FACIAL ACUPUNCTURE: The New Botox?

Looking to achieve instant results from a face treatment? Consider facial acupuncture.

A 3,000-year-old healing technique passed down from traditional Chinese medicine, according to the history books, acupuncture was a youth-boosting skincare staple of female royalty.

Now, in modern-day beauty therapy, it’s touted to promote our body’s natural self-healing processes by stimulating specific points with very fine, sterile needles. Facial acupuncture to achieve a glowing complexion is becoming the latest craze on the market. “Needling” the area of concern promises to minimise wrinkles by stimulating cells to produce fresh collagen and elastin fibres. Suffering from under-eye puffiness? It’s said to detoxify the area, preventing or healing dark circles and patches. It’s also thought to encourage the breakdown of unwanted fatty deposits on the face, thereby improving skin tone and reducing an unsightly double chin; to stimulate blood circulation so as to plump up your complexion; and even to help to rebalance out-of-whack hormones.

So, how many sessions of this 100 percent natural method do you need to undergo? It’s generally recommended to complete a course of around 20 sessions (each of which lasts 20 to 30 minutes), once or twice a week, to reap the best results, but you could see improvement immediately after your first session.

L’ORÉAL MAKEUP DESIGNER MAT MAGIQUE, $28.90

Perfect for combination or oily complexions, this highcoverage, non-comedogenic foundation conceals blemishes and stays put for up to 12 hours, keeping your skin matte and shine-free.

SHU UEMURA STAGE PERFORMER BLOCK BOOSTER, $65

This ingenious primer doesn’t just hydrate your skin, correct its colour and help your makeup stay put, but it also blocks air pollutants, and its SPF 50 shields your complexion from UVA and UVB rays.

MAKE UP STORE SMOOTH COVER CONCEALER, $38

If you need extra coverage, this creamy and buildable concealer corrects blue and red tones in the skin to mask spots, age spots and pigmentation.

TARTE AMAZONIAN CLAY 12-HOUR BLUSH IN SENSUAL, $47

This paraben-free, rosy tancoloured blush contains anti-inflammatory vitamins A, E and C to prevent free

radical damage.