Face Mapping: Find Out What Your Breakouts Actually Mean!

If you have acne, then you know how disheartening it can be. Sometimes, it feels like no matter what you do, or how many products you try, your breakouts just don’t go away! What you may not know is that your breakouts actually mean something, and where you get the most blemishes will tell you what you need to change. 

This is called face mapping, and it can help you understand your breakouts, and work towards banishing them forever! This guide will tell you all about face mapping, what your breakouts mean, and what kind of acne you have.  

What is face mapping?

Face mapping is a concept that explains why you get your acne flare ups. Face mapping is the process of understanding the body’s organs, and environmental factors that can have an effect on your skin. 

Face mapping has been utilized for centuries to understand why the face can break out, become discolored or a little lacklustre, and was traditionally a Chinese medical practice. However, people all around the world are using this technique to understand that where on the face you are breaking out, is a reflection of what is happening inside your body. 

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that a toxicity or weakness in an organ in the body can result in acne developing in certain parts of the skin. This can help you refine your search, find the root of the issue, and treat it. 

Where is your breakout?

The first thing you will need to do is locate where most of your breakouts happen. Finding this out is the most important step in face mapping. Once you know which part of the face seems to be the most inflamed or the problem area, you can use this guide to see what your breakouts really mean!

Cheeks:

Cheeks are a common place to find spots. The most common aggravator of cheek acne is environmental factors such as polluted air. For instance, if you live in the city, or spend a lot of time in traffic every day, then you are probably coming into close contact with polluted air too much. This will have an effect on your skin, as the pollution and bacteria is causing cheek breakouts. 

Other people may find that too much sugar in the diet can cause breakouts on the cheeks. If you think that this applies to you, then try cutting back for a few days and see if your skin improves at all. 

In other cases, allergies can cause breakouts on the cheeks. For instance, a dirty phone screen or pillowcase used against the cheek can transfer bacteria and grime to the face, which will also cause acne. 

If the cheeks are your biggest problem, then try to remember to cleanse the face really well before bed to get rid of dirt, grime and dead skin cells after a long day. In addition, if you are always in the city, then try to wear protective face products that will prevent further damage. 

Forehead:

If you have pimples and spots on the forehead a lot, then it may be a problem in the digestive system. Frequent pimples on the forehead can be a sign that you are having a little trouble breaking down certain foods in your diet. In addition, spots in this area can indicate toxins in the liver, an irregular sleeping pattern, or stress.

If this sounds like it could be your problem, then try adding items into your diet that can help break down food such as papaya, which is full of digestive enzymes like bromelain. In addition, you will want to ensure that you are getting enough quality sleep, and you flush out any toxins that may be in your body. Try drinking hot lemon with water in the morning to refresh and rejuvenate your body. 

Between the Brows:

If you get breakouts between the brows, then it may be time to change your diet. Breakouts between the eyebrows typically mean that you have had greasy food in your diet. If you had a burger and fries yesterday, you’re probably going to break out today! Foods with a lot of grease and fat in them can make your sebaceous gland produce more oil, which can clog up the pores and cause acne and breakouts. 

Another common cause of acne between the eyebrows is too much alcohol. If you had a night on the town, and a fast food meal afterwards, you can almost guarantee a few spots the next day! 

Chin:

Chin pimples usually develop due to a hormone imbalance. This typically happens around your time of the month, as your hormones are fluctuating. Usually, you may find that a few days running up to your period, you will start to break out more. This is kind of unavoidable, but make sure that you keep on top of your skincare and cleansing routine just in case.

In addition, chin spots can be caused by excessive touching of the face. If you find that you lean, or rest your chin on your hands all day, you may be transferring oils and debris from your hands onto your face, causing spots to appear. 

When did you break out?

In addition to where you are breaking out, when you break out can also help you understand why this is happening. 

In the morning

If your breakouts seem to appear in the morning, and they were not there the night before, then this could signify that you have not washed your face before bed, or not well enough. In addition, it could be that you ate something last night that was greasy, or hard to digest, which has caused you to break out this morning. 

In the afternoon

If spots seem to appear in the afternoon sometime, then it could be a hormone imbalance. If you find that you are near your menstrual period, then spots can pop up left, right and center all day long. 

On the other hand, spots appearing in the middle of the day could be because of what is on your skin. For instance, if you have had makeup on all day, clogging up your pores, then it may be causing spots. 

If you started out the day with a clean face, and good skincare routine, and you see spots appear in the afternoon after wearing makeup, then there could be ingredients in your skincare and makeup products that simply do not agree with you. Try changing up the products or checking for any ingredients that could be blocking the pores or increasing oil production. 

Evening time

If you have had makeup on all day, or you have not washed your face since the morning, the build up of grime, bacteria and dirt can cause breakouts in the evening. Wash that face ASAP! 

What kind of breakout is it?

What the spots look like can also help you understand what is causing them. 

Clogged pores and blackheads

This may indicate liver problems, so make sure that you are drinking plenty of water, and try a detox diet to flush out toxins.

Acne

Frequent acne could be caused by products that your skin does not like. Try to check ingredients that could be the root of the problem.

Cystic acne

This can be connected to hormonal problems such as PMS or menopause, but it can also be due to digestive problems. Try including more probiotics in your diet and see if there is a difference in your skin! 

Occasional breakout

If you do not really get spots often, the occasional spot is usually due to stress or anxiety. This is why spots always show up before a big day or big event, it is probably because you are worried about it!