As we age, the desire to restore our skin to a youthful, healthy-looking state is natural—but all too often, the options are not. The past decade has witnessed an unprecedented surge in the popularity of surgical and chemical cosmetic procedures. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the US counted over four million Botox injections, one million chemical peels, and over 100,000 facelifts in 2006. These procedures can carry risk of infection, can require lengthy recovery times, and can be disruptive to the body: Botox treatments inject a paralyzing toxin; Phenol, a poisonous substance used for deep chemical peels, eats away at the skin; and facelifts slice skin and pull it back, trimming fat and cutting off excess flesh before restitching or stapling.
Such methods are pursued to address the results of the natural aging process, which can be exacerbated by external factors (sun exposure, smoking, alcohol). Both aging and environmental stressors diminish production of collagen, a protein which provides the skin’s support and structure, and elastin, another which allows the skin to resume its shape after muscle movement or stretching. The muscles of the face can become weak, and inadequate circulation can cause stagnation of blood and lymph (the fluid of the immune system that removes bacteria). Skin becomes less firm, loses its contour, grows puffy, and wrinkles and fine lines appear as a result.
There are alternatives for those seeking a more holistic approach to facial rejuvenation and want to forgo the dramatic change a scalpel promises for a more natural and subtle improvement. The boom of the spa- and wellness-centered industries, paired with a steadily increasing confidence in the effectiveness of acupuncture, has created a range of less invasive options that aid the body in restoring itself.
Facial acupuncture
“The thing about Chinese medicine is that it’s a really holistic medicine in the truest sense,” says Jipala Reicher-Kagan of Transpersonal Acupuncture in Kingston. “With facial acupuncture, not only are you addressing the symptom, the lines, or the puffy eyes, you’re addressing the internal issue that’s also causing that and tonifying the body at the same time.”
Acupuncture is based on the theory that meridians, energy (chi) pathways that run through the body, can be accessed at different acupoints. The insertion of needles into these points stimulates energy and eliminates blockages, which can cause imbalance. “In Chinese medicine, they believe an imbalance in the body will create symptoms. Even acne, puffy eyes, dark circles—all of that would be considered to be some type of internal problem,” says Reicher-Kagan.
Ed Kuntz, an acupuncturist at One Roof Holistic Center in Saratoga Springs, begins with a consultation and interview. “I do a diagnosis according to traditional diagnostic methods, which is taking the radial pulses on both wrists, looking at the tongue [the color and coating gives practitioners insight into overall health], and asking certain questions about general health and habits, sleep, appetite, energy level, and digestion, and taking a brief medical history,” he says. After evaluation, thin needles are placed into acupoints and indicated areas of concern, like wrinkles. Both Kuntz and Reicher-Kagan place needles into other parts of the body for balancing. “A fair amount of needles are used in the face and for that reason you have to have a good amount of needles in the body to ground the treatment,” Reicher-Kagan says. During a session she uses at least 20 needles in the face, which are slightly curved, shorter, and thinner than normal acupuncture needles. The entire treatment will run about an hour to an hour and a half, and can treat wrinkles, sunspots, acne, rosacea, dark circles, and droopy eyelids.
An individual interested in facial acupuncture should be willing to make a commitment to a schedule of sessions to see optimal results. Kuntz says that everybody is different, but most people will see improvement by the sixth appointment. Reicher-Kagan recommends 10 to 12 treatments; she says the seventh session is the “peak,” when the most changes are seen; subsequent visits help to cement them.
Facial exercise
“Facial exercise has been used for thousands of years,” Peggi Perrone, founder of About Face in Clifton Park, explains. “It has its roots in yoga, where it’s used as part of the tradition of detoxifying and bringing blood flow and energy to the entire body, which includes the head and face.”
Perrone’s services at About Face include private or classroom instruction in 20 different facial exercises, hand-picked for their effectiveness during her 16 years of research and practice. Clients can choose the full four-week program and learn exercises for the whole face, or have an individualized session that concentrates on exercises for specific problem areas, like the cheeks, neck, or eyes.
“The reason most women come to me is because they’re concerned with gravity’s effect on their face, where it’s actually starting to droop and look haggard,” Perrone says. She cites the numerous benefits of facial exercise—it strengthens and tones muscles in the face, it reduces puffiness by stimulating the lymph and circulatory systems and flushing out toxins, it increases collagen production to diminish fine lines and wrinkles, and it creates a healthier complexion by boosting blood and oxygen flow to the skin.
“Anyone who believes in the benefit of working out your arms, legs, and back would understand why working out your facial muscles will have the same benefit,” Perrone says. “There’s an analogy I use when people wonder about the connection between muscle and skin: Your face is like a bed. Your muscles are the mattress and your skin is the sheets. If your mattress is saggy, you can put tighter new sheets on, but the foundation is still going to be soft. You need to get a new mattress.” This is why skincare and facials will only go so far. “A lot of estheticians focus on health of the skin, restoring collagen and elastin, which is great, but they’re not addressing what’s under your skin—your muscles.”
Perrone’s program consists of exercises that use the hands and fingers for resistance while muscles are contracted and held for a few seconds before release. The exercises take about 20 minutes to complete, and for the best results Perrone prescribes repeating them twice a day for four weeks. After the first month, a maintenance schedule of once or twice a day for a couple of days a week can be implemented.
Perrone was hooked on facial exercise after trying it almost two decades ago when she saw her stressed, fatigued face responding after just one week. She says that, depending on your age, you can see results in as little as five days to one month when following the program conscientiously. For issues like puffiness caused by poor circulation of blood and lymph, you can see results after just one session.
