work from a scientific perspective. Clients are intrigued not only by the promising results these treatments offer in terms of physical appearance but also by the profound impact they have on emotional well-being. In this post, I will delve into how these ancient techniques align with modern scientific understanding to rejuvenate both body and mind.
Understanding the Connection Between Mind, Body, and Skin
The skin is more than just our body's outer surface; it is often referred to as the "third kidney" because it assists in detoxification through sweat, similarly to how the liver and kidneys filter toxins. This detoxifying process is vital for maintaining a vibrant appearance and optimal health. However, the skin is also a reflection of our internal health and emotional states. Stress, for example, can lead to hormonal imbalances that might manifest as acne, eczema, or premature aging.
Facial Acupuncture: Enhancing Beauty Through Balance
Facial acupuncture, a staple in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), is based on the idea that beauty stems from general health and the free flow of Qi (energy) and blood. By inserting ultra-fine needles at specific points, facial acupuncture aims to stimulate the body’s healing energies and increase blood circulation to the face. This enhances collagen production, which is crucial for skin elasticity and firmness.
Scientifically, the minor trauma caused by the needle punctures promotes a healing response that includes the stimulation of fibroblasts to produce collagen, thus reducing wrinkles and improving skin texture. From a psychological perspective, facial acupuncture reduces anxiety and stress by promoting relaxation and balancing the body's energy, which can often be felt immediately during and after treatment. This state of relaxation is not merely subjective; research shows that acupuncture can alter brain chemistry by releasing endorphins, known as natural painkillers, and neurotransmitters that promote a sense of well-being.
Holistic Microneedling: More Than Just Skin Deep
Holistic microneedling takes this concept further by employing numerous fine needles to create micro-channels in the skin. This not only triggers the skin’s natural healing process but also makes it more receptive to therapeutic serums and natural elixirs. The holistic approach means that the treatment is tailored to each individual’s skin and emotional needs, incorporating natural, nutrient-rich products that enhance the skin’s health and appearance.
This technique not only stimulates collagen but also elastin, which together restore the skin’s youthful texture and resilience. Moreover, the psychological benefits of microneedling—similar to those of acupuncture—include reduced stress levels and an enhanced feeling of relaxation and self-care, reinforcing the treatment's holistic impact.
Microneedling for Hair Restoration: A Natural Revival Method
Exploring the potential of microneedling for hair restoration involves understanding its ability to rejuvenate the scalp. The treatment improves blood circulation to the scalp, increases nutrient delivery, and stimulates stem cells in hair follicles. This is particularly effective for thinning hair, encouraging thickness and growth.
From a psychological viewpoint, improving one's hair appearance can have a dramatic effect on self-esteem and confidence. The process of microneedling also helps in reducing stress—a known contributor to hair loss.
Integrating Science with Holistic Practices
What makes holistic beauty treatments particularly effective is their ability to integrate physical improvements with mental and emotional upliftment. This synergy not only helps in achieving more lasting and visible results but also enhances overall well-being, aligning perfectly with the scientific principles of psychoneuroimmunology, which studies the interaction between psychological processes and the nervous and immune systems.
Holistic beauty practices like facial acupuncture and microneedling are not just treatments for the skin or hair but are rejuvenating experiences that encompass the entire self—body, mind, and spirit. By embracing these practices, individuals are not just investing in their appearance but are also taking significant steps toward better health and emotional balance. This comprehensive approach is what truly defines the science of holistic beauty. For more information and to book treatment, go to www.innerglowacu.com.
by Maritza Kerekes, Psy.D, LAc, Dipl.AcAcupuncture is an ancient Chinese Medicine practice that is growing in popularity across the world. So what exactly is acupuncture? Essentially, acupuncture is when thin needles are strategically inserted into the skin at specific pain and pressure points in the body. Although sticking needles into oneself might seem counterintuitive, there’s something magical about this holistic practice because of its immense health benefits. Let’s dive in and explore the ten awe-inspiring benefits of acupuncture.
1. Minimizes Pain
Acupuncture is a popular treatment for pain, especially neck pain, back pain, and joint pain. Acupuncture releases endorphins, decreasing pain and releasing stress from the pressure points. From its natural healing properties alone, acupuncture is an excellent source of relief without any medication and can also prevent injuries from occurring in the future.
2. Mental Health
One of the top reasons people seek acupuncture treatment is to relieve stress and improve overall mental health. Therefore, it is frequently recommended alongside complementary therapies. Acupuncture has proven to decrease anxiety and improve mental health by lowering stress hormones and mellowing one’s mood.
