By Jamil Asaria MD FRCSC 

According to the latest FACE Report, a survey of Canadian women’s attitudes on aging and cosmetic enhancement, 57% of everyday, real-looking women are getting injectable treatments and 81% believe that these treatments are more mainstream than ever before.

The vast majority of these injectable treatments are comprised of botox and fillers such as Juvederm, Restylane, Radiesse, and Teosyal. But as facial procedures become more and more popular, there are always going to be procedures that push the boundaries.

It seems as though our week would be incomplete without seeing another Kim Kardashian tweet with a photo of her latest facial treatment. This time she turns to facial acupuncture as her most recent “anti-aging” procedure. 

The same treatment was recently featured on Dr. Oz as he states, “if you’ve been tempted to get a facelift but didn’t want to go under the knife or spend the big bucks, I’ve got an all natural alternative. Today, I’m revealing the acupuncture facelift.”

Well, as shocking as it seems, it turns out that not every word that comes out of Dr. Oz’ mouth is the Gospel.

Facial acupuncture is what it is. Two thousand years of Chinese Medicine can’t be entirely wrong. Acupuncture definitely has holistic benefits and the medical literature supports its benefit for certain types of pain control, anxiety and depression.

As a facial plastic surgeon, I can also tell you what acupuncture won’t do. Contrary to popular claims, it will not tighten your skin, soften your wrinkles, improve elasticity, or produce collagen. Most of all, it certainly isn’t going to lift anything.

Bottom Line

If you are looking for a relaxing therapy that will stimulate your chi and soothe your soul, facial acupuncture might just do the trick. But if you are trying to improve the quality of your skin, you will be much better off making an appointment with a qualified dermatologist or facial plastic surgeon to undergo a validated and effective treatment.

About the Author Jamil Asaria MD FRCSC is a Facial Plastic Surgeon and director at FACE Cosmetic Surgery. Asaria also lectures at the Division of Facial Plastic Surgery at the University of Toronto.

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