Here I am, my face resembling a pin cushion, with 36 needles carefully placed around my chin and cheekbones. Let’s call it a pin beard. I have a pathological hatred of needles, I can just about muster Botox once a year and it takes me a week to summon up the guts to have a blood test. So how did I end up like this having 36 into my face at one time?
Welcome to Acuskinlift, hailed as the new, ‘non surgical facelift’ - something that those who want to move away from tweakments, but want a more sculptured and lifted facial structure are swearing by. I don’t fall entirely into this category. Tweakments? I’m a fan, but they’re not for everyone. Facelifts? Love them on other people but too scary for me, maybe give me another 10 years and then ask me again. And yet, so many of us are in search of products and treatments that can give us a facial lift, and make us look facially more toned.
Dr John explains that this isn’t your typical cosmetic facial acupuncture which has become popular in recent years which aims to improve skin health by regulating energy flow on the face based on the Chinese medicine principles using specific acupuncture points on the face. The AcuskinLift method however “focuses on facial rejuvenation by manipulating the skin tissue to restructure the collagen matrix and activate collagen and elastin production.”
This treatment promised to sculpt your bone structure, boost collagen production and plump your skin and give you more pronounced cheek bones, without going under the knife, while also making you feel calmer and more relaxed in the process. I’d like to say there wasn’t a needle in sight, but on the plus side they’re tiny acupuncture needles and they’re being, placed gently into my skin.
It’s been created and revolutionised by Dr John Tsagaris who has a degree in Biomedicine and Chinese medicine and a masters in Dermatology and beauty application of Chinese Medicine. He is a global leader in acupuncture innovation, combining over 30 years experience of holistic health acupuncture with aesthetic focused interventions integrating these modalities with the latest advanced facial techniques such as Nappage Mesotherapy.
Skin boosting is in.
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Penelope Cruz waxes lyrical about him, having been a client for many years as do others who have previously visited him at his previous Marylebone Chelsea and Harrods, where he worked for seven years. He’s now based at the recently opened HVN clinic in Knightsbridge, London.
As he places the needles one by one around my jaw, chin and mouth, I do find it a little painful and Dr John tells me it’s because my cortisol levels are very high (through the roof were his exact words). That’ll be my busy job, mixed with parenting three children for you. So he went easy on me and put less needles in than he would normally. He also tells me that my eyebrows are uneven from Botox, which makes me giggle. He begs me to keep mobility in my forehead as it can create fluid retention around my eyes.
And yet, the pain is not so bad. After an initial stinging feeling it’s strangely relaxing as it requires total stillness and a complete surrender into the hands of a man I’ve just met, but have been told my a few people I trust, is a miracle worker.
After a few minutes however I wish I’d been braver and had the full 100 needles, as the pain quickly subsides.
Firework content
After approximately 20 minutes, he removed the needles and started Nappage mesotherapy, a series of superficial microinjections that infuse the skin with hyaluronic acids and antioxidants). This feels like a weird but not unpleasant scratching of the skin, followed by some facial cupping and a sonic Gua Sha-like LED light skin sculpting device over a face mask while the hyaluronic is still on my skin (he uses blue and red light to boost collagen and clarify my skin) and the finally he adds a soothing, intensely hydrating sheet mask.
It’s been an hour and a half and I feel so much calmer than when I arrive. He adds a gold ear bead onto the acupuncture point in my ear to help the calmness for a few more days. I look in the mirror and am quite surprised by the results. My skin’s glow can be seen from the moon and the area around my mouth looks more sculpted, my cheekbones are more pronounced. I wish I’d had the full amount to see the full impact that this could have had. My husband tells me I look refreshed when I get home, and I honestly feel calmer for a few more days – mindfulness and sculpting in one hit! However, the results don’t last more than a few days, and I definitely think this needs to be a cumulative treatment. I’m advised I should repeat this process every 4-6 weeks to encourage more long-term noticeable results, which I am excited to do.
From £450 per session. Find out more at the-hvn.com.
