Using Acupuncture As An Alternative Acne Treatment

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese treatment often used to relieve pain. But many people have seen therapeutic effects by using it to stop smoking, lose weight, and to improve acne. Your chi, or energy, travels through the body by way of invisible meridians. Acupuncture works by using tiny needles to stimulate these pathways at specific pressure points in order to restore the balance between Yin and Yang.

 

Tiny sterile needles are inserted into the skin at specific points on your body. The needle is left in place or stimulated either by twirling it, by using a heat preparation known as moxa, or by an electric current. An acupuncturist may also prescribe an herbal formula for a person to take in addition to the treatment.

 

Although there have been no well-designed studies evaluating the use of acupuncture for acne, there have been several reports that auricular (acupuncture applied to the ear) and electroacupuncture (acupuncture delivered by an electrical current) therapies may have lessened the inflammatory component of acne. But, on the whole, acupuncture is an unproven acne treatment.