Maximize Your Fall Skincare Routine

The changing of seasons is a great time to reassess your skincare routine, especially in seasonal environments like Bayonne and Jersey City, New Jersey.

So, why not maximize your fall skincare routine right now, before the hustle and bustle of the holiday season sets in. 

First, assess your skin. How are you feeling about your complexion? What is your skin’s texture? What are your problem areas or things you’d like to improve? Then, take a look at your current product inventory. What products are you loving? Which are you not using as you should? Are any expired?

After taking an inventory of your skin and your skincare, it’s time to make some changes. Here are our top tips to maximize your fall skincare routine.

Cleanse

Properly cleansing your skin is an important first step to achieve a clear, healthy complexion. For most, cleansing in the AM and the PM with a gentle cleanser is enough. 

Those with oily skin or acne-prone skin may opt to do a double cleanse, which is using a wipe or micellar water followed by a cleanser. Or, after cleansing, you can use a toner to ensure all debris and oils are removed from the face. 

We know the days can be long and there may not be much left in your tank at the end of the day, but ALWAYS remove your makeup and wash your face before bed. It’s super important. 

Hydrate

Hydration on the outside is just as important as it is on the inside. It’s obviously important to monitor your water intake throughout the day for its overall health and wellness benefits, but hydrating your skin is important too. 

Using a moisturizer after each cleanse can help you to restore any moisture you may have stripped while cleansing, and lock in hydration throughout the day.

Properly hydrated skin is supple, resilient, and refreshed.

Don’t forget to monitor your water intake, too! Healthy skin begins on the inside, and we generally recommend you drink about half your weight in ounces of water each day. 

Treat

Serums and spot treatments are an essential part of your skincare routine to target your specific concerns and problem areas. Serums containing retinol are excellent options for anti-aging concerns like fine lines and wrinkles. Vitamin-C containing serums are an excellent way to give your skin tone a boost and achieve more vibrancy. 

When it comes to acne or breakout concerns, salicylic acid, niacinamide and other hydroxyacids are helpful in fighting inflammation, deep cleaning your pores and providing accelerated skin cell turnover which can reduce breakouts and result in a more smooth complexion.

Treatments like serums and spot treatments can be the most effective and important part of your refreshed skincare routine,  so it’s important to not skip this step! 

Professional Treatments

While an effective at-home skincare regimen is important, so is spending some time with your trusted skincare professional.  (They are the experts, after all.) 

A professional facial every 3-4 months is essential to achieve your skincare goals.  If you aren’t sure which facial type is the best for you, don’t worry. We provide each of our clients with a comprehensive skin evaluation prior to beginning any treatments. This way, our products and methods are completely tailored to your unique skin care needs, and skin goals.

Our personal favorite facial to perform is definitely the HydraFacial.  In only 3 steps and 30 minutes, the Hydra Facial uses “vortex fusion” technology and super serums crafted with the most nourishing ingredients. 

First, your skin will be gently exfoliated revealing a smoother, cleaner surface. Then, your skin will be thoroughly cleansed as debris is painlessly suctioned from your skin (seriously — it’s painless. It feels like a little vacuum for your face) and then nourished with intensive moisturizers.

Finally, your skin will receive a VIP treatment of antioxidants, peptides, and other glow inducing serums to leave you looking fresh and vibrant. Come and try our coveted HydraFacial at our Bayonne or Jersey City office today.  You’ll leave our center glowing and looking radiant. 

By assessing your current skincare routine, refreshing your products and sticking to a daily regimen, you’ll be well on your way to healthy and happy skin this fall, and beyond.

Overindulge Over the Holiday Season? We're Here to Help.

Holidays are filled with fun, family, and food. If you’re now finding yourself feeling a bit bloated, exhausted, sluggish, or are even seeing the scale creep up a bit higher than usual, you’re not alone. We can help.

If you’re looking to lose a few unwanted inches or pounds, try our unique trademarked treatment, AcuSculpt. Combining acupuncture and massage, it can help you get back to your pre-holiday bod in no time.

A natural, alternative therapy to help in your weight loss efforts, the system was designed by NJ Acupuncture Center’s owner and main acupuncturist Ani Baran L.AC, AcuSculptÔ It’s scientifically targeted and aims to slim and tone using acupuncture immediately followed by a firm pressured massage.

First, acupuncture needles are strategically placed first within predetermined weight meridians as they work to stabilize qi, facilitate energy flow, and reduce leptin. Next, electro-acupuncture is used, as micrucurrent stimulation is sent between pairs of needles which targets the releasing of accumulated or difficult to target qui.

