Face Mapping: how to listen to your acne

Struggling with acne that just won’t go away? If you’ve tried everything you can think of, and still can’t get rid of those stubborn pimples, then perhaps the causes are more than skin deep.

There’s a theory held by traditional Chinese medicine called Mien Sheng that is still around today. In this view, you can infer a lot about someone’s health (and even their personality) from just looking at their face. If your skin is pale, you may need to incorporate some more iron into your diet or if you have dark circles under your eyes, you need to get some more sleep.  Besides that, each zone on the face correlates with a certain internal organ. So, when you have persistent acne that always pops up in the same places, this can be a sign of an underlying issue in some other organ in your body.

What does it mean?

• The forehead: When the bulk of your acne accumulates here, this might be linked to issues in your digestive system. If your body is not able to properly break down certain foods, this could be allowing toxins to build up. So kick out some of those greasy or fatty foods and replace it with more antioxidant rich foods and drinks like green tea and lemon infused water.
• On your cheeks: Spots that pop up here are linked to the lungs and can be caused by allergies and breathing in polluted air. If you’re a smoker or breathe in a lot of smoke, it’s a good idea to cut back on that exposure!
• Your nose: Acne here can be an indication of an imbalanced diet, or show that you’re suffering from high blood pressure or bad circulation. Keep your blood pressure stable by watching your cholesterol intake and keeping your stress levels low.
• Sides of the chin: This area is linked to your reproductive system and your kidneys. Leading up to your menstrual cycle, you may experience more breakouts here than normal. That part is pretty hard to control, but what you can do is minimize your stress. Stress causes your kidneys to do more work than necessary, so calm down, drink lots of water and eat as many vegetables as you can.

Do note, however, that there are also external factors that play a role, like touching your face regularly with dirty hands or not washing your face every night. These are just some starting points to help you figure out where your problems lie, and shouldn’t negate medical advice.

Sources: annmariegianni.com & davidwolfe.com