To correct facial lines and wrinkles, most well-informed people consult with a qualified surgeon or dermatologist. But some people on the east coast are choosing a strange alternative, visiting an acupuncturist for multiple treatments they hope will erase facial lines and wrinkles.

Acupuncture, the ancient Chinese therapy of strategic needle placement in the body, is long believed to alleviate a variety of physical ailments and emotional imbalances.  But could it be a cost-effective wrinke treatment?

In this ABC News segment, plastic surgeon Dr. Bruce Genter is critical of acupuncture for the purpose of wrinkle treatment, pointing to the lack of scientific evidence.

Julia Engstrom, who is featured in the video, says she has undergone Botox treatment and laser treatment in the past. She believes facial acupuncture has improved her skin texture and reduced her wrinkles. Nearing the end of 10 treatments, she says her improvements have come through improved sleep and relaxation. “I’ve noticed that my skin is a lot smoother, [there’s] a lot less red pigment in there and the wrinkling seems to be a lot less,” Engstrom said.

In an article for Prevention magazine, licensed acupuncturist and Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner Phyllis Olson asserts that acupuncture can indeed lessen the appearance of wrinkles. She attributes this to a core premise of acupuncture – that health is reliant upon the healthy flow of chi (energy) in the body, which can be disrupted for a myriad of reasons. Acupuncture treatments are believed to break up energy blockages that prevent optimal blood flow to certain places in the body, improving circulation.

Acupuncturist Beata Maslanka acknowledges that acupuncture doesn’t yield visible results that compare to Botox or other facial fillers, but claims that beauty actually comes from within; when internal imbalances are resolved, people look better overall. Olson agrees, noting that the treatments foster relaxation of facial muscles, thereby reducing wrinkles. “Aside from the light, momentary stings, acupuncture is really quite relaxing,” she adds.

Althugh one can wonder about the salutary effects of relaxation and optimism, the visible results Engstrom points to are hard to discern from the video, and people sometimes have a tendency to see (and believe) what they want to see.

If acupuncture does produce any wrinkle-relaxing effects, how long can one expect them to last? NYC dermatologic surgeon Barney Kenet, MD tells Prevention: “If acupuncture relaxes the muscles, it might reduce wrinkling temporarily. As for the increased blood flow, at most it will probably give you a temporary rosy complexion–something you don’t want if you have an inflammatory condition such as acne or rosacea,” he warns. “Otherwise, cosmetic acupuncture is relatively harmless.”

Maybe it is harmless if you ignore the cost of acupuncture. The average price is about $60 to $100 per session, with 10 sessions recommended by Olson, followed by monthly maintenance procedures.

In contrast, the average Botox treatment in the US costs $472 and a single treatment will last 3-6 months. By comparison, this makes acupuncture wrinkle treatments appear costly as well as unproven. Dr. Genter (whose Philadelphia Botox patients are displayed on his site to demonstrate the wrinkle reducing effects of injectables) says: ”If it increases your well-being that’s great, I just don’t know that it can make your face look younger.”

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