Botox is out. Plasma injections are in. But is L.A.’s ‘natural’ anti-aging movement any better?

When Ali Weiss, 30, shares a selfie on Instagram, she often adds a disclaimer: This is a face that hasn’t had any work done. “The fact that people seem to be more shocked by a 30-year-old who hasn’t gotten work done than a 30-year-old whose entire face is frozen is bonkers,” she says. They’ve seen more patients who are asking not only for their fillers to be dissolved but “There is a pendulum swing back to the more natural, best version of yourself, similar to the ‘no makeup makeup look,’” said Dr. Ava Shamban, founder of Skinfive Medical Spa in Pacific Palisades. “That left side of the face is where our relationship to father is stored.” In West Hollywood, a three-year-old cosmetic acupuncture practice called the Reset caters to people in their late 20s to 40s who don’t want to try injectables. The American Institute of Alternative Medicine says cosmetic acupuncture “operates on the belief that the face reflects the body’s internal balance and health.” While the practice is rooted in more than 2,000 years of traditional Chinese medicine, there have been limited scientific studies investigating its benefits on facial skin elasticity.