When it comes to achieving that glowy, tight and wrinkle-free look, it’s tempting to lean on quick fixes like boxes to firm the skin. But while such procedures have seeped into our culture like butter into a crumpet, women are slowly opening up to more natural alternatives that won’t leave them permanently surprised—or like they’re auditioning for a new season of Real Housewives. (Sorry, not sorry.)
A newfound interest in developing lasting habits to future-proof your skin will mean you can look forward to a healthier and more youthful complexion for years to come.
Not sure where to start? We spoke to Dr Abbie Cloherty from the Zhong Centre – one of Australia’s leading cosmetic acupuncturists, Gua Sha expert and big believer in collagen supplementation for brighter skin – about how to go botox-free and still reap the benefits.
Tell us about the benefits of Gua Sha?
Gua Sha is an ancient practice which predates acupuncture as a method of healing and repairing. It is now used as a non-invasive facial technique that promotes collagen production, increases lifts in your facial muscles, improves lymphatic drainage and toxin release and creates a fresh, youthful glow in your skin.
Gua Sha is easy to do, genuinely effective, delivers measurable improvements to skin and is great for all skin types, even sensitive skin, aged skin or healing skin. When combined with high quality ingestible collagen, like the the Healthy Care Beauty collagen, you can notice some profound changes to your skin that can be better than botox!
What are your tips on doing it correctly?
My big tip is to use the Gua Sha tool with a firm hand. Hold it at a 45 degree angle with handwriting pressure, and avoid the more delicate areas of your face, like under eyes, broken skin or pimples. Use a smooth, sweeping movement right into the hair line with a natural facial oil or serum, ideally without essential oils for the Gua Sha routine as the movement and blood enhancements of the technique is strong enough. My other tip is to Gua Sha consistently – it’s like going to the gym, you need to commit consistently for results so add it to your daily skin routine.
Why do you think no skincare could be the new skincare?
I think minimal skincare is absolutely the new skincare, however this relies on you making sure that your foundations are really strong. This means we need to eat well, exercise regularly and arm our bodies with the essential ingredients for strong and healthy skin.
All skin shows signs of what is happening underneath, our bodies are always communicating with us. So a healthy diet of wholefoods that are locally sourced and a commitment to balance (not too many treats or takeaways), supported with really good water intake to support hydration and high quality supplementation (that includes a well sourced collagen) will all put you in good stead for no skincare skincare. Like a car, there has to be care and attention to service and maintenance or your car won’t run comfortably.
I also think right now, there is an over saturation of information, and unless you are a skin care trained expert or have a skin condition that needs specific attention it is very overwhelming to be educated from instagram and tiktok so lean into a minimal approach and you’re likely to see really strong results.
Tell us about facial cosmetic acupuncture.
Facial cosmetic acupuncture is absolutely fabulous! It provides you with all the benefits of internal health wellbeing and an EXTRA glow to your favourite facial features. It’s a whole body (constitution) approach to facial care and appearance – so not just a topical approach. It aims to help with reducing fine lines, tightening jowls and sagging skin and brightens our complexion for super powered cosmetic acupuncture glow. My clients often feedback that with their at home routines, which include daily Gua Sha and collagen, plus regular treatments with me in the clinic, that their skin is luminous.
At the Zhong Centre we perform a cosmetic acupuncture protocol that extends the use of botox and doesn’t interrupt fillers! If a little bit of injectables give you confidence we only want to enhance the things that make you glow. Our clientele vary from early 20’s wanting to prevent lines and maybe dealing with some adult acne, to mid 30s men and women wanting to balance their hormones and stress reactions and a little tightening of current features to busy corporate and family executives in their 40s and beyond needing some ‘me time’ attention, healing gut and digestive issues and promoting more tightness in their lower faces and softening their stress signs in their face.
What are some other natural ways you can support your skin?
Your skin will thank you for water. Any water in take is great but I’m a big fan of warm water. Warm water in chinese medicine absorbs quicker through the gut lining to the bloodstream and then skin. A well balanced, healthy diet filled with seasonal vegetables, fruit and fatty acids from a little bit of meat or fish or legumes, nuts and seeds. Boring but relevant – the low hanging fruit for a strong foundation that can lead to glowing skin is sleep. Rest is your super power, I promise! I’m a big fan of a foot bath before bed as it is an easy way to calm and reset your nervous system for a deeper rejuvenating sleep which is guaranteed to show on your face in due course.
