Becky Burgess uses jade and rose quartz rollers to perform Guasha on Kim Fuller. Guasha helps raise the tissues up, drain lymph and encourage collagen production.
Dominique Taylor | Special to the Daily

I remember the moment when I realized my face
was started to visibly age. I had recently hit 30 when I looked in the mirror
one morning to see not one wrinkle but several, ingrained upon my forehead and
more obvious than subtle.

Thoughts began to swirl: How long have these
been here? How am I just seeing them for the first time? Are they going to get deeper
and deeper, worse and worse? All those times I should have worn a hat …

I was being dramatic, yes, but also I was intrigued
by what seemed like such a sudden shift. I’ve always been pretty good about
skincare and wearing sunscreen, but a life spent adventuring at altitude — with
occasional bouts of “working on my tan” as a teenager —was now showing up as
lines on my face.

And then there’s the fact of it all: my skin will inevitably age, and so will yours. There is, however, quite a lot we can do to slow the process.

Facial Rejuvenation

“Botox,” a friend had told me after her wedding
as we were talking about our newfound relationship to wrinkles. “It doesn’t
last forever, but for this it just made me feel more like me.”

I didn’t know much about it, but it didn’t
resonate. I was especially turned off when I learned it was a cosmetic treatment that removes
wrinkles by temporarily paralyzing facial muscles. And if you want to keep it
going, I heard, you have to keep paralyzing those facial muscles, again and
again. They get used to the treatments and don’t respond to them as easily. No
thanks, I decided.

With my own wedding on the horizon this year,
something did catch my attention. It was cosmetic acupuncture, a facial
rejuvenation treatment that combines ancient skincare approaches with modern
tools and therapies. My curiosity continued to grow until I reached out to
Becky Burgess, owner of Vail Valley Wellness in EagleVail.

“The lines on our faces truly tell our
stories,” said Burgess, who has been studying and practicing Chinese Medicine
since 2010. “We don’t want to eliminate emotion from our faces with nipping and
tucking and filling and plucking, but we do want to help you put your best face
forward.”

After I learned that cosmetic acupuncture
sessions work holistically, invigorating qi (energy) and blood throughout the
body and face, while simultaneously focusing on needs of the whole body, I was
on board.

“Using strategically placed needles, acupuncture aims to send signals to the body which stimulate collagen and elastin production — both of which diminish as we age,” Burgess said. “By treating the whole body, we also work on balancing digestion, hormones and circulation — all factors in signs of aging that unfortunately show up on our face.”

Cosmetic acupuncture, like traditional acupuncture, uses needles to release collagen and stimulate blood flow to help improve facial complexion.
Dominique Taylor | Special to the Daily

My case wasn’t the easiest, actually. Younger
skin with sun damage like mine doesn’t tend to show improvements from these
treatments as quickly. Half way through my 12-session introduction, however, I
could definitely see the lines on my forehead softening, the tension on my brow
releasing and an overall brightness to my face with a little more distinction
of my jawline and cheekbones.

I was starting to feel the effects of
acupuncture in my whole body as well. It became apparent to me that the
twice-weekly visits to Vail Valley Wellness were helping ease stress and
anxiety at work. I could feel that life’s grips were loosening a little, and I
could see it on my face.

“Your face is your best asset,” said Burgess.
“I love providing skin care that cares about you. It’s so fun to watch each
person’s progression.
Helping women in this valley reverse skin discoloration from sun damage, old
pockmarked acne scarring for which they have tried everything, including
literally lasering their skin off, and lifting, firming, toning and brightening
their skin gives me the greatest joy.”

And it was a joy for me to have those sessions
with Burgess. She is welcoming and sweet, and I began to look forward to my
visits to Vail Valley Wellness as a sort of physical and mental therapy. I
would share with Burgess any relevant information before each treatment
— basically anything that was bothersome or relevant from my day or week
that might inform specific needle insertions on my feet and ankles, hands,
head, sometimes my belly, and my face.

Enjoy the Process

The needles come first and sit for a while
(sometimes paired with a face mask), followed by some amazing facial techniques
to complete the treatment.

“When the face is needled, the body sends a wound-healing
response to help repair the area of insertion,” Burgess said. “The release of
collagen is queued and an increase in blood circulation helps reduce
inflammation and give your face a natural glow and vitality. Growth
signals are sent to skin stem cells to stimulate fibroblasts, which then
transform into collagen fibers that integrate with the existing collagen in the
skin. This process helps improve the tone, elasticity and vitality of the face,
while helping to fill in small lines and wrinkles.”

Burgess sometimes employs
electrical-stimulation, or e-stim — used modestly in Chinese medicine and
commonly during Western sports medicine treatments. She uses it to activate
motor points with her cosmetic acupuncture protocol. 

“It involves attaching electrical probes to the
top of acupuncture needles and running a micro- or macro-current through the
circuit,” she said. “By eliciting a muscle contraction using electrical
impulses, it has been used successfully to encourage muscle strength in the
face, which in turn lifts, tones and tightens.”

Sometimes Burgess will add LED light therapy to
the facial region during acupuncture. Using near-infrared capabilities, this
can help shrink pores, reduce the appearance of small lines and wrinkles,
increase collagen, restore skin elasticity, tighten skin and improve dark circles, among other
benefits.

Following the acupuncture treatment, an herbal salve is applied to the face to clear heat and toxins and to moisturize the skin. One of my favorite elements of the session is facial cupping, which increases circulation and encourages the platelets to replenish any stagnation just under your skin, plumping up elasticity.

Becky Burgess performs facial cupping on Kim Fuller. Burgess, who owns Vail Valley Wellness, has been studying ancient Chinese medicine for nine years.
Dominique Taylor | Special to the Daily

“Don’t
worry, it will not leave bruising marks like you see on some Olympic athletes,”
said Burgess. “These cups are gentler and the continuous movement of them
allows the blood to flow, instead of being stagnant.”

Guasha (pronounced, gwa-sha), comes in at the
end as a lovely finale. It’s like a massage using jade and rose quartz tools.
The technique is designed to raise the tissues up, drain lymph and encourage collagen production.

Burgess also provides patients with a number of
lifestyle recommendations to assist your body in producing the greatest
results, including a clean diet, sun protection, utilizing proper eyewear and
regular movement.

“The ability of the body to truly transform
during six weeks is incredible,” Burgess said.

Three months of the program was healing and
rejuvenating for me, felt internally and visible externally. I understand
nothing is permanent, and I look forward to visiting Burgess regularly to keep
up with the results and benefits of this methodology.

To experience full results, Burgess recommends
starting with the 12-session, two times weekly package. Following this
intensive segment, once a month or more is recommended for maintenance.