If you’ve ever held a Plum Blossom instrument in one hand and a Procell device in the other, you know the feeling. They look like distant cousins. Same idea, different century.
Today is Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine Day, held every October 24. It’s a day to honor a medicine that has shaped how we see the body, the skin, and the people who walk into our treatment rooms. For the two of us, it’s also a day to remember where our own work began too.
Long before we taught a single Integrative Microneedling course, we were (and still are) acupuncturists. East Asian medicine taught us to see the body as an interrelated eco-system and therefore to read the skin as a reflection of what’s happening inside. That lens never left us and it’s the reason the Integrative Microneedling Method exists.
So this post is a small celebration. Of the medicine. Of the practitioners who carry it forward every day. And of the way an ancient tradition keeps finding new places to develop.
What Is Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine Day?
Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine Day (AHM Day) takes place every October 24 to raise awareness of acupuncture and East Asian medicine.
The first AHM Day was celebrated in 2002. The National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine (NCCAHM) led the effort, with support from professional organizations across the US, Canada, and Mexico.
Why AHM Day Matters to Us
Both of us came to acupuncture because it made sense of the body in a way other models didn’t.
Amelia was drawn to holistic medicine as a teenager. She went on to study Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine at Southwest Acupuncture College in Boulder, Colorado, from 2003-2008 and earned her esthetician license along the way. The combination of esthetics and East Asian medicine reinforced the concept, for her, that the skin isn’t separate from the rest of the body, but plays a huge role in our overall health and is a reflection of it.
Diana graduated from the Tri-State College of Acupuncture in 2003 and moved to Denver to practice. There, her teacher Doc Ron Rosen introduced her to a philosophy that still guides everything we do: beauty from the inside out. She later studied facial acupuncture with Mary Elizabeth Wakefield, first as a student and then as an assistant and educator.
The integration of esthetics and East Asian medicine gave us both a new way of seeing, that a breakout isn’t only a breakout and dullness isn’t only dullness. They’re signals and communications of what is happening internally.
Think of the skin as a living ecosystem and a map of the body’s ongoing story. Like a landscape, its surface reflects the conditions beneath it, shaped by circulation, immune function, hormones, digestion, stress, sleep, and how well the body is nourished and supported. Its patterns and changes can offer clues about what’s happening beneath the surface, inviting us to look beyond the visible concern and consider the whole person.
That way of seeing is what we celebrate today.
How Is Integrative Microneedling Connected to East Asian Medicine?
Microneedling is a modern evolution of Plum Blossom, a traditional East Asian medicine technique that taps the skin with a cluster of fine needles as a way to stimulate the meridians.
In 2015, microneedling started showing up everywhere in Western skin care. Our first reaction was simple: wait, this looks like acupuncture.
And we weren’t wrong. As we dug into the research, we found that some forms of microneedling, specifically Procell Microchanneling, share its roots with the Plum Blossom technique. Only a handful of acupuncturists around the world had made that connection.
It was a bit like finding your grandmother’s recipe printed in a glossy new cookbook. The presentation was modern. The wisdom underneath was familiar.
What would microneedling look like if it returned to its roots?
What Is the Integrative Microneedling Method?
The Integrative Microneedling Method blends Procell Microchanneling with East Asian medicine principles like meridians, face mapping, gua sha, cupping and tuning forks.
We spent the following year testing and refining with real clients in our own practices, as well as practicing with each other. We kept coming back to three principles: safety, efficacy, and whole-body support. It wasn’t enough for a treatment to work. It had to make sense clinically, energetically, and practically.
What took shape was a method built on two languages that describe the same body:
- Modern microchanneling. The Procell device uses a precise stamping technique that creates consistent microchannels with less trauma to the skin. Similar to the mechanism of the plum blossom technique.
- Chinese medicine diagnosis. Meridians, organ systems, face mapping, and the balance of Yin, Yang, and Qi guide how each treatment is tailored.
- Acupressure. Key points support the skin, the nervous system and the whole body.
- Holistic enhancement tools. Gua Sha, facial cupping, tuning forks and jade rollers woven into the treatment flow.
- Thoughtful product integration. Knowing what to apply, when, and why, plus home care that carries results beyond the treatment room.
When these pieces work together, the treatment becomes more than a cosmetic procedure with a series of steps. It becomes a truly integrative experience, one that supports both skin health and overall well-being, guided by the needs of the whole person in front of you.
In 2018, we founded EastWest Microneedling to share this method with other practitioners. Since 2016, we’ve also served as co-chairs of the Microneedling Committee for the Acupuncture Association of Colorado.
Why Do Acupuncturists Make Natural Integrative Microneedling Practitioners?
Acupuncturists already understand needles, meridians, and pattern diagnosis, so Integrative Microneedling builds on skills they use every day.
If you’re an acupuncturist, you already think in terms of patterns differentiation. You read the tongue, pulse and skin. You notice where Qi is stuck and where it’s lacking. You’ve spent years learning to work with needles with calm and care.
Integrative Microneedling gives acupuncturists a way to bridge the worlds of health and aesthetics. It adds a modern skin treatment to the medicine they already practice, creating an opportunity to help patients understand that skin health and overall well-being are deeply connected and that caring for one can be part of caring for the other.
For acupuncturists, this integration also creates new opportunities for practice growth. It offers a way to reach clients seeking visible skin results without sacrificing a holistic approach, while building a distinctive service rooted in the medicine they already know.
What Can Estheticians Take From East Asian Medicine?
Estheticians can draw on select East Asian medicine concepts to deepen their holistic skincare practice, gaining a broader perspective on the relationship between skin health and overall well-being, all while building on their existing training and working within their professional scope.
AHM Day isn’t only for acupuncturists. Some of the most curious practitioners we meet are estheticians and skin professionals who sense there’s more going on beneath the surface.
Maybe you’ve noticed a client’s breakouts flare at the same point each month. Maybe you’ve seen stubborn concerns that don’t respond the way the protocol says they should. East Asian medicine offers a lens for those moments. It doesn’t replace your training. It adds depth to it, like turning up the light in a room you already know well.
Face mapping helps you see patterns. Acupressure and Gua Sha support circulation, lymphatic flow and the nervous system. And when you pair those principles with precise microchanneling, you can work with the skin and the whole person at the same time.
If you’re curious but cautious, our Integrative Microneedling 101 course is a gentle place to start. In two hours, you’ll learn how East Asian medicine and microneedling fit together, and leave with acupressure protocols you can use right away. It’s also the natural first step toward full certification.
A Thank You to Our Profession
When we started out, we couldn’t have pictured where this medicine would lead us. We didn’t picture teaching microneedling to practitioners across the country and beyond.
So today, we want to say thank you. To our teachers, who showed us that beauty starts from within. To our colleagues, who keep this medicine alive in treatment rooms every day. And to our students, who bring this integrative care to their own communities with so much passion and heart.
East Asian medicine has always grown by adapting while staying true to its roots. Integrative microneedling is one small branch on a very old tree. We’re grateful to tend it alongside you.
Happy Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine Day.
With gratitude, Diana and Amelia
Ready to Explore Integrative Microneedling?
For acupuncturists: Our Online Integrative Microneedling for Acupuncturists Certification includes a live online practice session, so you can build hands-on confidence with feedback.
For estheticians and other holistic skin professionals: Start with Integrative Microneedling 101. The $300 course fee is credited toward full certification if you decide to continue.