| North Austin Acupuncture

I originally came to Marsha for help with my acne, and I’m so glad I did – her treatments have dramatically improved my skin, yes, but they have also helped with my long-standing anxiety disorder and depression as well as my general well-being.

I have struggled with acne for years, since hitting my teens, and nothing – not antibiotics, not topical treatments, not Proactiv and other advertised products – has helped. I had cystic acne – painful lumps and blockages under the skin that would sometimes become pimples or clusters of pimples and would sometimes remain as angry red lumps beneath the surface. I also had a fair amount of scarring from past breakouts. It was worse at certain points throughout my monthly cycle, but my skin was never completely clear. I had pretty much given up on finding a long-term solution and was considering going on Accutane, despite its harshness and potentially devastating side-effects, rather than living any longer with the self-consciousness and shame that comes with having acne.

The Mai Zen protocol that Marsha used on my face consisted of five weeks of twice-weekly sessions lasting about an hour to an hour and a half in length. The experience was always very relaxing, to the point that I would fall asleep on the table! Even after the first session, I noticed an improvement in my skin’s general tone, and the angry redness had lessened. As the weeks went on, my skin improved dramatically. I no longer had those cystic lumps under the surface – when I did get a pimple, it was small and cleared up in a couple of days rather than lingering for a week or more. Even the scarring started to fade. For the first time pretty much ever, I have been leaving the house with no foundation or concealer on my face, which is so liberating. There are still some lingering scars that are gradually fading, but I anticipate that those will continue to improve with further sessions and I will have the completely clear skin that I never thought I could achieve. I’m planning to continue with a weekly facial session indefinitely to maintain these great results – and I always feel so good afterwards! It’s totally worth it.

As I mentioned earlier, I have also found that my sessions with Marsha have calmed my anxiety disorder and depression, and leave me feeling much more grounded and present. Emotionally, acupuncture sessions with Marsha have also brought a lot of my old patterns and blockages to the surface and I have been able to start working on them from a place of wellness that just wasn’t possible before we started working together.

I can’t recommend Marsha highly enough, and I fully expect to be seeing her on a weekly basis for years to come.

Andrea E.