Treatment plans combine Naturopathic, holistic, and Traditional Chinese Medicine to address the many factors that can influence our skin's health. Treatment plans commonly include acupuncture, light therapy, lab testing, herbs, and nutraceuticals. Common goals include:

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• Boosting general skin health

• Supporting healthy skin aging

• Addressing specific skin concerns such as Acne, Rosacea, and Psoriasis

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Why use Naturopathic and holistic (diet, lifestyle, sleep, stress) support for skin conditions?

 

We know that many triggers for skin conditions are connected to what we eat on a daily basis, how much restorative sleep we get each night, how our body manages stress and more. For example, elevated stress increase levels of stress hormones, which can then increase inflammation in the body, triggering inflammatory episodes, throwing off our hormones, throwing a wrench in healthy skin repair, and bullying proper digestion - just to name a few potential effects. Determining where your individual stressors may be coming from and putting together a plan to support your day-to-day life is key to your best, long-term results.

 

Why use acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine for skin conditions?

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Acupuncture is the use of very small, filiform needles (about 1/6 of the size of a needle used to draw blood) gently placed in therapeutic locations. Modern research indicates these points in part work by stimulating the nervous system, working to "reeducate" the brain and trigger biochemical and physiological changes. Specific acupuncture points have been used for thousands of years to help harmonize the body and treat a number of different ailments, including skin complaints.

 

Acupuncture has a long history of use in skin conditions, addressing the root causes of patient’s issues to support healthy stress levels, inflammation, immune signaling, and help reduce skin itching, redness, and irritation. Modern research backs the effectiveness of this age-old practice (which may explain its growing popularity!) and supports it as a safe adjuvant treatment for many skin conditions. Traditional Chinese Medicine offers a rich variety of tools for overall skin support and treatment such as topical and oral medicines, including formulas perfected over hundreds of years with exciting modern research backing their effectiveness - even for hard-to-support conditions like Psoriasis! 

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Aesthetic, Facial, or Cosmetic Acupuncture is a specific acupuncture specialty that aims to physically benefit the health and look of our skin by supporting healthy Qi and Blood flow, as well as muscle tone and elasticity. Specialized training allows me to target muscles that need help lifting, muscles that need help relaxing, and helping skin to fade the appearance of wrinkles with targetted needle techniques. Various studies have shown facial acupuncture's positive effect on things like collagen production and skin hydration following treatment, and it's an exciting thing to watch wrinkles fade as we support the overall health of the skin. 

 

Why use LED light therapy for skin conditions?

 

LED light therapy uses therapeutic light of strategic, FDA-approved, clinically studied wavelengths that gently support your skin through a number of benefits rooted in supporting healthy circulation, inflammation, skin flora balance, and energy production. LED therapy is research-backed at helping to diminish fine lines and wrinkles, balance skin tone and texture, as well as calm skin redness. There is no UV light in these treatments, and my office devices are FDA-approved panels backed by individual clinical studies. LED light therapy has a large body of research supporting its efficacy and safety, even for sensitive conditions such as Rosacea. Benefits include:

 

• Support tissue recovery, evident by visible improvements in skin complexion and roughness after treatments

• Lowering the impact of damaging oxidative stress, which is beneficial for the skin’s overall health

• Supporting a balanced inflammatory response

• Increase blood flow to support nutrient flow to your cells and tissue

• Stimulate collagen product, as confirmed by ultrasonographic measurements of collagen density after treatments

• Blue light has been shown to decrease the population of acne-causing bacteria

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Light therapy has been shown to support significant, visible improvements to a number of skin conditions. This is likely mainly due to its effect on the root issues many skin issues share, such as inflammation, abnormal oil gland activity, and oxidative stress. Even without an existing skin condition, we naturally produce less collagen as we age, which LED light therapy has been shown to boost by increasing natural cellular energy production.

 

As an added bonus, red and infrared light have been shown to support improved mood and have achieved significant results in clinical studies lasting weeks after just 20 minutes of treatment!