Look closely and those little gold ear seeds you see all over Instagram might actually be more than just jewelry.
Amongst huggies and hoops, tiny gold ear seeds are becoming more and more mainstream. Not only do the simple stick-on decorations look the part, but they’re purported to deliver a multitude of holistic health benefits, too.
Thanks to the stress and anxiety experienced during the global pandemic, ear seeds seem to be more popular than ever before.
While it’s easy to dismiss their cute appearance as just the latest wellness fad, ear seeds have actually been around for decades. With the premise rooted in traditional Chinese medicine, the vaccaria flower seed is a form of auriculotherapy - a branch of alternative medicine based on the idea that the ear is a mini map of everything else that’s going on in the body. The seeds are covered in 24-karat gold and sometimes embellished with crystal.
When applied, the seeds serve as acupressure- acupuncture’s painless and non-invasive cousin. The goal of ear seeds is to stimulate specific points within the ear to open the flow of chi, a life force energy.
While scientific research into the validity of it is still limited, those who swear by ear seeds purport that they help with physical conditions such as: chronic pain, digestion, circulation and migraines. Some claim the seed helped with mental health issues like: depression, insomnia, anxiety, and stress. Others have even turned to ear seeds to help with things like infertility and weight management.
Typically, a kit will contain a map of the ear, illustrating which body parts correlate with certain parts of the ear. If you’re curious, see here for an example.
Mona Dan, founder of Instagram’s popular acupuncture clinic, Vie Healing in West Hollywood, recently explained that there’s no ‘wrong’ way to apply them — medical experts warn, the real danger of the seeds are that they can fall into the ear, so make sure you press them on extra hard!
Dan instructs her clients to wipe the ear clean to remove oil/dirt, then use tweezers to attach the adhesive, latex-free seeds in the desired spots. This video demonstrates the method if you need a visual guide. The ear seeds can be left on or for 2-5 days (showering, sleeping and working out are fine), but only apply to one ear at a time.
There are over 200 points in the ear which target everything from your tonsils to your toes, leaving no limitations to the amount of ways you can utilize the gold ear seeds. Dan also states that the seeds begin working in as little as five minutes.
Looking for a good place to start? Consider sticking one seed at the Shen Men point, aka the powerful ‘heavenly gate’ or master point in the body.
For more information, visit Vie Healing’s informative guide.
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