Do you ever wonder why no matter how much sleep you get, the dark circles under your eyes never seem to get any better? Or why your cheeks are flushed even in winter? Or even why you seem to get blackheads on your nose and can’t get rid of them no matter what topical creams you use? These issues are actually signs that your body is giving you, and using facial analysis, you can work out what the root cause of your dark circles and flushed cheeks and finally do something about it.
From Greek medicine to Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), facial analysis has been used as an indication of the health of the organs or to provide useful clues as to the systems involved in any health issue. In particular TCM has a detailed map of the face including lines, organ zones and colour indications. Using TCM facial analysis principles with relation to skin conditions, the map and colours of the face can help indicate the underlying causes and support the choice of treatment.
Skin conditions that affect the face such as eczema, psoriasis, rosacea and acne don’t usually affect the entire surface of the face. The affected areas are often confined to particular areas or zones so just by looking at your face you can find out more about the underlying cause of any skin condition. This technique is not confined to skin conditions. It can also be used as a tool to assess wellbeing or to improve skin tone in general.

Face - Organ Map
As a guide, go over each zone of the face and look for any changes in colour (from your normal skin tone), deep lines (that aren’t part of the normal aging process), congestion (pimples, blackheads, milia, whiteheads) or puffiness. Below is a guide to the key areas of the face and their associated organs. Included are key indications about lines and colours that provide additional information.
| Facial Zone | Organ or System |
| Forehead |
In descending order down the forehead: Bladder, Large Intestine, Small Intestine. Usually lines across the forehead reflect an imbalance. Congestion or acne in this area represents digestive congestion and possibly poor detoxification. Red and dry or flaky skin is an indication of lack of fluids in the digestive tract. |
| Between the Eyes | This is the liver zone. A red patch between the eyes is a possible indication of poor liver detoxification and even heavy metal toxicity (particularly mercury). Vertical lines in this zone indicate Liver imbalance. |
| Under the Eyes | The top of the eye and directly below the eyes is the kidney zone. Puffiness and fluid retention in this area is a sign the body is holding on to too much fluid (watery and swollen with a blue tinge) or is mucus congested (fatty and swollen with a yellow tinge). Salt intake should be monitored, as should excessive sugary drinks such as fruit juice and soft drink. To reduce mucus congestion, reduce fat and dairy consumption.Blue circles or white under the eyes indicates tiredness or even exhaustion. A yellow tinge shows the liver and gallbladder are working too hard.
Dry, flaky or red skin in the creases above the eye shows liver stress. |
| The Nose | The nose tip corresponds to the lungs while the bridge reflects the health of the stomach. Congestion in the form of blackheads usually represents poor stomach digestion and possibly low hydrochloric acid levels.If the nose is red or has broken capillaries, this usually indicates excessive intake of heating liquids including alcohol, coffee and tea. |
| The Cheeks | Represent the respiratory & circulatory systems. Pimples or congestion in this area are often the result of a high fat and mucus forming diet (simple sugar, dairy and processed foods).Pale cheeks may be a sign of low iron levels whereas overly flushed cheeks show poor circulation and the consumption of too many hot foods such as alcohol, coffee and spices and poor elimination. A greenish tinge indicates liver congestion. |
| The Mouth | Generally represents the digestive function. White or very pale lips may indicate low iron levels and poor circulation. Dry flaky skin or wrinkles can indicate dehydration.Cracks or sores in the corners of the mouth are signs of low B vitamin or iron levels. Red, hot or bleeding gums are a sign of a hot or over-acidic stomach and so animal fats, simple sugars and heating food & drink needs to be avoided. |
| The Chin | Corresponds to the kidneys and digestive system. Once again congestion in this area can be a sign of a diet high in processed foods, sugars and fats. It can also indicate unbalanced kidney function, which is usually the result of pushing the body by working too hard, stress or going beyond normal physical endurance. |
| The Jaw and under the jaw line | Often a hormonal influence, particularly if worsens in accordance with monthly cycles. Cysts rather than pimples may indicate lymphatic toxicity, which may result from medications, environmental toxins or a highly processed and sugar rich diet. |
Very interesting article, i’d love to look into this further, please can you tell me any texts that may help me
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What a fantastic, informative article! I’ve always thought that what happens on my face is an indicator of what is happening inside me, but I never thought it could be mapped like reflexology for the feet and hands. Thanks!
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What about the Spleen area? What should I do to minimise breakouts there? And what causes them? Spleen and liver are closely connected, should I do a detoc or similar?
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vitale Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 5:23 am
Hi Peach – well yes the liver and spleen are closely related but breakouts in the spleen area indicate that you need digestive support rather than detox. So avoiding cold foods, chewing properly, avoiding too much saturated fat and foods that are hard to digest (too much processed food). Also you could consider supplements such as digestive enzymes and/or Chinese herbs such as Ginseng & Astragalus combination…but it would be worthwhile seeing your health practitioner for specific advice. Ananda
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[...] to redness…the cause may be internal. I have attached a link to an article I wrote recently about Facial Diagnosis which looks at the internal causes of skin issues including red skin. The thing that makes my [...]
I would like to know if this face for use for both women and men???
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Other than the pimples, I have a hard time noticing the color of my skin because it’s brown (I’m African American). Any way this can be written for people whose skin doesn’t turn “yellow” or “green”?
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[...] http://vitaleblog.org/articles/facial-diagnosis-skin-conditions [...]
Hello
When I sleep the top half of the outside rim of my ear hurts- both ears depending on which side I am lying. Is this related to the kidneys?
Ev
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vitale Reply:
February 4th, 2010 at 7:02 am
Yes. My primary source is a Traditional Chinese Medicine text called “How to See Your Health: Book of Oriental Diagnosis” by Michio Kushi. It was published in 1980 by Japan Publications and is a specialist text for TCM students. I am not sure how widely available it is but worth finding.
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