My skin was bare, so Lee only used a light cleanser to start. From there, she rotated through a lineup of lymphatic facial massage, gua sha, and microcurrent.
I was shocked by how light the pressure was on the lymphatic massage and gua sha—and even more blown away by the results. I had traveled the day prior, so I was holding a particularly high amount of fluid in my face. Lee showed me a mirror after doing just one side, and there was a clear difference between the two in terms of puffiness.
The microcurrent was fairly similar to the at-home devices I use pretty regularly. The technology is meant to lift and tone the skin while minimizing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Lee spent a few minutes on this before moving onto the acupuncture itself.
Remember those seemingly random questions Lee asked me a few moments ago? Here’s where those come into play.
My main skin concerns were redness, fine lines, dullness and (you guessed it) puffiness. Lee’s questioning boiled these issues down to stress and sleep irregularities, so she chose the insertion points based on that. Plus, since my standard acupuncture treatment centers around hormonal imbalance, she added a few needles to those points as well.
Lee says the number of needles depends on the individual needs, but it’s typically between 15-25. Most are on the face, but in my case she did put a few on my ankles, arms, and hands. The facial needles are inserted at an upward angle, which Lees says helps lift and tone the muscles.
Like acupuncture for the body, the needles don’t hurt when inserted. Sometimes I’ll experience a quick pinch or a dull ache when receiving regular acupuncture (never painful, I promise!), but I honestly didn’t feel a thing with the facial needles (perhaps because they’re slightly thinner than those used in the body, per Lee).
Once the needles were inserted, Lee put a red light over my face, placed goggles over my eyes, and left me to relax for about 15 minutes. At this point, any concerns about needles in my face had completely dissipated. I didn’t even feel aware that they were there—so much so that I could have fallen asleep if I was left alone for any longer.
When Lee came back, she quickly removed each needle, applied a facial mist and moisturizer, and left me to change and head out on my way—but not without a refreshing Anti-Aging tonic, which she said included “adaptogenic herbs to boost yin and promote a youthful glow.”