Next, it's time for the massage.  Instead of a traditional massage, a firm and stimulating massage is performed and helps to release retained gas, fluid and bloat in the abdomen area and the thighs.

When performed over time, it AcuSculpt will stimulate metabolism, regulate your bowels and help fight against fluid retention, bloating and gas.  Of course, it’s not a quick-fix, and should be used consistently while being supplemented by a moderate and healthful diet.

You’ll be weight at the beginning of the treatment cycle, as your progress and weight loss will be monitored.

SO if you’ve found that you’ve had one (or ten) too many Christmas cookies or cocktails and are feeling more like Santa and less like Vixen, have no fear. AcuSculpt is here.

Give Shoulder Pain the Cold Shoulder With Acupuncture

The shoulder is a fascinating, complicated an important area of the body. It has an incredible range of motion and thus allows our arms to movie in many different ways and accomplish a wide variety of tasks. Everything from everyday chores to incredible athletic feats like pitching (Happy Baseball Playoffs!) and hitting a tennis ball are possible because of the little ball and joint located at the tops of our arms.

The problem with the shoulder? Because it’s so amazing and allows us to do so many different things, it is unfortunately prone to many different types of injuries and discomfort. Previously, we covered the condition known as Frozen Shoulder, and how acupuncture can help with the, well, unfreezing return the shoulder to full range of motion without pain. But there are a number of other shoulder conditions, major and minor, that acupuncture can also help with, including bursitis, rotator cuff injuries, arthritis, tendonitis, labrum injuries, and more.

It depends on the specific ailment, so it’s important to see a specialist to determine exactly what type of shoulder issue you are experiencing. However, acupuncture will be able to help in many ways, regardless of the condition, by doing a number of things. First, acupuncture helps regulate the energy in the body, clearing up blockages in the meridians that are helping cause the pain and discomfort at the point of injury. Acupuncture also increases blood flow which acts as a natural anti-inflammatory, a holistic and safe alternative to cortisone shots and prescription painkillers and other medication. And finally, acupuncture, particularly electroacupuncture, can actually help speed up the healing and repair of damaged tissues and muscles.

Whether you’re a professional baseball player or just hoping to do household chores like the laundry and grocery shopping without pain, your shoulders are of utmost importance. If you ever have an issue with them, acupuncture is here to help!

Whiplash Is a Common Injury from Car Accidents, Here's How Acupuncture Can Help

Unfortunately, automobile accidents are all too common in our society. And the most common injury from auto accidents is whiplash. Whiplash occurs when the head is jerked forward and/or backward abruptly. It often doesn’t take much; whiplash can occur even in fender benders or thankfully minor accidents. And oftentimes, folks think that they’re okay, only to start experiencing symptoms a day or two after the accident. Of those symptoms? Headaches, dizziness, pain in the neck, numbness in the arms or the hands, difficulty concentrating or remembering, and difficult sleeping and overall fatigue.

There isn’t much that western medicine can do to treat whiplash. Most often doctors will tell a patient to take non steroidal anti-inflammatory medications like ibuprofen and naproxen, and otherwise urge patience to wait it out until the symptoms go away. That’s not a very reassuring plan, particularly when symptoms of whiplash can be severe.

Whiplash is an injury primarily to the spine and neck, which makes it a great candidate for treatment via acupuncture. A traumatic injury like whiplash ultimately results in the blockage of meridians and the stagnation of the body’s naturally healing energy, qi. Acupuncture is able to holistically regulate the body’s energy by opening up the meridians and getting the qi to flow again, particularly to the spine and neck area that are affected by whiplash. That results in a natural anti-inflammation process that helps reduce pain and swelling, as well as the knock-on effects of whiplash that affect other parts of the body.

If seeking acupuncture treatment for whiplash, it’s important to note how long ago the traumatic event was from the beginning of the treatment. Ideally, seeking treatment as soon after the event is helpful—with many injuries like whiplash, the earlier the treatment can begin the better, since this can help keep swelling to a minimum. If the injury occurred a while ago, you can and should still seek acupuncture treatment—the only difference is that the acupuncturist will likely target different meridians, as well as additional parts of the body that have been affected in the meantime.

Ideally, we would never have to treat anyone for whiplash. But accidents happen. Thankfully, we are here to help in case they do.

Acupuncture Doesn't Just Help Cancer Patients, But Caregivers Too

Learning that a loved one has been diagnosed with cancer can be one of the most difficult things for someone to experience. It not only changes the life for the person who is fighting the battle themselves, but it can radically alter the life of those closes to them.

