I first met Maggie through my work with Jennifer Young over on Defiant Beauty. I’ve met so many wonderful people through this, and Maggie is no exception. As well as being a registered Acupuncturist, Maggie is a member of the British Acupuncture Council. She has trained in both New York and London, and this coupled with her own personal experience means Maggie delivers a refreshing experience with a very personal touch.
The treatment begins with a fully detailed consultation, in mine I mention that my skin is feeling rather dry at the moment and that I have been experiencing breakouts around my jawline. Maggie advises me not to be too hard on myself, for it is January and post Christmas excess she tends to see the aforementioned skin ailments in many of her clients.
With the assessment complete, I hopped onto the couch and began to feel even more relaxed. Maggie has a very calming way about her, and even though I’d only met her once or twice prior to this, I felt as though I was chatting to an old friend. The treatment began with a facial massage, combining Acupressure and TuiNa – an invigorating Chinese facial massage. The use of both these styles together was inspired by the treatments Maggie received during her studies in China. The aim of this is to achieve that much sought after body and mind balance. I had mentioned to Maggie that I had been through a bit of a rough time last year, both in my work and personal life, but I was committed to making a change and was underway with my 30 Day Fierce Grace Yoga Challenge.
Maggie’s massaging of my face highlighted the fact that I carry a lot of tension around in my jaw, particularly the big muscles that open and close the jaw. It’s something I noticed when concentrating extra hard during my first few Fierce Grace classes; I clenched my jaw and felt it in tension post-class. Thankfully I have now rectified this, mainly down to Maggie’s instructions to administer a daily self-massage around these tight muscles. And believe me, they were incredibly tight initially. I got into the habit of performing this massage before my Fierce Grace class, and post the FG Core class we massage ourselves from scalp to shoulder covering all the face and neck anyway. But back to Maggie’s massage, the acupressure and TuiNa work together to release tension, encouraging fresh blood and Qi to the skin, thus delivering essential nutrients to the skin and promoting a healthy, radiant glow.
After the massage, Maggie set me up for my acupuncture, for both my body and face. For the treatment, ultra-fine needles are utilised, positioned around the body to help promote internal balance and in the face to address particular skin concerns. This process helps the body’s energy to move freely and arrive at the face. Facial acupuncture can help improve and clear wrinkles by stimulating energy flower and blood circulation, which in turn plumps the skin and tightens the muscles in the face which has a natural lifting effect. Something to think about before going under the other kind of needle, or worse, the scalpel!
I did my usual trick during the acupuncture treatment, I fell asleep! And I think Maggie very kindly left me for longer than planned, perhaps because I was deep breathing in my relaxed state and she could hear this through the door. Either way, I felt great after the privilege of a midday nap, coupled with the rejuvenating properties of the acupuncture session. But more than this, my skin had got its glow back.
Maggie is renowned for her bespoke skincare products, which she mixes especially for her clients. For me, a Rosewater Cleanser with some Rose Oil in was prepared. It was beautiful, such fresh ingredients were used and that shone through in the fragrant experience every time I used this cleanser.
And to follow I was prescribed Yin No. 1 Facial Oil, for dry and dehydrated skin. Ancient sages recorded the Yin-restoring properties of Rose, and this oil calls upon Rose, along with Neroli, Sandalwood and Patchouli to help rebalance. This was a really special oil for me, particularly as it featured four of my favourite oils!
