[Objective]It was recently accepted that skin problems are aggravated in women who are stressed or neglect their health. For such conditions, acupuncture for the purpose of beautification and health improvement attracts attention, thus expanding the science of acupuncture into an entirely new field called "Beauty (Cosmetic) Acupuncture."
Here, we investigated the beauty efficacy of acupuncture and acupressure on healthy women.
[Methods]Fourteen healthy women (mean age, 43.0 ± 8.1 years) who had noticeable skin roughness were randomly divided into 2 groups:acupuncture group (n = 7) and acupressure group (n = 7). Both groups received their respective treatments twice a week for 4 weeks.
Measurements for the subjective evaluation were based on self-rated health (SRH) and subjective physical and mental fatigue, which were assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), the Nowlis mood checklist, and a questionnaire about skin condition. Measurements for the objective evaluation were the melanin index of the skin;the Hb index;the HbO2 index; 3D measurement of the face, determined from range images;wrinkle-area ratio, determined from replicas, corneocyte surface area, and skin color (L*, a*, b*);and facial impression rating.
[Results]The acupuncture group showed a significant improvement in subjective measurement of skin condition (wrinkle, slack, and total condition) in addition to a slight decrease in wrinkle-area ratio, as determined by image analysis. The acupressure group showed a significant improvement in subjective measurement of skin condition (quantity of sebum secretion) and Nowlis mood checklist score, in addition to marginally significant improvement in skin color (L*, b*), HbO2 index, and amount of melanin in the skin.
[Conclusion]Acupuncture and acupressure may bring about morphological changes in facial skin and improvement in skin color, respectively. We conclude that acupuncture and acupressure have different effects on skin condition.

In Japanese traditional medicine, “ganmenshin” (facial diagnosis), which means assessment of a patient's health based on the color of his/her face, is frequently used in a clinical setting. However, little scientific evidence is available to substantiate such diagnoses. In the present study, we investigated the relationship between skin color and patient's health status to ascertain the clinical usefulness of the “ganmenshin” technique. We evaluated the color of the cheeks and forearms of 30 healthy study participants and also administered questionnaires to determine their health. A correlation was observed between skin color and work efficiency and the inkyo (yin-fluid deficiency) scores in all subjects. In male subjects, skin color was correlated with their bodymass index (BMI), self-rated health status, work efficiency, and suitai (fluid stagnation) scores. In female subjects, skin color was correlated with the patient's age, work efficiency, and inkyo scores. These results suggest that “ganmenshin” may be clinically useful because of the correlation between skin color and the health of patients.

Since it is supposed that the number of patients with dementia will increase as populations age in the near future, it is important to prevent dementia. In the present study, we examined whether acupuncture and life style improvements are able to enhance cognitive function.
The subjects who worry about being forgetful were recruited and divided at random into two groups ; a group receiving acupuncture with transcutaneous electrical acupuncture-point stimulation (TEAS) and im provements in life style (20 subjects ; group A) and a group undergoing improvements in life style alone (20 subjects ; group B) for 12 weeks. The results showed that the cognitive functions assessed via a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised, sleep time, and sleep efficiency were improved in all subjects included in groups A and B after the interventions. There were significant pre-to post-intervention differences in MMSE and sleep efficiency in group A only. It was found that these interven tions increased NK cells, NK activity and B cell numbers, and decreased T cell and helper T cell numbers.Thus, acupuncture and improvement of life style could enhance cognitive function and may be useful for the prevention of dementia.