Depending on each situation, close family or friends may have to take a lot of time out of their schedule to help care for their loved one. Often times, caregivers can put forth such an effort in taking care of their loved one that their own self-care gets ignored. This can lea to a snowball effect, causing emotional stress as well as pain and discomfort.

The benefits of acupuncture for cancer patients reach far and wide. But it can also do wonders for those who are taking care of cancer patients, whether professionally or for somebody close to them. Tamera Anderson-Hanna, herself a cancer survivor, wrote on CureToday.com about her experiences as a caregiver for family who were also diagnosed with cancer, and how acupuncture became a crucial part of her self-care regimen.

Most of her discomfort was emotional, as she explains, “I was definitely experiencing stress with the news of family members being diagnosed with cancer after the new year and have found acupuncture has helped me to experience improved sleep and feeling less stressed as a caregiver.”

But as we know, emotional stress also takes its toll on the physical body. Tamera’s acupuncturist also treated her neck, which is where she was carrying most of her stress. Acupuncture helped Tamera “sleep better at night, assists in experiencing less pain or tension in my body and allows me to redirect my energy to a more positive focus and perspective, thus having more good energy.”

If you or anyone you know is experiencing emotional or physical distress from taking care of someone else, acupuncture isn’t just there for those who have been diagnosed with an illness. Caregivers must ensure they’re taken care of as well.

Acupuncture Proven To Beat Drugs For Gout Treatment

One minute you’re fast asleep, and the next you wake up feeling like a part of your body was just lit on fire.

No, you don’t need to douse yourself with a bucket of water, but you may feel like you want to anyway.

What you could be dealing with is gout: a form of arthritis that cause sudden, severe bouts of pain, swelling and redness in particular joints. Often, the big toe is affected, making it very hard to move around since an area affected by gout is often hot, swollen and tender. Gout pain comes and goes, which can make life for those who suffer from it unpredictable.

Gout pain is caused by high uric acid levels in the blood, which causes urate crystals to form in the joints. It’s most often treated with various painkilling medicines like NSAIDs and steroids prescribed by doctors.

One of the NSAIDs that is often prescribed by doctors to treat Gout is indomethacin. Recently, researchers at Dongguan Tangxia Guanhua Hospital in China tested indomethacin treatment for Gout against acupuncture. The study was conclusive: those who were administered acupuncture rather than given the medication reported reduced pain, swelling, and redness, and also noted increased mobility and improved function of the affected joints.

It’s no surprise here that acupuncture is an effective treatment for Gout. Pain is a result of the qi in our body being blocked and out of sorts, and acupuncture promotes self-healing of the body by regulating the qi an helping to open up the pathways that are being blocked during bouts of pain and discomfort.

If you or anyone you know suffers from Gout, be sure to come by and begin the lasting, holistic treatment that only acupuncture can offer!

Acupuncture More Effective than Pills for Gout Relief

A unique form of arthritis, gout is most often experienced as a sudden and painful attack of swelling, redness and pain in the joints — commonly the feet. It can appear out of nowhere, and can come and go, only adding to the frustration of the disease.

Thankfully, it has been proven acupuncture can help. In fact, it’s even more effective than traditional medicine in treating gout.

All patients in the study were, “given standardized lifestyle and dietary advice to help them manage their condition. This included reducing their dietary intake of high-purine foods, organ meats, and alcohol. Patients were counseled on avoiding stress, cold temperature exposure, and overwork. All patients were advised to increase water consumption.”

These are healthy habits that can hep to improve anyone’s lifestyle and overall health.

As far as the two study groups, those in the drug group were prescribed indomethacin enteric-coated 75 mg tablets to be taken twice daily for 10 days.

Patients in the acupuncture group did not take the medication, and instead had acupuncture treatment administered at the following primary acupoints:

• Zusanli (ST36)

• Sanyinjiao (SP6)

• Yinlingquan (SP9)

• Quchi (LI11)

• Ashi points

Overall, HealthCMI reports that . acupuncture produced a higher total effective rate than the medication, including greater reductions in pain, swelling, and redness.

The study yielded an 86.96% effective rate in improvements in a patients clinical symptoms, as opposed to those who were taking the pharmaceutical. Unsurprisingly, acupuncture also caused fewer adverse reactions, with an incidence of just 2.17% compared with 23.91% in the drug group.

The numbers speak for themselves.

There are ways to prevent gout, too. The MayoClinic recommends:

• Drinking plenty of fluids

• limiting or abstaining from alcohol

• Increasing protein from low-fat dairy . products

• Limiting intake of fish, meat and poultry

• Maintaining a healthy body weight