Light therapy
Maria Ferguson, founder of the Hudson Valley School of Advanced Aesthetics Skin Care in New Paltz and an esthetician for 32 years, offers the GentleWaves LED (Light-Emitting Diode) photomodulation system at her clinic. A noninvasive option for treating a variety of facial conditions, it is the only instrument approved by the FDA for medical claims relating to cosmetic improvements and treatment of sun-damaged skin.
According to Light BioScience, the manufacturer, the machine uses low-level, non-thermal, pulsating LED lights to treat skin conditions caused by aging, stress, smoking, alcohol, pollution, and the sun. The light emissions trigger the skin’s natural rejuvenation process and penetrate the epidermis to reach the deeper skin layers, where collagen production is stimulated. It’s been proven to minimize fine lines, wrinkles, pores, freckles, age spots, and redness, resulting in softer, smoother, more radiant skin.
A session is simple—the client arrives without any cosmetics on and sits or lays on a table. Rectangular, curved light panels are placed near the face and turned on for the duration of the session. The whole procedure will take less than a minute; clinical studies have proven that it only takes 35 seconds for the light to permeate the skin layers and maximize collagen creation.
Ferguson also offers Versaclear, a therapy that uses different colored lights to help with different conditions. “The blue light is good for acne treatments, it works on just the epidermis of the skin,” she says. “The red light goes deeper into the skin, and that rejuvenates the activity in the deeper layer, where collagen is.” The Versaclear light treatment takes 20 minutes to complete.
Light therapy requires a number of sessions to see results.“The light treatment requires one or two treatments a week for up to eight weeks, then once a month for maintenance,” Ferguson says. “You’re not going to see immediate results. It’s going for tightening effects, which you’ll see over time.” Clients will generally start to notice changes after the third session.
Microcurrent facials
Developed by an acupuncturist, the microcurrent machine esthetician Mary Kuntz (and wife of Ted) uses at One Roof Holistic Center addresses facial concerns based on the model of Chinese medicine. “We’re working on the meridians in the face and clearing what in Chinese medicine causes aging—stagnant chi,” she says. “We’re getting the chi, or the energy, to circulate.”
A typical treatment involves applying an aloe-like gel to the face to allow a handpiece to glide over the skin and conduct the currents. The esthetician controls the intensity of the electrical impulse and can customize the level for sensitive clients, although there is generally no discomfort. “When people think ‘electricity,’ they think of their muscles twitching. It doesn’t twitch the muscles,” she explains. “It feels like a light, tingling sensation. There’s no pain involved.”
The machine’s microcurrents mimic the body’s own electrical current and help to regenerate cellular metabolism—eliminating waste and toxins, and regenerating collagen and elastin production to improve tone and firmness. Kuntz notes that the currents will minimize wrinkles and fine lines but will not affect some conditions of aging, like sunspots or other hyperpigmentation. She says depending on age, some clients see a difference after the first session, but that the results and their duration depend highly on lifestyle choices.
“I had a client I’d work on and she’d go back to use a tanning bed,” Kuntz says. “If people smoke or don’t eat right, the change won’t last long. This is for more of a health-conscious type of client that doesn’t want to do Botox, doesn’t want a facelift, doesn’t want Juvederm [a wrinkle-filler], or to inject collagen. This is a more holistic approach—for someone who lives a healthy lifestyle, the results are better.”
A client should expect to make maintenance visits to sustain the effects of the treatment. Kuntz recommends a session every three to four weeks for upkeep.
Realistic expectations
“When people are looking at rejuvenation there are a lot of things to consider—how much of an improvement they want to make, how much time they want to devote to obtaining it, and how much they want to devote financially to obtaining it,” says Dr. John Noonan, a plastic surgeon at Albany’s Plastic Surgery Group, which offers traditional cosmetic surgery options like facelifts and newer alternatives like BBL photo-rejuventation therapy. “You put all those three together and try to figure out ‘What’s the best thing for me?’”
These noninvasive options can necessitate multiple visits to render noticeable results, and maintenance thereafter. But the benefits should outweigh any delays in pronounced change—there can be effective, pain-free, and cost-efficient alternatives to surgery or chemicals, with no recovery time, side effects, or aftercare.
But Dr. Noonan warns that some conditions can’t be improved without surgery. “The more advanced the skin damage or droopiness, the more you’re tending toward surgical intervention,” he says. “For real sagging skin—like some people that have that basset hound look, with their lower lids drooping—that needs major revamping, and that’s surgery.”
Remember that no treatment is a permanent cure-all. Aim to prevent further signs of aging and help maintain the effects of a treatment by living a more skin-conscious life: Protect your skin from the sun, eat foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants, and choose healthy skincare products to cleanse and moisturize.
Resources:
About Face at A Peaceful Place
Peggi Perrone; 1733 Route 9, Clifton Park; (518) 605-0608;
www.aboutfaceexercise.com
Hudson Valley School of Advanced Aesthetics Skin Care
Maria Ferguson; 256 Main St., New Paltz; (845) 255-0013; www.hvsaesthetics.com
One Roof Holistic Health Center
Ed and Mary Kuntz; 58 Henry St., Saratoga Springs; (845) 581-3180; www.oneroofsaratoga.com
Jipala Reicher-Kagan, Transpersonal Acupuncture
14 Elizabeth St., Kingston (845) 340-8625; www.transpersonalacupuncture.com
Dr. John Noonan
The Plastic Surgery Group; 1365 Washington Ave., Albany
(518) 438-0505; www.theplasticsurgerygroup.net
This article appears in August 2007.