3. Headache Relief
Forget Aleve--try acupuncture first. By releasing pressure on the targeted body parts, acupuncture can relieve tension headaches, cluster headaches, and migraines without medication.
4. Boosts Immunity
Acupuncture is one of the most underrated preventative medicines. It regulates the body’s defenses and boosts blood cell production, strengthening the immune system.
5. Improves Gut Health
A balanced nervous system increases digestive function. The correct acupuncture points can aid in the digestive process, helping to speed up the metabolism, reduce gastric acid secretion, and regulate intestinal function.
6. Lessens Allergies
Acupuncture can even improve seasonal allergies and some upper respiratory conditions, including asthma and sinusitis. In addition, acupuncture promotes overall regulation, which can aid in transporting substances that help with inflammatory, histamine, and immune response.
7. Aids in Fertility
Acupuncture balances hormonal systems, so it is popular for those who experience hormonal imbalances. Therefore, it is a popular treatment for women struggling with PCOS, PMS, and infertility.
8. Decreases Cravings
Those afflicted with nicotine addiction are often referred to acupuncture as a natural solution to kick their habit. In addition, acupuncture decreases anxiety, which can aid in reducing cravings.
9. Beauty Benefits
Facial acupuncture and holistic microneedling makes the body go into repair mode, creating anti-aging results by stimulating the lymphatic and circulatory systems. Benefits include an increase in collagen, skin brightening, and skin tightening. Instead of more invasive chemical procedures, acupuncture naturally assists the skin.
10. Longevity
Acupuncture is truly a hidden secret when it comes to feeling and looking young and healthy. Ultimately, acupuncture brings balance to every aspect of the body, increasing longevity.
Overall, acupuncture works wonders to bring balance to the total mind, body, and soul. At InnerGlow Acupuncture & Wellness, we believe in the transformative benefits of acupuncture. Let us help assist you to find the proper acupuncture service for your unique set of needs. If you would like to further explore the benefits of acupuncture or book a session, contact us here. We look forward to working with you!
While many people look forward to the fall season, others feel troubled by it. With greater chances of illness and allergies plus less sunlit hours, it can set off a host of problems.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the Fall season is associated with the Lung and Large Intestine meridians. Working together, they help support our immune system. Autumn is also the season that TCM associates with metal. This element rules your mind, order, and stability. Fall forces us to look inward and is a time of letting go of what no longer serves us.
How can you protect your health during the Fall season? These TCM-inspired tips for Autumn will help!
Feast on warm foods
Cooked and warm foods ready us for the Fall. This keeps from adding strain to your digestive system and spleen. Warmed foods conserve your body’s energy so it can ward off illnesses. In Chinese traditions, people steam their foods low and slow to nourish and support the yin. Make soups, stews, and porridges to refuel in this season.
Take care of your lungs
Dry, cold winds deplete your lungs and breathing passages. It’s important to keep them lubricated. Choose nourishing fruits like apples, pears, persimmons, pumpkins, and figs. Nuts and seeds are also an excellent choice for your health in fall.
Put sour and acrid flavors on your plate
To preserve your fluids and yin, sour foods like grapefruit and lemons have an astringent quality. However, if you start feeling under the weather, acrid options like garlic, chili, ginger, and onions help your defensive qi to keep you healthy.
Wear a scarf
As you head out of your home each day in the Fall, wrap up with a scarf. Your neck and upper back are most susceptible for illnesses to enter the lungs so keep them protected. In TCM, the Lung meridian is associated with the skin and pathogens such as viruses may more easily enter when these parts of the body are left vulnerable and unprotected.
Choose acupuncture
Even when eating warming foods and balancing with sour and acrid flavors, acupuncture can help soothe you and bolster your health for the Fall. Since it balances moods by regulating hormones, it can help you sleep easier and calm the stresses you feel as you move into the holiday season. There are certain acupuncture points that can help bolster your immune system and help quell allergies.
For a healthy and balanced autumn, schedule an acupuncture appointment. Hit that reset button and let InnerGlow Acupuncture & Wellness revitalize you from the inside out with acupuncture treatments designed for your specific needs.
by Maritza Kerekes, Psy.D, LAc, Dipl.AcSince ancient times, the traditional Chinese medicine technique known as acupuncture has been used to restore balance. From physical to emotional balancing, the tiny hair-like sterile needles that are used open up blocked pathways for your energy (known as “chi” or “qi”) making it an essential for self-care.
