What Is Face Mapping & How To Read Your Skin?

Have you ever looked in the mirror and wondered why your skin always seems to break out in the exact same place?

Or, perhaps you’ve experienced the opposite—where all of a sudden your once clear skin is now showing signs of sensitivity or acne. Either way, you might be interested to learn more about the concept of ‘face mapping’.

Here’s everything you need to know about this ancient practice—as well as how to read and remedy your skin at home…

What Is Face Mapping?

Stemming from both ancient Chinese and Ayurvedic healing modalities, face mapping essentially connects different parts of the face with different organs or glands in the body. While each tradition has a slightly different take on the practice, in essence they both agree that when there is an imbalance, weakness of toxicity within the body—this can result in skin issues on a certain area of the face. In Ayurveda, skin imbalances can also reflect imbalances within our Dosha, too—emphasising the importance of taking a holistic approach when both diagnosing and treating skin problems. 

From a western perspective, this also makes sense. As our body’s largest organ, we know how our skin can tell us a lot about the state of our inner health and wellbeing so it’s important we start to pay attention to what our skin is trying to tell us.

How To Read Your Skin

Although there is some variation in terms of what areas of the face correlate with what organ—it is generally agreed that the face includes three key zones: upper, middle and lower. And, that any imbalances within our internal organs and system will reflect on our face in the form of acne, breakouts, redness, irritation or dryness.

Forehead = intestines & bladder

Issues that manifest on the forehead usually indicate bladder issues such as urinary tract infections or intestinal dysfunction—such as constipation, irritable bowel, leaky gut or poor digestion. To remedy and reverse these imbalances, it’s therefore essential to focus on your digestive wellbeing. The first step is to take a look at your plate and ensure you’re eating a well-balanced diet with lots of fibre-rich fruits and vegetables—which act as prebiotics to feed and nurture your good gut bacteria—as well as fermented foods or probiotic supplements to ensure there is a healthy balance of benefical bacteria in your gut. Kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir and LAMAV’s Ayurvedic Beauty Powder and Beauty Restore liquid are all good sources of probiotics. 

Equally important is avoiding common gut-irritants such as refined sugar, excess caffeine or alcohol, artificial sweeteners, gluten or foods that you are allergic or intolerant to. Lifestyle practices that promote improved digestive wellbeing will also help to ameliorate skin conditions that appear on the forehead—so make sure you exercise regularly, de-stress and practice mindfulness and meditation techniques to help maintain inner calm.

Between the brows = liver

If your breakouts tend to focus between your brows, this could be an indication that your liver—your body’s main elimination organ—is feeling a little sluggish and is in need of a detox. Too much alcohol, a poor diet consisting of sugary or fatty foods, or even exposure to environmental aggressors like pollution can leave your liver in need of extra TLC. To boost liver function, it’s important to drink plenty of water daily (to keep things flushing through your system!), include lots of sulfur-rich vegetables (such as cruciferous broccoli, cabbages, kale and radishes) in your diet regularly to help support your liver’s ability to process and eliminate toxins and boost your body’s stores of glutathione (the master antioxidant), and incorporate practices such as dry body-brushing which supports the body’s natural detoxification processes. 

Nose = heart

Poor circulation, blood pressure or cholesterol issues can manifest in the nose area—often as redness, rosacea or blocked pores and blackheads. To remedy these issues, it’s important to include adaptogenic herbs like ashwagandha and amla which are both shown to benefit heart health. Amla, in particular, has been studied for its ability to reduce tryglycerides and blood cholesterol. A simple way to incoporate these powerhouse ingredients in your diet is to add our inner beauty products to your routine. Both our Ayurvedic Beauty Powder and Beauty Restore liquid include our exclusive proprietary Ayurvedic Beauty Blend™ of ashwagandha, holy basil, turmeric and amla—to promote overall wellbeing, digestive health and glowing skin.

Facial massage practices such as gua sha and facial rolling can also assist with boosting circulation, helping to promote freshly oxygenated blood to flush to the skin’s surface and even out skin tone. 

Cheeks = stomach, lungs & colon

If your cheeks are congested, dry or red—it could be that your stomach, lungs and large intestine need a little extra attention. Sinus, respiratory issues or allergies can be exacerbated by exposure to pollution or smoking—so avoiding these aggressors can help to clear skin issues linked to your lungs. But any stomach or large intestine issues are more likely related to dietary factors such as poor nutrition. Support your stomach by avoiding irritating foods such as chilli or strong flavours that are likely to spike gastrointestinal distress—and as above, foster a healthy microbiome by including prebiotics, probiotics and an abundance of fibre in your diet daily.  

Jawline & Chin = kidneys & bladder

For many of us, pimples in particular like to manifest on our chin and once again, this is often due to a diet that includes too much sugar, fatty foods or excess caffeine and alcohol—which can dehydrate skin. Hormones can also play a role here so if you notice your breakouts are linked to your menstrual cycle, the first step is to check your hormone levels with your healthcare practitioner to ensure you’re not deficient in any key vitamins or minerals. But like your liver, your kidneys are one of your body’s key elimination organs, so focus on drinking plenty of water daily, get adequate sleep and focus on a nutrient-dense diet that supports effective detoxification. 

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