Chinese Herbal Medicine

Chinese herbal medicine at CorePoint is not a product line. It is part of acupuncture care. The herbal consultation happens inside your initial acupuncture appointment, which is one hour and costs $220, with Dr. Tina Navarifar, who earned her Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine degree from SCU Health Sciences in 2024.

There is no separate herbal appointment to book and no shelf of bottles sold without an assessment. In Chinese medicine, herbs work more like a prescription than a supplement: a formula is matched to your specific pattern, and prescribing one without a proper evaluation would be guesswork.

Why herbs live inside the acupuncture visit

The assessment that guides acupuncture is the same one that guides herbs. During your initial acupuncture hour, Dr. Navarifar takes a detailed history, examines your tongue, and feels the pulse at both wrists. Those findings determine both where the needles go and whether an herbal formula would help.

So the herbal consultation is simply part of that $220 hour. If a formula makes sense for your case, she will recommend one and explain it. If herbs are not appropriate for you, none will be recommended, and the visit costs exactly the same either way. Herbs are never the price of admission.

What a formula actually is

A Chinese herbal formula is rarely a single herb. Most are combinations of several herbs, built on classical formulas that have been used and refined for centuries, then adjusted to fit the individual patient. Two people with the same Western diagnosis can walk out with different formulas because their underlying patterns differ.

Depending on the formula, herbs may come as granules you dissolve in hot water, as capsules, or as teas. Fair warning on taste: many traditional formulas are bitter and earthy, closer to strong forest tea than to anything sweetened. Most people get used to it within a week. Some never stop making a face, and take them anyway.

What herbs are commonly used for here

Dr. Navarifar's practice has a particular focus on women's reproductive health, and herbal formulas are commonly used alongside acupuncture to support menstrual health and hormonal balance. Patients also ask about herbs for sleep, stress, and digestion, all traditional strengths of the system.

The honest caveat belongs right next to that list. Chinese herbal medicine carries a very long tradition, but modern research on it is mixed and varies widely in quality. Expect measured language rather than miracle language: a considered recommendation, the reasoning behind it, and a clinician who watches how you actually respond.

Safety, taken seriously

Herbs are pharmacologically active. That is the entire point of taking them, and it is also why they deserve the same respect as medication. Some herbs can interact with prescription drugs, which is one reason doctorate level training in Chinese herbal medicine matters and why the consultation is not optional.

Bring a complete list of everything you take: prescriptions, over the counter medicines, and supplements. And a rule the clinic will state plainly: herbs at CorePoint are used alongside conventional medical care, never as a replacement for it. Do not stop a prescribed medication in favor of an herbal formula, and expect Dr. Navarifar to say exactly that if the subject comes up.

What the herbs cost

The consultation itself is included in the $220 initial acupuncture appointment. The herbs are a separate, ongoing cost, because formulas are typically taken daily for a period of weeks and then reviewed.

You receive your formula from Dr. Navarifar directly rather than a prescription to fill somewhere else, and it is charged per formula. No single figure can be published here honestly, because the price follows what is actually in the formula, and that is decided by your case rather than by a menu.

Before you commit to any formula, Dr. Navarifar will tell you what it costs and roughly how long you would take it before the two of you reassess. You decide with the numbers in front of you, the same plain dealing that puts every visit price on this website.

What ongoing herbal care looks like

Formulas are not meant to be static. At follow-up acupuncture visits, which are 45 minutes and $185, Dr. Navarifar checks how you are responding and adjusts or retires the formula as your situation changes. When a formula has done its job, the right move is to stop it, and she will say so.

That review rhythm is the practical advantage of getting herbs from the clinician who also treats you, rather than from an internet cart. The person adjusting your formula is the same person who saw your tongue, felt your pulse, and heard the whole story.

Getting started

If you are interested in herbs, book the Initial Acupuncture Appointment, which is one hour and $220, and mention herbs when you book so the time is used well. The clinic is at 25411 Cabot Road, Suite 204, Laguna Hills, CA 92653, and asks for 24 hours of notice for cancellations.

Set the appointment up from the booking page, or arrange it over the phone at (949) 377-4707. If you only have a question about whether herbs fit your situation, ask it before you book anything.