When taking steps for your own self-care to put your health first, everything preventative you can do like eating right, exercising, and getting enough sleep makes a difference. Acupuncture also works in a preventative way while helping to heal pain and other ailments. That’s why self-care through acupuncture can clear the way to make your quality of life better all around.
How Acupuncture Helps Maintain Self-Care
With the stimulation of specific points on your body, your acupuncturist can activate your body’s own natural healing response. This can be used to help physical and emotional blockages so you look and feel your best.
- Less stress
Stress comes in all forms from the welcome kind (like finally getting that promotion or planning your wedding) to the unwelcome kind (worrying about family and finances). With a little help from acupuncture, you can decrease your anxiety and worry as well as change the way your body responds to stress. Acupuncture is a powerful self-care tool that corrects both the physical and emotional imbalance in your body, allowing you to manage all kinds of stress with success.
- More sleep
Because sleep is such a powerful point in self-care, when you’re not getting enough of it, it can drastically affect your physical and emotional equilibrium. Stress may be the thing keeping you awake at night, leaving you restless and uncomfortable until your alarm chimes in the morning. With acupuncture treatments, you can release tension build-up and restore balance to your body which will allow you to more easily fall asleep, and sleep through the night more effectively than taking medication.
- Improved physical state
While acupuncture is fantastic for aligning your body’s internal and emotional needs, the benefits also can be seen on your exterior. Acupuncture can be used for self-care to reduce acne, brighten up dull skin, and minimize puffiness and wrinkles. This is because it stimulates the lymphatic and circulatory systems, allowing that Qi to freely flow, which creates a reflection of your wellbeing and health.
- Get to the root of your problems
Self-care also means solving the mystery of why you don’t have enough energy or suffer from chronic pain. Acupuncture uses a whole-body approach that seeks out the root of your health woes and brings it back in balance. This holistic method heals from the source of the cause, remedying pain and other problems so that you can feel like yourself again.
To tackle all your self-care concerns at once, scheduling an acupuncture appointment is one of the best moves you can make. You’ll feel revitalized and renewed after your treatment by simply adding this to your self-care routine. Contact me today at InnerGlow Acupuncture & Wellness to bring self-care back to your mind, body, and spirit!
by Maritza Kerekes, Psy.D, LAc, Dipl.AcWhen you look in the mirror, do you find yourself scrutinizing the look of your skin? Are you finding yourself less than happy about the ever-increasing fine lines and wrinkles there? Maybe you are longing for the fullness of your cheeks and tightness of your jawline that used to be there, but now are sagging a bit. The process of aging can be no fun, as we all want that youthful glow that we used to just wake up with.
There is good news though. You do not have to go through risky, painful, and expensive cosmetic surgery to tighten and firm the skin on your face and neck. Today, we are going to talk about skincare services that have their roots in ancient traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). These methods of treatment have been around for many years and have repeatedly been shown to be highly effective. Welcome to the world of microneedling and acupuncture, a holistic facial rejuvenation and wellness approach that can yield the results you are looking for. First, let's take a look at what each of these treatments is all about.
MICRONEEDLING
Microneedling can also be found under the more modern names of Percutaneous Collagen Induction or Collagen Induction Therapy. This technique has repeatedly been proven to maintain more youthful skin by mitigating the signs of early aging. Microneedling does this by improving the texture of the skin on your face, as well as lifting and tightening the skin. Another benefit that proponents of this treatment share are that it greatly reduces the size of facial pores and reduces scarring that may have occurred due to acne or other skin conditions.
While acupuncture uses single, very fine needles inserted one at a time, microneedling utilizes a micro pen with multiple fine needles to create hundreds of tiny puncture points called microtraumas. The body then immediately gets to work repairing these microscopic areas of trauma. When you add microneedling into your beauty regimen, you should see amazing results.
FACIAL ACUPUNCTURE
Facial acupuncture is a holistic facial rejuvenation treatment that is considered by practitioners to be a safer and more affordable alternative to some anti-aging treatments. This extension of traditional acupuncture and oriental medicine naturally stimulates the lymphatic and circulatory systems, improving nutrient and oxygen delivery to your skin. This in turn evens out the complexion and helps you to get your glow on. The positive microtraumas to the skin of the face stimulate collagen production, giving your skin greater elasticity and allows you to say farewell to fine lines and wrinkles.
A PERFECT PAIR
As a practitioner who focuses on whole-body wellness, I am thrilled to add the service of microneedling to the menu of holistic facial rejuvenation treatments I offer. While microneedling can be a stand-alone treatment, I combine it with acupuncture of the body to give clients a full-body wellness experience. The treatment of microneedling has many parallels to acupuncture.
