Traditional Eastern medicine has a place in supporting elegant aging with healthy, beautiful skin. And the two naturally go much more hand-in-hand than you may realize.
If you’re not already familiar with microneedling and do not utilize it in your acupuncture practice, it may be time to take a closer look.
Microneedling can be a wonderful addition to a practice and beneficial for patients who are looking for a more holistic option in treating a variety of cosmetic concerns, including wrinkles, sagging, uneven complexion, hyperpigmentation, scarring and even hair growth. And it actually has its roots in a Traditional Chinese Medicine technique.
Western Mechanism:
Microneedling uses tiny, short, solid needles to penetrate the skin with the intention of creating micro-injuries. This in turn stimulates collagen and elastin production and promotes cellular regeneration. By triggering the wound healing cascade without causing actual damage, we can repurpose it for skin rejuvenation.
In the first few minutes following microneedling, platelets release biosignaling growth factors and cytokines. Over the next few days, white blood cells secrete additional cytokines and growth factors, triggering endothelial cells, fibroblasts and keratinocytes to enable wound healing. Up to weeks after the treatment, we see an influx of fibroblasts and the formation of the Extracellular Matrix (ECM), including collagen formation, new blood vessels and cellular regeneration.
While ‘triggering the wound healing cascade’ may sound harsh, it is a huge shift from the Western aim of purposefully damaging and peeling off layers of the skin to a more healthy and gentle technique by activating biosignaling proteins down to the stem cells.
Although many Western medical and beauty practitioners treat microneedling as a new development, microneedling’s roots began more than two thousand years ago. Microneedling is actually a modernized form of Plum Blossom Therapy, also known as Seven Star Hammer technique.
Eastern Mechanism:
In Zhong Mei-quan’s comprehensive book on Plum Blossom Therapy, “a record of a shallow insertion technique… says, “there are five needling techniques that have been developed to treat various diseases associated with the five zang organs. The fifth technique is quick superficial needling, which involves shallow insertion and immediate withdrawal of the needle without causing any harm to the flesh. It is a technique which, not unlike removal of a fine hair, functions to eliminate the pathogenic factors in the skin.” Plum Blossom therapy uses this needling technique to stimulate blood circulation, disperse swelling, remove dampness, dissipate blood stasis, harmonize ying and wei, reduce heat and toxic substances and eliminate pathogenic factors.
Despite the fact that there are now a number of modern tools like dermarollers, dermastampers and motorized microneedling devices that make microneedling easier and more accessible, the purpose and mechanism has not changed. And many acupuncturists combine other eastern methods, such as jade rolling, gua sha and cupping with microneedling for a holistic approach to maximize effectiveness.
Unlike the more Western tactic of lasers and peels, microneedling does not come from a harsher-and-deeper-is-more-effective approach. A 2015 study by a Canadian dermatologist, Dr. Lance Setterfield, pointed to collagen production at the dermal/epidermal junction of the skin (around .5mm), supporting the findings that deep penetration is not necessary. In fact, deeper penetration creates more inflammation and thus a longer healing process.
Smoother, Brighter and Stronger Skin
Let’s take a look at four areas that are treated beautifully with microneedling: wrinkles, sagging, dull uneven skin complexion, and hyperpigmentation:
Perhaps the area where microneedling sees the best outcomes is for softening wrinkles. Wrinkles are caused by decreased production of natural oils in the skin, dehydration, depleted fat, poor diet, smoking, sun damage or repeated facial expressions. Microneedling targets wrinkles by stimulating new collagen and elastin formation while also increasing absorption of skincare ingredients. This is the perfect time to utilize your cleanest and most effective topical treatments when the skin is most ‘open’, allowing products to penetrate more deeply. Additional training and education is needed to know which products are most appropriate and effective, as it’s possible to have an allergic reaction during and immediately following the microneedling process.
Microneedling can support toning and strengthening sagging skin and elasticity. It’s important to note when approaching sagging that microneedling is most beneficial for strengthening the skin itself and not for toning of the underlying muscle. But for skin that does not bounce back like it used to, due to loss of collagen and elastin, microneedling can have great results.
When it comes to the complexion, microneedling does a beautiful job of brightening and evening out skin tone. Because it stimulates the healing cascade and increases blood circulation, it can reduce inflammation and redness in the skin, resulting in a healthy even glow.
Hyperpigmentation occurs when melanin is produced by melanocytes, causing liver spots, sun spots or dark spots. This can be prompted by sun damage, inflammation, scarring, hormone imbalances, some medical conditions and certain medications. Unfortunately, many of the common Western medical treatments used for hyperpigmentation are short-term, peeling off pigmented layers of the skin that become discolored again with sun exposure, or using medications with unwanted side effects. Microneedling, on the other hand, works directly on the melanocytes by breaking up their clumps at the very layer of the skin where they are found. Additionally, it can encourage qi and blood circulation and detoxify the skin. Treatment usually requires multiple sessions and patients need to know that hyperpigmented areas may temporarily become darker before they lighten.
Microneedling’s results in improved skin’s appearance speak for themselves. By triggering the wound healing cascade only superficially, microneedling can lead to the skin aging gracefully through stimulation versus inflammation, and bio-signaling versus damaging the skin. Microneedling has both roots in the past and a bright future in acupuncture.
About the Authors
Diana Horowitz, L.Ac. and Amelia Vargas, L.Ac. and Licensed Esthetician, discovered microneedling independently of each other in 2015 in Colorado. As facial rejuvenation acupuncturists both trained in The Wakefield Technique, they strongly shared a belief in supporting a patient’s constitution during any aesthetic acupuncture process. After creating their own holistic integrative microneedling protocol, they developed and now teach in-person and online seminars to acupuncturists around the world.
Diana and Amelia are strong advocates for the acupuncture profession, serving as Microneedling Co-Chairs for the Acupuncture Association of Colorado since 2016. Their purpose is to open the door of this primarily western cosmetic specialty to acupuncturists while honoring microneedling’s roots in Chinese medicine.
Learn more about their November 2024 Microneedling class at AIMC Berkeley here!
