WHOLE BODY COLLAGEN

• A good whole body collagen will have at least 10g of protein per serve. ALL women over 50 should be aiming to increase their protein as we lose amino acids more easily once oestrogen has dropped as in the menopause.
• Amino acids are the molecules that make muscle, cartilage, bone and collagen in the skin. One of the reasons women start to lose the fullness in their face as they age is due to the bone density in the cheek bones starts to decline.  Therefore, your collagen supplement should be able to target all of these areas.

We sell Designs for Health Whole Body Collagen which has 3 types of collagen peptides:

• Verisol. Stimulates skin metabolism. Amazing with the cosmetic acupuncture!!
• Fortigel : Regeneration of joint cartilage
• Fortibone: Promotes bone health, increases bone density and reduces degradation of bone.

The DFH collagen is tasteless and heat stable. You can add it to your yogurt, or even your bolognaise.  Ask us if you’d like to buy.

OMEGA 3S:

Effectively 5g of Omega 3s per day.

Why the need for Omega 3?

Well it has several benefits:

• It will moisturise the skin from the inside.
• It curbs inflammation. Both in the skin (acne/rosacea) and also in the gut. The gut is important as we detoxify through the gut and if you have impaired gut health it will help mend the gut.
• It reduces the effects of sun damage which leads to faster aging.
• Omega 3s support the action of collagen
• Omega 3s promote skin cell turnover thereby removing old skin cells with new cells.

When buying omega 3 (fish oils) spend wisely. Buying bulk and/or cheap is likely to mean that the fish oil is of low quality, rancid and even contaminated. It is actually worse for you than if you hadn’t taken any at all because it will lead to further inflammation.

Make sure when you buy it’s Australia made (minimal travel) and from quality fish stocks.

Our preferred brands are DFH/metagenics/Bioceuticals.

We supply practitioner grade fish oils

VITAMIN C

2-4g a day.

Vitamin C is required by the body when utilising collagen as it promotes the production of cells called fibroblasts. Fibroblasts are found in the skin and produce the connective tissue that keep our skin and joints supple. All collagen should be taken with vitamin C in order to obtain the best benefit.

Vitamin C is also the precursor of many other anti-oxidents in the body and therefore is an important adjunct for healthy aging generally.

We supply practitioner grade vitamin C powder that can be mixed into your smoothie and combined with your collagen.

If you would like to buy any of these practitioner grade supplements from us please let us know on 0403273008 or speak to your practitioner in clinic.

 These products go great with our cosmetic acupuncture and anti aging treatments  which target the face and tighten, smooth and plump the skin giving it a more youthful appearance.

The combination of products and the treatments is a great way to naturally improve ones skin!

If you would like to know more please contact the clinic or BOOK NOW

Don’t you love it when something you’ve been doing for years becomes the ‘in thing’?!

Cupping, the action of using specialist cups to suction on the skin, has been around for a very long time. Initially used on the body to clear aches and pains, over the last decade it’s become quite the trend to use cupping methods on the face.

So why would you do this and what is the benefit? Well the action of suction is sooooo…. good for circulation and muscle elasticity! When there is improved circulation there is improved hydration and improved nutrition and for the skin on your face this all means healthier and younger looking skin.

When done correctly it’s great for double chins, sagging jowls and drooping eyelids. It helps with acne scarring and reduces wrinkles.

This sounds great…but before you rush out to amazon please let us share with you what many clinical hours have taught us!

1. The type of cups you use are VERY important. The face has delicate fine skin and it is important that suction is not to strong otherwise bruising and worse – sagging can occur.  The cups need a wide base to gentle glide over your skin, not feel like you are tugging on a distracted dog.
2. Knowing muscle structure and the motion to use is also important. I’d love to say that doing it at home on your own will yield the same results as seeing a specialist -but that’s really not true.  When you use your own arm to do the cupping you are automatically changing the location of the muscles on the face. As most faces are not symmetrical it’s impossible to get it totally right.  In truth it’s best done laying down, with someone working over you correctly contouring the right muscles that can be treated with the cups rather than standing in front of the mirror and approaching it like it’s a multi-lane highway where you just zoom over the skin and hope you’ve captured the main muscles!
3. Using the right oils and serums are important too. The cupping action bringing blood to the skin (that lovely flushed look) means that the blood will take away with it whatever you put on the skin. Many oils are not really suitable for facial skin and if you have acne, many oils are pro-inflammatory and worse a rancid oil will leave your skin worse off than you started.
4. If I haven’t convinced you already, I hope you realise I’m really tempting you to go with a trained and knowledgeable facial cupping practitioner.  There are few nicer feelings than having one’s face professionally cupped. Because of the sensation over specific muscle groups many people actually fall asleep while it’s being done.   If it’s combined with facial acupuncture – ahh – well it’s even better. But that’s another blog.

