THE £15 HEALING                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           GRAZIA HEALTH+BEAUTY
          PATCH – FROM THE 
          ACUPUNCTURIST 
                                                                                                                                                                                          Meghan became a client  
                                                                                                                                                                                          of Ross’s (below left) when she  
          MEGHAN SWEARS BY                                                                                                                                                                lived in London
          Ross J Barr, who counts                          chimed with the duchess’s affinity with 
          the Duchess of Sussex as                         holistic therapies and yoga. 
                                                              ‘Every body has an electrical current that 
          a client, has launched a                         flows through it,’ explains Ross. ‘We weirdly 
                                                           have the same output as a combi boiler –  
          sell-out wellness range                          we generate a lot of heat and electricity. 
                                                           Acupuncture invigorates that current. It 
                                                           gives organs a kick up the arse and gets 
          WORDS ANNIE VISCHER                              them doing their job more efficiently. I see      for areas of physical pain: the back, neck, 
                                                           acupuncture as a way of fine-tuning people,       shoulders, sciatica and menstrual pain 
          ask those in the know about                      of returning people to their default settings.’   especially.’ Considering his reputation, it 
          acupuncture and Ross J Barr’s name is               Ross specialises in ‘five element’             wouldn’t have been surprising had his latest 
          inevitably dropped into conversation. His        acupuncture, an area of traditional Chinese       launch come with a hefty price tag, but Ross 
          charm and charisma are legendary, but that’s     medicine that used to be, aptly, a treatment      was adamant it be affordable. ‘Often the 
          not the only reason his waiting room is          reserved for royals. ‘Five element                people who need medicine the most are 
          packed with stylish women. He specialises        acupuncture was seen as being a bit of            those who can seldom afford it. It’s 
          in fertility and women’s wellness, and           a luxury because it concerns itself with          important for me to make these patches 
          Meghan Markle became such a fan when             people’s emotional symptoms, rather than          accessible to everyone.’
          she moved to London that Ross and his            their physical ones,’ explains Ross.                 Ross has a broad range of clients, the odd 
          wife (actor Eva Birtwhistle) were invited to        In June, he launched a range of natural        member of the royal family, yes, but many  
          the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding.        fertility supplements on online wellness          a regular Londoner too, and he has noticed 
            Ross discovered his vocation after             superstore VictoriaHealth.com, and                a common thread connecting many of 
          acupuncture helped him through a dark            followed them up last month with his              them. ‘There is something of a modern-day 
          time. ‘My dad died out of the blue when I        innovative Healing Patches, £15. These            city syndrome that is prevalent among 
          was about 20,’ he explains. ‘My mum was          proved an instant sell-out. A three-times         professionals, especially women,’ he notes. 
          always fairly holistic and she recommended       sell-out to be exact. ‘The healing patches        ‘They work long hours for disproportionate 
          that I try acupuncture. I went for my first      were something I developed in clinic with         reward, they socialise and go out, and then 
          appointment two weeks after he died and          a series of herbs. At first they were a way       there’s the pressure to exercise. After a 
          came out feeling like everything was going       for me to reach patients who I couldn’t see       couple of years, the body becomes depleted. 
          to be OK. I still see that acupuncturist         during lockdown,’ says Ross. ‘They’re great       Next there’s a period of time spent running 
          today; I saw him last week for a treatment.’                                                       on adrenaline, coupled with a greater level 
            Two decades later, Ross is one of the most                                                       of anxiety. At that point the body starts to 
          prominent acupuncturists in the UK, partly                                                         issue little warning signs, such as back ache, 
          thanks to that Markle sparkle. Not that he’ll                                                      headaches or moments of anxiety. If these        WS LICENSING
          talk about it. ‘The good thing about my job                                                        go ignored, it starts hitting us in the vanity   S/NE
          is that there’s no grey area; you can’t talk                                                       stakes. Hair starts to thin, skin becomes  
          about patients, full stop,’ he smiles. ‘It could                                                   dry or adult acne starts to flare up. That’s     , THE TIME
          be your family, my family or royalty – it’s all                                                    the one thing that gets us changing our          S
          confidential, so it’s easy to adhere to that.’                                                     behaviour. That’s when we start looking          GE
          It’s no wonder that Meghan was persuaded                                                           after ourselves.’ Sound familiar? Maybe it’s     Y IMA
                                                                                                                                                              T
          to enlist his expertise. Acupuncture works                                                         time we all took a tip out of Meghan’s book.     T
                                                                                                                                                              : GE
          with ‘qi’, the word for ‘energy flow’ in                                                           Ross J Barr Healing Patches, £15 for five,       OS
                                                                                                                                                              T
          Chinese medicine – a practice that likely                                                          available at victoriahealth.com                  HO
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