For example, both use the concept of fine needle insertions to stimulate the body’s healing responses. Microneedling traditionally targets the condition and appearance of the skin, whereas acupuncture tends to focus more on balancing the systems of the body as a whole. Acupuncturists have the training and knowledge base to provide the most effective microneedling treatments to give you glowing skin. By combining your facial microneedling session with body acupuncture, you will leave feeling and looking your absolute best.
HOW IT WORKS
When you go for your series of acupuncture and miconeedling sessions, you can expect a relaxing and rejuvenating experience. Your acupuncturist will strategically place ultra-fine needles into the skin in predetermined locations to first help you achieve entire body homeostasis. Next, facial microneedling will be performed and skin-replenishing serums will be applied using ingredients like hyaluronic acid and Apple Stem cells. You will leave with self-care instructions to optimize the results of your treatment.
We invite you to take a step towards reclaiming your youthful appearance while supporting whole body wellbeing by calling today for a consultation about how using microneedling and acupuncture can give you a safe and holistic facial rejuvenation experience that uses carefully curated serums based in ancient Chinese medicine. These serums are fully customized to your skincare needs and will make you feel confident, and years younger. Acupuncturists have harnessed the power of combining acupuncture and microneedling to give men and women an anti-aging treatment with results they can rave about. Contact us today for a consultation and get on the road to radiance. Come get your glow on at InnerGlow Acupuncture & Wellness!
by Maritza Kerekes, Psy.D, LAc, Dipl.AcHave you been looking in the mirror lately and been less than impressed with the face that is staring back at you? Do you see dullness, sagging, or fine lines and wrinkles that never used to be there? If you answered yes to any of these inquiries, then you will want to keep reading about an ancient technique that is taking the modern skincare world by storm...cosmetic facial acupuncture.
You may hear this beauty and wellness treatment referred to by several names, such as facial rejuvenation acupuncture, cosmetic acupuncture, facial acupuncture or even acupuncture "facelift." No matter what treatment title is used, if you are looking to improve your self image and self esteem, this may be your ticket to getting that youthful glow back.
WHAT IS COSMETIC FACIAL ACUPUNCTURE?
Cosmetic facial acupuncture is a non-invasive procedure that helps to stimulate the production of collagen in the skin of the face. This safe and cost-effective holistic facial procedure is a trendsetting treatment that has been shown to reduce those pesky signs of aging by utilizing the ancient practice of acupuncture.
During this facial rejuvenation process, extremely fine acupuncture needles are inserted in various places on the face. The insertion of the needles causes a micro-trauma to the skin, which the body rushes to heal by upping its production of collagen, elastin, and fibrinogen. These three age-fighting proteins are scientifically proven to plump and smooth the skin to give a more youthful appearance. When we are young, our skin has more than enough of these amino acids, but as we age, the body slows in its production of these age defiers and skin begins to dull, sag, and wrinkle.
WHAT CAN I EXPECT?
Typically, you will need to schedule between 12-15 cosmetic facial acupuncture treatments over the course of several weeks to see results. To keep that youthful glow up, maintenance treatments are recommended about every 4-6 weeks. During the acupuncture treatment, your areas of concern will be targeted, and you will also receive full body acupuncture to address constitutional imbalances. My facial acupuncture patients happily report improved skin texture and appearance, a noticeable improvement in fine lines and wrinkles, less skin sagging, and more defined jawlines.
When you choose to invest in this ancient wellness strategy with a modern beautifying twist, not only will you be in awe of watching your skin age backwards, but you will feel yourself emanating an aura of self-confidence. I would also like to mention that for many patients, facial acupuncture is often combined with other treatments such as LED light therapy and micro-current for even more dramatic results.
IS COSMETIC FACIAL ACUPUNCTURE FOR ME?
Almost anyone can reap the benefits of a more confident self image and increased self esteem by treating their skin to facial acupuncture. If you are in good health and have been seeking a natural alternative to chemical skincare regimens, this is a treatment that you will want to consider.
I cannot wait to have you look in the mirror and love the face that you see reflected. If you are as excited as I am about what cosmetic acupuncture can do for you, please reach out at InnerGlow Acupuncture & Wellness. I look forward to meeting you and sharing all the amazing benefits that you can reap from this revolutionary skincare treatment that not only improves the look of your skin but also has whole-body health benefits. There is no better time to glow up than now!
