Green transparent overlay on top of a photo of a dark-haired woman. White text states, Building a Cosmetic Acupuncture Practice with the Founder of 6BabeBeauty

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Welcome back, everyone!

Today I’m excited to share some advice on how to build a cosmetic acupuncture practice.

I’m chatting with Amrit Singh, acupuncturist and founder of 6BabeBeauty in Toronto. She’s been in practice for ten years and is the recent winner of Notable Awards Toronto “Healthcare Professional of the Year” – pretty spectacular for an acupuncturist!

Inspired by her own results with cosmetic acupuncture, she began focusing her practice on cosmetic acupuncture right away after graduation from acupuncture school.

Amrit has built a thriving cosmetic practice and created her own line of rose quartz gua sha and facial roller tools.

She’s studied cosmetic acupuncture all around the world, most recently on a trip to Seoul. (Check out her trip to Seoul on her Instagram stories highlight right here!)

She’s built a unique brand that sets a great example -acupuncture branding doesn’t have to be sedate or traditional if you don’t want it to be. It can be glamorous, fun, or anything you envision!

Plus, Amrit has taught practice management courses to acupuncture students, and she does one-on-one business coaching with acupuncturists to help them build their brands.

I’m so excited to pick her brain and share her practice-building advice with you today!

In this interview, Amrit and I talk about:

  • Three things every acupuncturist should think about in building their business
  • The best business advice she’s ever received
  • The marketing approach that’s worked best for her in growing her following

Let’s dive in!

Did you always plan on bringing on cosmetic acupuncture in your practice? What was your inspiration?

We learned cosmetic acupuncture as part of our acupuncture program in our second year and were lucky enough that Dr. Martha Lucas came to our school to teach her Mei Zen style.

My inspiration for bringing it into my practice was when I started using it to help heal my own adult acne, which was very soon after I graduated and started practicing. When I saw the results and how quickly my acne was healing when I administered cosmetic acupuncture on myself, I realized I needed to share this!

How many patients do you typically see each week?

I treat 45-50 people per week, 5 days a week depending. I used to do 6 but changed this recently. I feel blessed to have such a busy practice.

Do you do a free consult with potential cosmetic patients before signing them up for a series of treatments?

I used to offer a free 15-minute consultation when I first started, but hardly anyone signed up for it. I think people just like to book right away online. Now if potential patients have any questions then I will answer them when I’m not at the clinic via email or phone. That way the consultations don’t interfere with appointment times.

You’ve studied cosmetic acupuncture with teachers around the world. Do you practice a combination of what you’ve learned, or focus on one particular style?

Yes, I always blend all of my education in all of my treatments. It’s like painting or art – you pull from all the techniques you learned and then do what feels right in practice. In my cosmetic acupuncture treatments, the body points are a combination of TCM and Japenese Kiiko style, usually. And I always do a HARA (abdominal) diagnosis on everyone. The facial acupuncture techniques are a combination of Japanese, Mei Zen and Amanda Shayle’s AcuRegen style. I find the best results are with a combination of it all, because it’s specified to my patient’s needs and comfort level.

Do you do any facial massage after your acupuncture treatments?

With every cosmetic acupuncture treatment, I always do some form of manual facial work, usually either facial rolling, gua sha, or facial cupping. It really helps to calm the skin afterwards and is so relaxing for patients. Most patients buy my 6babeBeauty Facial Kit which includes a facial roller and gua sha to continue with treatments at home.

I also just recently got an LED facial light and I’m really excited about incorporating this into my treatments as well.

Where did you learn your manual facial techniques (gua sha, facial cupping, etc.)?

The majority of my facial manual treatments I learned from Amanda Shayle of AcuRegen, a facial course at a beauty school here in Toronto, and most recently on a trip to Seoul, South Korea.

You recently rebranded your business to 6BabeBeauty. What inspired that name? What was the rebranding process like?

I wanted a name for the cosmetic side of my business that was more fun and relatable. In all honesty, the name just came to me one day! “The 6ix” is Toronto’s nickname, coined by Drake, and 6BabeBeauty is a place where I can have more fun and express a more creative, feminine side of things online, workshops, panels, etc.

Pink rose quartz gua sha tool and facial roller emblazoned with 6BabeBeauty logo.

