If you haven’t already been captured by the the newest dramedy, Nine Perfect Strangers, you must check it out!

Here is the reaction of our Acupuncturist & Therapist, Sue Cook: “There’s a scene in the second episode that made me howl with laughter- she’s supposed to be receiving a calming acupuncture treatment and instead she has such an absurd amount of oversized needles in her face that she looks like a technicolor porcupine. I even snapped a picture of my screen to send my bestie, accompanied by a text reading “you gotta love Hollywood acupuncture.” A week or so later my coworker sent me Melissa’s Instagram post of her look in that scene and asked me my thoughts. The reality is that I’ve never seen an acupuncture treatment accurately depicted in a movie or tv show- there’s always an absurd amount of needles lined up in aesthetic patterns for dramatic effect. Whether it’s the classic SNL skit about acupuncture gone wrong or Kung Fu Panda, acupuncture is always sensationalized for comic or dramatic effect.

Even an anti-aging treatment to target wrinkles wouldn’t use that amount of needles, and certainly wouldn’t use needles of that length, which are much too hard to maneuver, particularly in the delicate facial area where it’s easy to leave bruises from nicking a capillary. We always select  the shortest needle possible to ensure safe placement. I use facial acupuncture in almost all of my treatments, and I typically use only 3 needles: yintang, which I like to refer to as the “magic unicorn point,” is located between the eyebrows and has a deep calming effect. I like to combine it with two points in the belly of the jaw muscles, which alleviate pain and tension from clenching or grinding and help reset the TMJ. This helps relax the entire upper body and can really help boost someone’s spirits when they’ve been feeling tense and tight all over. Long story short, while Hollywood acupuncture is often hysterically funny, it has nothing to do with the real thing!”

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