Cosmetic Acupuncture vs. Botox: An Honest Comparison

I won't tell you which one to choose. It's your face, and it's your call. What I can do is tell you plainly what each one is, so you're choosing between two real things instead of two sales pitches.

Here's the short version. Botox is a prescription medication, injected by a medical provider, that relaxes the specific muscles it goes into. Cosmetic acupuncture is acupuncture. Fine needles across your face and your body. Nothing goes in, and nothing stays behind.

What Botox is

Botox relaxes the muscles that make certain lines, often across the forehead, between the brows and at the corners of the eyes. A doctor, nurse or physician assistant gives it. It wears off over a few months, so women who like it go back on a schedule.

Some women love it, and that's theirs to love. If you're curious, your provider is the right person to ask about timing, cost and what makes sense for your face.

What cosmetic acupuncture is

In our studio in Laguna Beach, cosmetic acupuncture is with Vida. She's a California-licensed acupuncturist with more than a decade of experience and advanced training in neuro-acupuncture. We call the session Facial Acupuncture with Body, because she treats your body in the same visit. Your face doesn't live separately from the rest of you.

She starts by asking how you've been sleeping, eating and feeling. Then you lie down. Many fine needles go across your face, far more than a body session uses, placed for the areas you came in about. Body points go in at the same time. There's no cleanse, no mask, no product. It isn't a facial. It's acupuncture.

And then you rest. Most women do. A lot of them fall asleep.

What clients tell us afterward is specific. Skin that looks brighter. Eyelids that sit more open. Softer expression lines. A jaw that lets go. Most of us are holding in the jaw and don't know it until somebody asks.

Some women notice a change after one visit. Six to eight sessions is where most see it settle in. A session is $155.

How they're different

• What goes in. Botox is a medication. Acupuncture is needles only.
• Who you're with. A medical provider for Botox. A licensed acupuncturist for acupuncture.
• What it works on. Botox works on the specific muscles it's injected into. Cosmetic acupuncture works across your face and your body in the same session.
• What the time feels like. A Botox appointment is quick. Acupuncture is time lying still while someone pays close attention to you.
• How often. Botox is repeated as it wears off. Acupuncture is usually a series, then whatever rhythm fits your life.

Can you do both?

Some women do. If that's you, tell Vida about your injections, tell your injector about your acupuncture, and ask your injector how to space the two.

What I want you to know

Choosing Botox doesn't mean you've given up on anything. Choosing acupuncture doesn't make you more natural, or more anything. They're different tools, for different women, and sometimes for the same woman in different seasons.

If what pulls you toward acupuncture is the idea of lying still while someone really looks at your face, and at how you've been holding yourself, that's a real reason. You're allowed to want that.

So the question isn't which one is better. It's which one you actually want.

Questions women ask us

Does cosmetic acupuncture hurt?

Most women are surprised by how little they feel. The needles are very fine. If anything is uncomfortable, tell Vida and she'll adjust.

Is cosmetic acupuncture a replacement for Botox?

No. They work differently and they do different things. Cosmetic acupuncture isn't a way to get Botox without Botox. It's its own thing, and the only way to know whether you like it is to try a session.

How many sessions will I need?

Some women notice a change after one visit. Six to eight is where most see it settle in. One session is still a good thing to book.

Where is the studio?

355 Third Street, Laguna Beach, CA 92651. You can book cosmetic acupuncture with Vida, read more about acupuncture at By Karisse, or see everything we offer at the studio.