You sell incredible rose quartz gua sha and facial rollers to women all over the world. What made you decide to create and sell your own products?

I wasn’t happy with what I was seeing on the current market. I found that a lot of the rollers are glued (mine are welded) and the gua sha shapes were inconsistent and felt bulky in your hand. I was also seeing a change in the quality of jade over the years as well as a lot of people appropriating the origin and history of jade in Chinese culture, just to sell something that was “cool and trendy” and that is not something I stand for. I try to be as conscientious as possible when it comes to sharing information and products that come from a culture that is not my own. That’s also why I chose rose quartz. It’s a very abundant mineral on the planet so there’s no concern of the quality dropping.

Do you think having your own branded products increases trust in your brand and increases patient numbers? That it makes potential patients see you as even more of an expert in the industry?

Hmmm, I think it makes people see how dedicated I am to high quality cosmetic acupuncture products and service. That I went to the effort of designing my own products, which isn’t easy, because I wanted to offer something of high quality to my patients that is also beautiful.

I think it’s more the education side of things and my bio that lead people to see me as an expert in this field; that I have no issue going half way across the world to find the best teachers to learn from and then that I share this knowledge with women everywhere.

What marketing methods have you used to promote the cosmetic acupuncture part of your practice?

I would say that referrals and word of mouth has always been the biggest part of getting patients in the door. Once someone is happy with their results, they share it with their ciricle and all those women want to come in as well. Instagram has been great, too. It’s such a fun way to connect with everyone and be inspired.

What has been the most effective marketing method for your practice?

You can have the best visuals and the best PR and marketing team behind you, but if your service/product is not solving any problems or meeting anyone’s needs – you will not succeed. That why for me I stress education, convenience (clinic location) and quality service above anything else. I spread these same values through my Instagram which I would say is my secondary marketing method.

Any marketing approaches that didn’t seem to work well for cosmetic acupuncture?

I’ve been lucky to have a thriving practice for some time without too much dedicated marketing. I’m in a great location in Toronto, in the financial district, where everyone has healthcare benefits from their employers which they can allocate towards acupuncture. And the location has a high concentration of people, so word of mouth has been incredibly influential. So I would say that treatment your patients with high quality and efficient service is everything for a practice.

Cosmetic acupuncture is growing rapidly and more and more students and current practitioners are focusing on it for a number of reasons. I think other than fertility it’s one of the easiest ways for anyone to start a thriving practice. There hasn’t been anything that hasn’t worked.

What’s the best business advice you’ve ever received?

If you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of others.

Do you have (or have you had in the past) a marketing/business mentor?

I’ve never had a specific business mentor per se. Everything I’ve done with my practice and success is based on the things I value, felt were right, and came down to timing. A lot of my website, branding, and products all came from my personal vision.

However, I would say that I’m very grateful for my network and people I’ve met along the way in my practice, because they have certainly given me key pieces of advice on my entrepreneurial journey.

You’ve taught practice management courses to acupuncturists in the past. What are the three most important things you used to teach your students?

Yes, I’ve taught the Practice Management course to student multiple times and I loved doing it! Now that my practice and business are so busy I’ve moved that teaching component to discussions through my Instagram account and taking one-on-one coaching clients to help acupuncturists expand their businesses. I love helping acupuncturists grow their businesses!

Three most important things:

  1. Don’t be afraid to raise your price or charge a cancellation fee. It’s really important that you stand behind and value what you’re giving.
  2. Always keep learning. Learn from teachers all over the world. Although it is a financial cost, education is always a great investment in yourself and your business.
  3. Get organized! A lot of acupuncturists fail because they aren’t prepared to do the “business” side of the work. Taxes, receipts, registrations – all of this increases frustration, brings their energy down and makes them not want to practice. I’ve seen it so often.

What can acupuncture students be doing right now to set themselves up for business success after graduation?

I think students need to have a plan and a vision. What do you want to change in the world? What kind of people do you want to help? What kind of work/life balance do you want? All of these questions are so important to ask yourself otherwise you might end up in a pain clinic when you really like fertility, all because you weren’t focused and just took the first opportunity that came your way. In America there are a lot more options than we have in Canada so getting focused is essential.

Also, be fearless!

Thank you, Amrit! I hope everyone is inspired to take their branding and business in bold new directions after reading your advice. 💚💚

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