With the state of the economy still in an impasse — a sentiment underscored by opinion columns with headlines like a recent one in the Financial Times that read “The US may no longer avoid a recession” — we continue to clutch our dollars.

Collectively, the bulk of our spending still continues to go toward the necessities of daily living: food, toiletries, transportation and gas, and housing and utilities. That’s not to say we’re not also spending where we can on self care (because generally, we are), but who hasn’t reduced costs in that area just a bit?

In many cases, spa days out have turned into spa days in, where we take advantage of Amazon Prime’s two-day delivery for the budget products, tools, and devices that keep us looking and feeling our best….for less.

Ear seeds, acupuncture’s close cousin

If you’re one of those people looking to cut expenses and are still getting out-of-home acupuncture treatments, we’d like to suggest an alternative: acupressure through ear seeds.

Acupressure is acupuncture’s non-invasive cousin. While acupuncture uses fine needles to puncture the skin for various treatments, acupressure uses different tools to apply pressure. At My Ear Seeds, we sell tools for auricular acupressure (meaning “of the ear”): ear seeds!

Ear seeds are tiny beads or pellets that attach to the ear with a small adhesive sticker. Ear seeds by themselves apply a light pressure, but when placed on specific acupoints of the ear, they indicate where throughout the day you need to press on your ears to stimulate those acupoints even more.

Ear seeds as a cheaper alternative to acupressure

Are ear seeds expensive? The answer is typically no. In fact, that’s one of the perks of using ear seeds. You can buy them online for cheap (we sell them here!) and, with some practice, apply them to your own ears to help with dozens of different conditions and symptoms. With ear seeds, you can apply them in less than five minutes, on your own schedule, and conveniently from the comfort of your home.

This is in contrast to acupuncture, where you must go to a trained practitioner and pay not only for the use of the products, but for the acupuncturist’s time and experience in his or her craft as well.

Don’t get us wrong — we love acupuncture and our friends who are acupuncturists. And if you can afford it, are seeing positive results, enjoy your sessions, trust your acupuncturist, or any other good reason to continue acupuncture, by all means continue the good thing you’ve got going.

But if you’re finding that you might need to drop your acupuncture sessions, consider the DIY, cheaper alternative that is ear seeds (also known as “acupressure on a budget”).

Are ear seeds expensive? You decide

At the time of writing this, we have some of the cheapest ear seeds on the market. Because we currently don’t have all the bells and whistles in terms of packaging that our competitors have, we’re able to keep costs relatively low and send you just the essentials.

So when you receive your ear seeds, they’ll be in a small, simple envelope along with any other acupressure accessories that are part of the kit you bought (or as add-ons). This could include tweezers, alcohol wipes, and a card with instructions.

As of Fall 2023, here are some price points in our ear seeds store (prices are subject to change and may have done so if you read this at a later date):

My First Ear Seeds Kit: $26.00
My Ear Seeds Refill Kit: $36.00
My Ear Seeds Self Care Kit: $75.00 (includes a virtual ear seeds consultation)

These prices don’t include a few extra bucks for tax and shipping and handling, but beyond that, what you see is what you get. Acupressure on a budget is really hard to pass up when the minimum cost for an acupuncture appointment might be $75 and, on the higher end, upwards of $1,200 or more.

We care about democratizing auriculotherapy

Auriculotherapy is ear therapy that encompasses modalities like acupressure and acupuncture both. As you may have seen on our homepage, our mission at My Ear Seeds is “every ear seeded.”

Of course we always have to caveat that with the fact that there are some exceptions. Those exceptions aside, however, we are huge advocates of democratizing auriculotherapy, meaning giving more people the education and access to using ear seeds on themselves and their loved ones.

The other day we were talking to someone about a potential My Ear Seeds partnership, and this person said, “I use the ear seeds on my family. If they can help us avoid a trip to urgent care, it’s well worth it.”

Now, we don’t recommend foregoing a visit to urgent care when you need it, but ear seeds will always be our favorite complementary therapy. They’re evidence-based, easily and widely accessible, and safe with only rare and temporary side effects, according to a systematic review.

And as we’ve discussed, are ear seeds expensive? Quite the opposite.

On a really tight budget? Go in with a friend

One way to help your acupressure allowance go even further is to split a virtual consultation with a friend. Instead of paying the full price, you could split the 30 minutes between the two of you and each pay half the price.

Keep in mind that, with a friend, the session will still only last for half an hour unless you purchase more time. This could be a good introductory session, though, to allow you (and your friend) to learn more about the seeds and each get tips, pointers, and guides on where to place the ear seeds for a condition you’re trying to resolve.

To sum it up

If you’re in a penny pinching phase and don’t want to give up acupuncture or acupressure, consider a DIY alternative, even if just for a season. Ear seeds are considered “acupressure on a budget” because you can apply them yourself, and for much cheaper than an acupuncture session.

Try ear seeds for yourself, and enjoy the financial savings.

Happy seeding!