What is your complexion telling you? Learn to read your skin

Dealing with a sudden breakout? You’ve awoken to a chin full of pesky pimples? Or your skin of yesteryear is suddenly looking dull, dry and lacking in life?
Whatever your “skin” nemesis, it’s your bodies way of trying to tell you something is wrong and we are here to tell you what!
Like reflexology, areas of the face can help give us information about what's going on in our body, making our skin one of the greatest mirrors to inner imbalances! We call this Face Mapping.
It’s not new, we know, in fact it’s been around for centuries, but it’s the best method of understanding which areas of your face connect to an organ or body part and what you can treat internally for the best external results! Clever stuff.
Here’s an easy-to-follow face map we at Beauty Collective use, which will help you determine why your skin might be “acting up”.

FOREHEAD – DIGESTION

Remedy;

• Avoid processed foods and opt for fresher natural alternatives including raw veggies
• Try to cut down on sugar
• Increase fibre intake
• Chew food well to improve digestion
• Eliminate alcohol or drink less
• Drink plenty of water
• Take probiotics
• Practice some form of exercise every day, fresh air is particularly beneficial and Yin Yoga is GREAT

BETWEEN THE BROWS – LIVER

Remedy;

• Eliminate alcohol or drink less
• Avoid greasy food and reduce dairy intake which all put a strain on the liver.
• Drink plenty of water to cleanse the system
• Get plenty of fresh air
• Avoid eating late at night and keep food lean and clean
• Rest up, like you, your liver needs plenty of time to rest and recuperate

TEMPLES – KIDNEYS

Remedy;

• Anything around the eyes (including dark circles) point to dehydration. Flush the system and rehydrate with plenty of fluids (think water and hydrolytes!)
• Cut down on soft drinks, coffee and alcohol as these will cause dehydration!
• Cooling food like cucumbers and melon are ideal for your diet
• Cut down on salt intake

UNDER THE EYES/CHEEKS – RESPIRATORY

Do you smoke? Have allergies? Or are you suffering from a bronchial cold or asthma? This area is affected by the lungs.
Remedy;

• Keep your body cool and don’t let it overheat
• Eat more cooling food and get more fresh air.
• Keep the body more alkaline by avoiding foods that make the body acidic (think meat, dairy, alcohol, caffeine, sugar – all the good things for you-not!)
• Add a lot more alkaline foods to your diet like green leafy veggies.

JAW LINE – HORMONES

Remedy;

• This is the 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.
• Breakouts in this area also indicate when you are ovulating (and on which side).

NOSE – HEART

Remedy;

• This area can indicate high blood pressure so get your blood pressure checked
• You also might have a Vitamin B deficiency so consider a vitamin supplement.
• Try to avoid too much spicy food and cut down on meat intake.
• 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
• Indulge in green tea!
• Massage the area around your nose to improve circulation
• Make sure you get plenty of fresh air where possible.

CHIN - STOMACH

Remedy;

• Step up the fibre intake
• Reduce the toxin overload and drink herbal teas to help with digestion.
• Don’t eat before bed, try to eat dinner earlier.
• Avoid hydrogenated fats and processed sugar
• Reduce stress as much as possible – we recommend practising yoga or meditation

While this is a very useful guide and will definitely provide you with some answers to your complexion woes, do remember not to take it as gospel. Just because you break out between the brows doesn’t necessarily mean you have a bad liver!