Article: What Your Pimples Tell You

I've been getting blackheads on the same spot for a long time. I even got a pimple in my ear, which is like the weirdest location to have one. Caught a Chinese health-related show and it was talking about reading your face to know your health status so if you notice new age spots, pimples, change in colour at that part of the face, something is wrong with the organs related to that area.

Apparently, I'm having some problems with my digestive system, that's why I'm been breaking out in my ear and right cheek. Decided to look it up and here's an article I found.

Image mapping for the left and right cheek is wrong. Just refer to the text to avoid confusion.





Acne is a problem that seems to come with the arrival of summer. In summer, many people find red pimples popping up on their face. TCM recommends adjusting imbalanced energy inside instead of squeezing. The pimples, sometimes, may suggest organ problems that need treatment.

Though acne is called 青春痘 (teenage spots) in Chinese, it can also affect older people. Acne pimples are caused by an excess of oil rising through pores to the skin's surface, especially in the T-zone - the forehead, nose and chin.

Increasing levels of androgen, the male sex hormone, cause the sebaceous glands to enlarge and make more sebum (fat, keratin and cellular material).If the excess sebum can't be excreted through the pores, it blocks them together with dead skin cells and results in acne pimples.

Long-term psychological stress causes endocrine disorder and increases androgen levels, thus leading to excess sebum. Sunshine, hot and wet weather will also make the sebaceous glands produce more sebum.

"Skin conditions are not as superficial as they may seem. All are caused by toxins and imbalanced energy inside your body," says Dr Li Bin, chief physician of the Dermatology Department of the Shanghai Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine.

"Take acne for example. When imbalanced energies can't pass through the body freely as they used to, they collect and become toxins inside, resulting in acne on the face," Dr Li adds.

TCM usually attributes acne to pathogenic heat gathered inside. There are two kinds of pathogenic heat in the body according to TCM - excess heat and a deficiency of heat.

Both are caused by imbalanced yin and yang energy inside. Excess heat is caused by excessive yang energy while deficiency heat is caused by deficient yin energy.

Hormonal changes in teenagers can be a trigger for increasing yang energy while fatigue and psychological stress usually result in deficient yin energy. Most teenage sufferers are bothered with excess heat syndrome while grown-up patients usually have deficiency heat problems.

Therefore, apart from eating foods that help dispelling pathogenic heat such as mung beans and chrysanthemum, having enough sleep and keeping a good mood are also important for adults with acne problems. Regular bowel movements can also help relieve the acne problem by dispelling the toxins, according to Dr Li.

As for the external treatment, Dr Li suggests that washing the face gently twice or three times a day with warm water is enough. Washing too frequently, especially scrubbing, will aggravate the problem, and squeezing pimples could worsen the inflammation and infection, resulting in scars and enlarged pores.

Generally, Dr Li recommends "cold" and "cool" foods such as cucumber and mung beans to help dispel the pathogenic heat inside; fried, fatty, spicy foods and "hot" foods should be eliminated from the diet.

Sometimes the location of acne suggests imbalanced energy in certain organs. Adjusting the condition of the organs by shifting to a healthy lifestyle and certain treatment can also help relieve facial pimples.


Acne location and related possible problems
Location: Forehead
Possible problem: Heart and small intestine
Suggestion: Eat heat-dispelling foods such as lotus seeds soup to get rid of heat in the heart; have enough sleep, control your temper and maintain a good mood.

Location: Between the eyebrows
Possible problem: Heart
Suggestion: Avoid intense physical exercise and over-fatigue; maintain a good mood.

Location: Tail of brows
Possible problem: Gallbladder
Suggestion: Eat less greasy foods and have more heat-dispelling foods such as bitter cucumber.

Location: Nose
Possible problem: Stomach and digestive system
Suggestion: Eat less "hot" foods and more plain foods that can help dispel pathogenic heat such as green beans.

Location: Bridge of nose
Possible problem: Spinal column
Suggestion: Don't sit for too long; stretch your body often.

Location: Side of the nose wings and between the nose and mouth
Possible problem: Reproductive system
Suggestion: Check and treat the problem such as regulating menstrual period.

Location: Right cheek
Possible problem: Lungs and large intestine
Suggestion: Eat more foods that help nourish the lungs such as pear and white fungus; eat less seafood, tropical fruits and drink less alcohol.

