Video: Facial acupuncture to fight signs of aging

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Forget the Botox, avoid the scalpel. More and more women are turning cosmetic acupuncture to reverse the aging process.

Acupuncturist Brigette Ardea starts with the feet. That's right, the feet. She says the idea is to open up all of the energy pathways that lead to the face.

Client Barbara Hinzten started treatments more than five years ago after being dissatisfied with botox.

"It looked like my face was flattening and somehow I looked different, but the comments weren't very positive," she said.

Not that she was initially sold on cosmetic acupuncture.

"I was skeptical and I wanted to see how this might work," she said.

Ardea, who works at Return to Radiance, says unlike botox and fillers, results are not immediate.

"It's usually after the fourth to sixth session that women start coming in and say 'Oh my friends said to me...have you changed your hair, are you wearing new makeup, are you having different glasses? I didn't notice,'" said Ardea.

Needles go directly into lines and wrinkles. The goal is to soften them.

"We're marginally injuring the skin, so there is a healing effect that takes place which rebuilds the tissue," said Ardea.

"Whatever Brigette is doing, it's working," said Hinzten.

For best results, a six-week intensive series of treatment is recommended, followed by booster treatments to maintain what's called that "acu-glow."

"I'm 51 and I get comments like, 'You have the best looking skin I've ever seen' and I didn't use to get those comments," said Hinzten, "so that's hard to walk away from."

Results won't be as dramatic as with other more invasive cosmetic procedures, but the cost is much less. Still, you can expect to pay at least $1,000 for the initial series of treatments.

Because the treatment is so relaxing, clients report they sleep better, too.