‘This acupuncture facial was so effective friends thought I’d had filler’
Would you try the 150-needle facial? Our writer got stuck in – and couldn’t believe the results
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It’s not often that ten minutes into a treatment you have 150 needles sticking out your face and you look like Hellraiser, but that’s what happens in the new Acuskinlift by world-renowned acupuncturist, facial aesthetics expert and traditional Chinese medicine practitioner John Tsagaris, whose clients include Penelope Cruz. But the results are worth it.
Two days later friends asked me if I’d had filler, my cheekbones immediately popped for the first time since 2020 and stayed that way for a month, the jowls that I’d come in complaining about were a bit ‘jowly’ were lifted and my jawline looked ‘snatched’.
And, I’m not alone: other celeb fans of facial acupuncture include actresses Gwenyth Paltrow and Jennifer Aniston, as well as the model Ashley Graham – who has long since posted online about it’s benefits.
But recently she took it one step further, with an electronic acupuncture treatment (where an electronic current is passed through the needles to smooth wrinkles), as well as facial cupping – as pictured below – as part of her prep for the recent Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. I haven’t tried the electronic version yet, but like me she likens it to the effects of having filler.
Ashley Graham sharing her electronic acupuncture session in an Instagram post with the caption: ‘My kind of filler’
Indeed, I’ve had a few subtle tweakments over the years – the Botox Mist Facial, Angelina Jolie’s favourite laser facial – but where the Acuskinlift is different in that it delivers tweakment-level results with a holistic edge.
The 45-minute treatment combines acupuncture needles, high-end skincare, mesotherapy, LED therapy facial accupressure massage, ear seeds and Tsagaris’ decades of experience in Chinese medicine, for a sculpting and plumping facial, with lasting results. If you’re looking for a results-driven facial that will also leave you feeling soothed and spiritually repaired, this is it.
What is the Acuskinlift facial?
The treatment involves LED and 150 needles.
Tsagaris’ trademarked Acuskinlift is a multi-step facial that ‘reorganises’ the skin’s collagen and elastin fibres so that they renew and restructure the skin causing it to lift and plump up.
The needles are inserted and then gently twisted to create a microtrauma deep in the skin. This causes the fibres to strengthen and you can feel the skin tightening around the needle. Inserting 150 needles all over the face, wherever you need tightening and rejuvenation, creates 150 microtraumas. The body responds by creating more repairing collagen at the trauma site. And uniquely, the skin fibres “reorganise themselves and lock together, like a chain,” explains Tsagaris.
What happens in the Acuskinlift facial?
The mesotherapy of the treatment (left) and SJ with practitioner John Tsagaris (right)
The treatment, at the VN Beauty clinic in London’s Knightsbridge, starts with a deep cleanse using luxe brand, ZO Skin Health followed by facial acupressure to stimulate blood flow and lymphatic drainage.
Then it’s needle time. The needles are tapped in painlessly and then twisted – not painful but you can feel a tug.
Tsagaris works quickly placing needles into my cheeks, along my jawline, down my neck, up the sides of my face, around my temples, hairline and between my eyebrows. The only sensation I feel is a fizzing around some of the needles, like an energy buzz. This is the skin fibres reorganising and linking together as intended. I feel oddly proud of myself – even if I do look like a movie supervillain.
After ten minutes the needles are all in and the first one is removed with a very quick tug – again, painless but you can feel a pop as the skin fibres release. In regular acupuncture, needles can stay in for 20-plus minutes. Here, once the skin fibres have connected, they have done their job.
Now my skin looks quite red – fair enough as it’s been pricked quite a few times – so Tsagaris performs a painless mesotherapy treatment all over my face, which involves injecting a hyaluronic acid and antioxidant-rich solution just under the surface of the skin.
There’s a hydrating sheet mask and facial massage using a hand-held LED tool. It alternates between blue light to improve skin texture and shrink pores and red light to reduce inflammation and for a final burst of collagen production. The final step is some ear acupuncture treatment via the placement of ear seeds. Mine were placed to ease the remnants of a migraine but Tsagaris places them wherever you need an extra wellness boost.
Results and downtime
SJ before the Acuskinlift facial (left) and after (right) – check out those cheekbones!
It’s rare that a facial has had an effect before you’ve even got off the treatment bed, but as Tsagaris was massaging my face with the LED gadget I could feel that the structure of my face had changed. My cheekbones were higher and so much more prominent. The LED gadget had to go up and over them. That definition had not been there 45 minutes earlier.
As soon as I looked in the mirror I could see how ‘snatched’ my jawline looked. Days after, a friend asked if I’d had fillers as my cheekbones were supermodel-worthy (maybe not her exact words but you get the idea). My skin felt and looked tight too as if I’d had Botox, but I retained full movement of my face.
The results lasted around four weeks – which is how long Tsagaris recommends between treatments if it’s something you want to maintain. It may sound strange but having 150 needles put in your face is relaxing, but I felt very calm and healed post-treatment. The ear seeds nixed the remaining niggles of a migraine I’d had the week before. It’s decent value at £450 – that’s in line with average tweakment prices and this offers tweakment-level results.
The only negative was a little bit of bruising that appeared under my chin and just above one of my cheekbones a few days after the treatment. That was easily covered with concealer. If you are having this done for a special event you may need to factor in a few days of skin recovery.
Who shouldn’t have the Acuskinlift facial?
If you are scared of needles, this is not the facial for you, as there are many of them! Tsagaris says the only people who shouldn’t have it are anyone taking blood thinners if they are more than five months pregnant and if they already have a significant amount of skin sagging (there is a limit to the lift you can achieve) at which point an ultrasound skin-tightening treatment will have more success. Needless to say, I will be booking in again.
Acuskinlift at The HVN Beauty in Knightsbridge, London, costs £450 per session