In the meantime, step away from the amazon check out and instead have a look at booking with one of the team at ben&biao.  Only those with specialist training will be able to do this, We combine cupping with facial acupuncture in our anti -aging and cosmetic treatments.

See our Cosmetic Acupuncture page for more information.

For details or book a cosmetic facial treatment click here

Facial acupuncture using micro-needles can stimulate collagen production and reduce facial wrinkles.

But how?

The needles stimulate the body’s immune system and wound-healing mechanisms. As the acupuncture micro-needles penetrate the skin this causes micro-wounds and triggers an inflammatory reaction that begins a cascade of subsequent reactions.

The skin’s nerve receptors and defence mechanisms sense these fine needle intrusions as a specific type of injury and heals accordingly.

During the healing process, the skin cells within a 1 to 2 mm radius around the area needled release signals to the body to stimulate rapid growth of new cells. These signals also stimulate rapid growth of new fibroblasts and wound repairing cells. Fibroblasts are cells that are responsible for making collagen and other matrix tissue.

The new collagen and tissue rush to close the wound and to integrate with existing collagen in the upper dermis levels of the skin.

The new collagen fibers thicken the skin, fill in wrinkles and encourage growth of healthy new skin cells and provide a younger and more youthful complexion.

If you would like to know more about facial acupuncture see cosmetic acupuncture

Or book in for a cosmetic treatment with the highly talented Zoe Martin.

Zoe Martin, an acupuncturist for over 15 years has completed several specialised courses in the US and UK for cosmetic acupuncture and facial cupping.

This is the second part in our acne series blogs. Part 1: ‘Hormones and Acne’ can be read ‘here’

In our first blog we wrote about the role of hormones in acne. Another major contributor to acne is inflammation. Inflammation is part of our body’s defence system.

It is our body’s protective response to something that is harmful.

Our immune system responds to harmful agents by sending messaging agents and specialist cells that attempt to rid the body of the problem.

Inflammation is fine when it is a short-term response but if the body is under constant attack from substances it sees as “harmful”, inflammation becomes chronic. It can occur throughout the body especially in the gut. In acne sufferers it also shows in the face in the form of the spots, pustules, redness and cysts which acne sufferers have.

So what are some of the substances that can cause a chronic inflammatory response?

Currently there are many.

The body generally doesn’t like; UV radiation, smoke, chemicals and irritants such as those in household cleaning and beauty products, air pollution, simple sugars, heavy metals, plastics especially those that have made it into the food chain, meat that has been pumped with hormones and chemically-enhanced fertilisers to name but a few.

Inflammation can also occur from stress, sleep deprivation, worry and anxiety as these negatively impact the body’s ability to regulate the immune and inflammation process.

So how does inflammation impact the skin?

Inflammation usually means that there is a lack of anti-oxidents. Anti-oxidents are crucial to skin health. Without adequate antioxidant protection the sebum gets damaged. In acne patients the sebum has more squalene which is a form of fatty acid.

As inflammation increases both locally and systemically the squalene turns into squalene peroxide. Squalene peroxide is a highly comedogenic and inflammatory substance, and it is the oxidation of squalene into squalene peroxide which is probably the trigger that starts the acne formation process.

As inflammation is a major part of the acne issue dealing with it is one of the pillars of getting back to good skin.

At ben&biao we combine our knowledge of Chinese medicine with proven Western methods. As the Chinese medicine paradigm is more holistic we will run through your family history, your diet, your lifestyle, your stress factors, your sleep patterns, your bowel movements and work out what exactly is causing the problem. We then make an individualised plan including an acne formula tailored to suit you.

Our Chinese medicine formulas aim to clear inflammation and deal with other internal factors that are out of balance. The plan provided is to help deal with the external factors that may be causing the inflammation.

Our Chinese herbs are taken in powder form. Either dissolved in teas or they can be made into capsules if you prefer.

Acne will take at least a couple of months to properly clear but changes can be seen as quickly as two-three weeks with the correct formulations.

If you or your child has acne then come see what we at ben&biao can do for you.

Initial consultations are:

$145 for an hour consultation. 

Book NOW or call 0403 273 008 to find out how we can help you.