What to know about acupuncture-adjacent ear seeds and how they work

Ever wonder what ear seeds are all about? Watch the video to find out, here.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever done a double take while admiring someone’s earrings only to notice that they’re not studs but ear seeds. These almost earrings have been adorning the ears of wellness enthusiasts and acupuncture acolytes lately—but what the heck are they, exactly?

In our latest episode of What the Wellness, Well+Good’s YouTube series in which we investigate the most out-there treatments in the wellness world to find out if they’re worth it (subscribe if you haven’t yet), senior video producer Ella Dove experiences the ear seeding trend for herself during a visit to Vie Healing spa in Los Angeles. Although they look like teeny-tiny gold studs, ear seeds are actually seeds (or sometimes they’re metal balls) that are strategically placed on pressure points within the ear, and they’re meant to help you relax and chill out.

“We place [ear seeds] on pressure points that send signals to the reflex centers of the brain to relax the nervous system,” says Mona Dan, acupuncturist and founder of Vie Healing. Dan then applies the seeds to Dove’s ear (the spa sells gold ones for $34 per 20-pack). And then Dove tries it for herself on her other ear, placing them on five key areas that Dan says they can help the body find balance. Watch the full video to see how easy it is to apply ear seeds yourself, and whether Dove feels like a rejuvenated new woman once her ears are decked out.

For more What the Wellness episodes, check out what it’s like to try another old-school holistic treatment: moxa. Also: Does hypnotherapy work? Dove investigates.