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Thu Nov 4, 1:51 PM ET Health - Reuters


By Ellen Wulfhorst

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. (Reuters) - Sticking needles in your ankles
might not seem like an obvious way to rid your face of wrinkles, but
for Barbara Leivent, it's better than plastic surgery or cosmetic
injections.

Twenty-six needles pierce her ankles, knees, arms and face as she
undergoes the first of a series of acupuncture treatments intended
to erase the laugh lines around her mouth, crow's feet around her
eyes, scowl lines on her forehead and sagging at the sides of her
chin.


"It's better than going under the knife, that's for sure," said the
suburban after-school tutor, 54, who blamed her facial wrinkles
on "worrying if I should get Botox or not."


In what might be called a Botox backlash, women from Leivent to
Hollywood celebrities are trying acupuncture face-lifts, which
proponents say can shave years off an aging face.


At the suburban office of acupuncturist Ping Zhang, a series of 10
hourlong appointments every other day -- at $150 apiece -- is
supposed to last six months or more. Other experts recommend monthly
maintenance.


By comparison, Botox injections cost several hundred dollars per
treatment, which last about three months.


Traditional surgical face-lifts can run anywhere from $5,000 to
$20,000, but they last for years.


Dr. Scott Spear, president of the American Society of Plastic
Surgery, says acupuncture may help with pain but such face-lifts
have not proven to be effective or long-lasting.


"The idea that it's going to make your face look younger and correct
the things we know aging does, I think is very unlikely," the
Washington-based doctor said.


"It's not demonstrated to work," he said. "You're wasting your time
and your money."


NO PAIN, SOME GAIN


The best part of her acupuncture face-lift, said Leivent, closing
her eyes as Zhang tapped thin green-tipped needles into her skin, is
that it's painless.


"I feel nothing," she said. "And I'm a horrible patient. I'm the
worst."


The needles stay in Leivent's face about 20 minutes. Then it's time
for a first look in the mirror.


The laugh lines that had been deep are less so, while the scowl
lines that had been dark are lighter.


"It's wonderful," she said. "Now I'm hooked."


Acupuncture face-lifts work by balancing the body's inner energy and
letting it flow freely, said Zhang.





"We never talk about beauty being only skin deep," she said. "That's
the real fountain of youth -- the inside."

New York plastic surgeon Tabasum Mir said acupuncture face-lifts
don't last. "You're paying a lot of money for maybe two months worth
of tightening," she said.

Days later, Leivent was still pleased, especially after a neighbor
complimented her skin.

"I think the creases on my forehead are dissipated somewhat, and
also around my mouth," she said after her second treatment. "It's
hard to tell on yourself."

The toughest critic, alas, was her husband, who offered a "Yeah, I
guess," when asked if he could see a difference.

"We can't go by him," Leivent said. "I think it's amazing. Just
amazing."