Acne - one word almost everyone hates (at least those of us who has to deal with it!) I never had acne. Never! I used to get so many compliments about my skin. It was awesome! Then, 16 rolled around... Oh, how I wish I could go back to my pre-teens and relive those care-free days. I never had major problems, but I had enough problems to where I was really embarrassed about it. It was only in certain places though. It's always been around my temples and between my eyebrows. I always wondered why, and then, one day I found this acne map!
1 & 2: Digestive System — Eat less processed or junk food, reduce the amount of fat in your diet, step up water intake and opt for cooling things like cucumbers.
3: Liver — Cut out the alcohol, greasy food and dairy. This is the zone where food allergies also show up first, so take a look at your ingredients. Besides all this, do 30 minutes of light exercise every day and get adequate sleep so your liver can rest.
4 & 5: Kidneys — Anything around the eyes (including dark circles) point to dehydration. Drink up!
6: Heart — Check your blood pressure and Vitamin B levels. Decrease the intake of spicy or pungent food, cut down on meat and get more fresh air. Besides this, look into ways to lower cholesterol, like replacing “bad fats” with “good fats” such as Omegas 3 and 6 found in nuts, avocados, fish and flax seed. Also, since this area is chock-full of dilated pores, check that your makeup is not past its expiry date or is skin-clogging.
7 & 8: Kidneys — Again, drink up! And cut down on aerated drinks, coffee and alcohol as these will cause further dehydration.
Zone 9 & 10: Respiratory system — Do you smoke? Have allergies? This is your problem area for both. If neither of these is the issue, don’t let your body overheat, eat more cooling foods, cut down on sugar and get more fresh air. Also keep the body more alkaline by avoiding foods that make the body acidic (meat, dairy, alcohol, caffeine, sugar) and adding more alkalizing foods like green veggies and wheatgrass juice. Another thing that most of forget – dirty cell phones and pillow cases are two of the top acne culprits and this area is what they affect the most!
Zone 11 & 12: Hormones — This is the signature zone for stress and hormonal changes. And while both are sometimes unavoidable, you can decrease their effect by getting adequate sleep, drinking enough water, eating leafy veggies and keeping skin scrupulously clean.
Zone 13: Stomach — Step up the fiber intake, reduce the toxin overload and drink herbal teas to help with digestion.
14: Illness — Zits here can be a sign that your body is fighting bacteria to avoid illness. Give it a break, take a yoga class, take a nap, take time to breathe deeply, drink plenty of water and know that everything always works out!
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3: Liver — Cut out the alcohol, greasy food and dairy. This is the zone where food allergies also show up first, so take a look at your ingredients. Besides all this, do 30 minutes of light exercise every day and get adequate sleep so your liver can rest.
4 & 5: Kidneys — Anything around the eyes (including dark circles) point to dehydration. Drink up!
6: Heart — Check your blood pressure and Vitamin B levels. Decrease the intake of spicy or pungent food, cut down on meat and get more fresh air. Besides this, look into ways to lower cholesterol, like replacing “bad fats” with “good fats” such as Omegas 3 and 6 found in nuts, avocados, fish and flax seed. Also, since this area is chock-full of dilated pores, check that your makeup is not past its expiry date or is skin-clogging.
7 & 8: Kidneys — Again, drink up! And cut down on aerated drinks, coffee and alcohol as these will cause further dehydration.
Zone 9 & 10: Respiratory system — Do you smoke? Have allergies? This is your problem area for both. If neither of these is the issue, don’t let your body overheat, eat more cooling foods, cut down on sugar and get more fresh air. Also keep the body more alkaline by avoiding foods that make the body acidic (meat, dairy, alcohol, caffeine, sugar) and adding more alkalizing foods like green veggies and wheatgrass juice. Another thing that most of forget – dirty cell phones and pillow cases are two of the top acne culprits and this area is what they affect the most!
Zone 11 & 12: Hormones — This is the signature zone for stress and hormonal changes. And while both are sometimes unavoidable, you can decrease their effect by getting adequate sleep, drinking enough water, eating leafy veggies and keeping skin scrupulously clean.
Zone 13: Stomach — Step up the fiber intake, reduce the toxin overload and drink herbal teas to help with digestion.
14: Illness — Zits here can be a sign that your body is fighting bacteria to avoid illness. Give it a break, take a yoga class, take a nap, take time to breathe deeply, drink plenty of water and know that everything always works out!
So, what is your skin telling you? Mine is telling me that I probably have some food allergies (which I already know) because I don't drink, so that's not the problem, and that I'm dehydrated (something else I know...) I have a major problem trying to remember to drink water! I love water, but I just don't drink enough of it!
Now, onto what I do for my acne. Every morning, I use an oil free face wash. Every night, I use the same face wash, but I also do a scrub. (I LOVE St. Ives!) After washing my face in the morning and at night, I use Deep Cleanser Formula Number 3 from Mary Kay.
Let me tell you something - after I started using this, my acne went away. Yes, I have the occasional zit every now and then, but for the most part, my face is usually zit free! It works wonders!
I hope this helps you, and I hope the acne map is as interesting and helpful to you as it is to me!
Ack! I haven't had problems with my skin in a long time (guess I haven't been a teen for a while now, haha), but the last couple months have been killer. I'm having breakouts in areas of my face that I've never had problems with before, so this is way helpful!
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