If the eyes are the window to the soul, think of your face as a window to your health. “Acne face mapping splits the face into zones that correspond with specific medical or lifestyle triggers,” explains Claire Chang, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City. “It stems from ancient Eastern medicine, suggesting that a person’s skin may be a reflection of their inner health. Bodily imbalance was thought to trigger breakouts in the skin, with specific areas of the face representing specific organs. In recent times, modern face mapping has evolved to include more scientific and evidence-based causes of acne breakouts.” Intrigued? Us, too. However, you should take the practice with a grain of salt. According to Dr. Chang, face mapping may help pinpoint possible triggers, but it is nowhere near a universal rule that works for everyone. “Face mapping can be used as one tool in our toolbox in diagnosing and treating acne but should not be considered foolproof. Rather, we need to take the patient as a whole into consideration. Genetics, hormones, diet, lifestyle, and environmental triggers also play a key role.” If you do find your breakouts always appearing on the exact same spot on your face, we’ve put together the most modern acne map guide by merging the best of Eastern medicine with dermatologist-confirmed statistics. Keep scrolling to learn how to best diagnose your spots based on location. If you have bangs or naturally oily hair, you may also want to avoid thick hair oils and wash your hair more frequently. According to Dr. Chang, dirty hair could exacerbate the sweat and oil clogging the pores, thus worsening acne breakouts on the forehead. Wearing caps or hats that cover your head can also trap bacteria in the area, triggering breakouts. On the other hand, Dr. Chang notes you may also want to look at possible environmental triggers in your lifestyle, including dirty pillowcases, bed sheets, and cell phone cases. Lots of things come into contact with your cheeks every day, so cleaning the items around you can help reduce new pimples from cropping up. Try your best to maintain a regular sleep schedule and healthy diet to assuage capricious hormones, but if you continue experiencing chin acne, you may want to consult your dermatologist and gynecologist and see if birth control or spironolactone could help. If you find most of your pimples clustered around the rim of your head, it’s best to stop using oil-based hair products and switch to non-comedogenic alternatives, including shampoos and conditioners. We recommend SEEN’s fragrance-free haircare line ($50, seen.com), developed by a dermatologist and free of anything that could clog pores—like sulfates, silicones, phthalates, parabens, dye, or gluten. In Chinese face mapping, nose acne has also been linked to the liver and kidney, so it may be worth double-checking with your doctor to see if you have high blood pressure or liver dysfunction. If you suspect that’s the case, try cutting back on those after-work happy hours and consumption of overly spicy dishes—sorry, Sriracha enthusiasts. RELATED: 5 Common Foods That Affect Acne–and 4 That Don’t
