“針灸美容”風(fēng)靡日本

Japanese pin hopes on acupuncture as beauty secret

Forget cosmetic surgery. The ancient treatment of acupuncture is gaining new popularity as a beauty secret in Japan about 1,500 years after it first came there from China.

As aesthetic sessions increasingly go organic or employ traditional remedies, women at the "Beauty World Japan" exhibition this week lined up to try acupuncture, long known for its health advantages.

Inserting tiny needles into faces, boosts natural facial healing powers, says therapist Takeshi Kitagawa.

"This is not a medical or surgical procedure," said Kitagawa, acupuncture therapist and owner of Yojo spa.

"We use the healing powers that a person's body naturally possesses, and within the general trend toward a more 'natural beauty' our acupuncture is very well accepted."

Japan is the world's number two market for beauty products and services, with sales estimated at over $15 billion last year alone.

Acupuncturist licensing began during Japan's Meiji Era, about 130 years ago, and Kitagawa says his clients, mainly in their 30s, are increasingly pinning their hopes on the treatment, seeing cosmetics or facelifts as pricey and not as healthy.

"It's different from plastic surgery, it doesn't have the risk of failure. Besides, it uses the innate power of human body to create beauty, and that's the reason I like it," said Rie Hayashida.

Japan has an estimated 40,000 registered acupuncturists and over 150 schools, mainly focused on traditional uses.

別再想著去整容了！約1500年前由中國傳入日本的古代“針灸療法”目前作為一種美容秘訣在日本再掀新潮流。

如今美容界越來越推崇有機美容和傳統(tǒng)美容法。上周在日本舉辦的“美麗世界美容展”上，女性朋友們紛紛排隊嘗試針灸美容。針灸療法的健康功效久負盛名。

據(jù)優(yōu)可水療館老板、針灸師武北川介紹，面部針灸可提高面部肌膚的自愈能力。

“不屬于外科手術(shù)或醫(yī)學(xué)治療的范疇。”

“我們借助的是人體天生的自愈能力。針灸美容符合‘自然美’這一流行趨勢，大受人們青睞。”

日本是全球第二大美容產(chǎn)品與服務(wù)市場，僅去年一年的銷售額就超過150億美元。

日本的針灸師執(zhí)業(yè)許可始于約130年前的明治天皇時期。據(jù)北川介紹，他的顧客年齡大都在30多歲，因為覺得化妝品和整容手術(shù)價格昂貴且不利于健康，所以寄希望于針灸美容。

林田理惠說：“針灸和整容不同，沒有失敗的風(fēng)險。而且它是利用人體天生的能力來達到美容的目的，所以我很喜歡。”

據(jù)估計，日本目前有4萬名注冊針灸師，以及150多所針灸學(xué)校，主要用在傳統(tǒng)的針灸治療領(lǐng)域。