Acupuncture for Acne and How it May Work for You

Nearly everyone has some acne during their teenage years, but there are also many people who suffer from adult acne. If it is clear that the acne is not going to go away on its own, there is a range of options to choose from in regards to treatment. You can find many, many topical creams and cleansing face washes that claim to get rid of acne, and some even work for many people, although they are usually very expensive. However, that option will not work for some. If that is the case for you, then what about alternative medicine – specifically, acupuncture?

Direct Treatment of Acne with Acupuncture

There are direct acupuncture treatments that to focus on acne. These usually also involve taking certain herbs and potentially making a few diet alterations, along with the actual sessions. Acupuncture generally has very little in the way of side effects, so it is a very safe option.

Indirect Treatment of Acne with Acupuncture

Depending on the cause of your acne, it is also possible that acupuncture could help lighten up your acne indirectly. For example, many people have breakouts caused by stress. Acupuncture’s positive effect on stress is much more rigorously documented. Not only is this one of acupuncture’s most widespread uses, it is also one of the most studied and understood.

For example, in a study done on rats, conducted by Ladan Eshkevari, PhD, rats that were given acupuncture had much reduced chronic stress levels. Specifically, it helps keep the body from producing more of certain hormones, those that help control mood and those that evoke the “fight or flight” response. This was not any kind of placebo or secondary effect, as there was a group of rats that had fake acupuncture as well as a group with none, and both were much more stressed than those with genuine acupuncture. This means that even modern medicine not only acknowledges that acupuncture is an effective stress treatment, it actually has some idea of why.

If your acne is largely caused by stress, it is reasonable to assume that reducing the effect that stress has on your body could also reduce your breakouts. Since acupuncture can definitively do the first, it is reasonable to suppose that by doing so, it could accomplish the second. Plus, you’d also get all the other benefits of reduced stress in your life, from lower blood pressure to a healthier immune system. You could have a fresh face and a fresh outlook!

If you suffer from recurring outbreaks of adult acne and have had no luck with conventional treatments, acupuncture may be the answer. Whether you have your acupuncturist target the acne directly or ask that they work on the stress you believe to be the cause of your outbreaks is up to you. Either way, it is a safe and natural potential remedy.

If you live in York & you’d like help to clear acne for good, contact Tiziana today to schedule an acupuncture appointment.