Frauds, Fakes, Or Fabulous
Jul 20, 2009 5:45 pm US/Eastern
Some Say Acupuncture Can Work As A Quick Facelift
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Forms of acupuncture date back at least 8,000 years. Practitioners say it eases pain and cures disease. Some believe it can even restore the appearance of youth.
CBS
One of the oldest medical practices in the world may now be one of the latest beauty secrets. For women who don't want to go under the knife or use drugs like Botox or Restylane, the facelift of the future actually goes back thousands of years.
Celebrities have used it to treat everything from drug addiction to finding love. It's also used to fight pain. Now, many women are getting acupuncture for quick-fix facelifts.
"I'm vain. It makes me look young and pretty," said Nina Christianson.
She has been seeing acupuncturist Dr. Qiong Bai for 16 years, most recently for a kidney problem. But for the last few years she's been asking for a few extra needles in the face.
Dr. Bai says the body is divided into 14 meridians or energy channels.
He says sticking a certain point releases blood and collagen and relaxes the tension in facial muscles.
"The energy flow increase, the blood flow increases also the collagen increases," explained Bai. He also said the tiny needles help improve the texture of your skin and eliminate age spots.
Joann Ellis, 74, started seeing Bai five years ago for knee pain.
"One day he said I'm going to give you a little facelift while we're here," Ellis said. Three facial treatments and Dr. Bai said you'll see a difference.
"I think some of these lines are getting better. That's what he promises. Then I had a huge wrinkle up here and it has recessed a little bit," admitted Ellis.
"Acupuncture has no side effects, it's not invasive and it's much safer, compared with surgery," according to Dr. Bai.
However, plastic surgeon Rod Rohrich said there are no promises.
"Well it is possible to reduce facial wrinkles with needles, but not by acupuncture. It's by needles we use for fillers or Botox," said Rohrich.
He described the research on acupuncture as "soft."
"I think it's one of those alternative therapies that may work in some cases but there is absolutely no evidence that it works to do facial rejuvenation. That's really a marketing hype," Rohrich said.
Dr. Bai says you'll get maximum results after about 10 facial treatments.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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