Wondering why those pesky pimples stubbornly hold their ground? Or why your crow's feet are out of control? True beauty comes from within, according to a traditional Chinese practice known as facial diagnosis, a theory that each area of your face is linked to an internal organ.
So if your liver is lacklustre from too much bubbly or your lungs are stressed, it's written all over your face in the wrinkles, spots and sags. We spoke with Emma Hobson, education manager for the International Dermal Institute, about this unique way of analysing skin.
The chin
According to Chinese facial diagnosis, the sides of the chin represent the ovary area. "Spots on the chin can indicate hormonal fluctuation related to menstruation, but constantly reoccurring breakouts or discolouration in this area may relate to ovarian cysts," explains Hobson.
The cheeks
The cheek area is related to the lungs. "Congestion or irritation on the cheeks may be due to pollution, smoking, allergies or asthma," explains Hobson. Saggy skin on the cheeks can also indicate that your lungs are losing elasticity.
The forehead
According to Hobson, the dreaded frown line relates to the liver. "It's what we call the 'wine and dine' area," she says. "A vertical line here can indicate that your diet may be too fatty or it could suggest intolerance to dairy foods or wine." Even if you're eating a well-balanced diet and avoiding the temptation for one tipple too many, emotional issues can be the underlying cause of a deep crease between the brows. "The liver is an organ that holds anger, so sometimes a deep frown line is found on people who suppress their anger or get angry quickly," says Hobson.
The eyes
While squinting and smiling contribute to crow's feet, Hobson says feather-like lines around the eyes can also be related to stress allergies. Bags and dark circles under the eyes are also a common beauty complaint, but they're not necessarily a result of late nights or too much partying.
"If you have hard bags under the eyes, it can be a sign that your kidney stores too much fat from your diet, while soft bags under the eyes show that your kidney is not efficiently dealing with water," explains Hobson. When it comes to dark circles, Hobson says it's wise to look closely at the colour — if it's brown, it can be a sign of liver imbalance, but if it's black it can be related to a kidney imbalance.
The solution
So how do you fix such longstanding beauty woes? Try having regular facials — Dermalogica practitioners are trained to identify the underlying issues of skin imbalances and design a skincare program to target individual concerns. However, beauty isn't just skin deep, so spots and lines also respond well to acupuncture, moxibustion , acupressure and reflexology. "They all work on balancing chi in the body and healthy chi energy equates to a healthy person," says Hobson.