Location: Left cheek
Possible problem: Liver and gallbladder
Suggestion: Eat less greasy foods and have more vegetables and fruit and have enough sleep.

Location: Corner of mouth
Possible problem: Intestines
Suggestion: Eat less "hot" foods and move bowels regularly.

Location: Chin
Possible problem: Kidney and internal secretion
Suggestion: Eat more plain foods than stimulating foods like spicy, fried or greasy ones. Take enough rest.


(Shanghai Daily August 4, 2009)

Source: Not linking it because it's a China site and I don't know if it's 'safe'.

For in depth TCM discussion on face charts: link

Skincare Tips: Removing Blackheads/Whiteheads

Here's my skincare tip on how I remove my blackheads/whiteheads. This is also done to deep cleanse the skin.

I use these 2 products: St Ives Mineral Clay Firming Mask and Daiso's Charcoal Mask.

From left: Daiso's Charcoal Mask, St Ives Mineral Clay Firming Mask

St. Ives Mineral Clay Firming Mask is a kaolin clay mask with deep cleansing properties. It also helps to firm and tighten the skin while cleaning. I've looked it up and found it in another packaging. I'm assuming that's the new packaging so here's the pictures of it.





Daiso Charcoal Mask is just a peel-off charcoal mask. Charcoal is also good at absorbing oil and dirt from the skin. Here's a clearer picture. It comes with a Chinese character "charcoal" and a distinct sticker with a girl spotting a black mask. The sticker is crucial for identifying whether it's a mask or a cleanser since it's not that easy to distinguish between the two (unless you know how to read Japanese).




1. Make sure your face is properly cleansed. Always use a cleanser to wash your face before masking because you don't want any more dirt to fall into your pores instead. Pat your face dry.

2. Squeeze a small amount of St. Ives Mineral Clay Firming Mask onto your dry hands. Your hands must be dry because you don't really want to dilute the clay mask. Spread it over your face in a thin layer but yet thick enough that it's opaque minty green on the face. Squeeze more and add if it's not enough. Wait for 5-10 minutes for it to dry when you're done. This mask dries rather fast and you can feel the mask firming up on the face.

3. When the clay mask has dried up, wash it off with warm water. Warm water helps in removing the clay faster. Tap water is fine for me but you just have to be more thorough in washing everything off. After washing, pat your skin dry. You can see some of the whiteheads/blackheads surfacing to the top since the kaolin clay brings the impurities to the surface of your skin.

4. Next, squeeze a generous amount of Daiso Charcoal Mask. You have to be more generous with this because if there's not enough, the mask couldn't be peeled off in one piece. Spread it over the area you want then try to thin it out while making sure it's still opaque black. You don't want this to be over thick too because this mask takes ages to dry. Wait for 30 minutes to an hour for it to be dried completely. To speed up the drying process, I would recommend you to sit in front of a fan. It speeds up the drying process a lot.

5. When the charcoal mask has dried up, start peeling off the sides of the mask. I would usually start from the bottom and go upwards. Slowly peel everything off. You will see all sorts of whiteheads/blackheads or even tiny facial hair stuck on the underside of the peeled mask.

6. After peeling the charcoal mask, use a gentle cleanser again to wash your face. You can skip this step if you feel the 2 masks have over dried your face. I usually do this because bits and pieces of the Daiso Charcoal still get stuck on my face. It is quite hard to get it all off with just water.

7. After masking and all that extraction, your pores are now open. Pat your face with a toner. Perhaps a toner with witch hazel or orange oil as they help to minimise your pores. If you don't want to invest in a toner, just splash icy cold water will do.

8. Follow up with your normal skincare routine by using moisturiser, essence etc.


I've been using this method ever since I learnt this from other forumers. I really find that the 2 masks work well together. You don't have to buy the exact brand. For clay mask, you can try Queene Helene Mint Julep Masque or you can just try purchasing kaolin clay in powder form to DIY your own mask. For the charcoal peel off mask, you can substitute with any charcoal or mud mask.

You don't have to apply it on the entire face. You can just use it on problematic spots prone to blackheads/whiteheads. At times, when I'm lazy, I'll just apply it to my acne prone area. The clay mask alone helps in bringing the pus (in pimples) to the surface and also dries up the pimple. I use it as a form of acne treatment since it's deep cleansing that area. Of course if there's any open wound, it's best to avoid masking.

You can do this mask once every week.