Let’s examine your skin issues from the inside out.

Troublesome acne, sagging, and other skin issues may actually be your body’s SOS signals.

Be sure to catch these signals and aim for beautiful skin!

 

 

When it comes to skincare, internal care accounts for 60-70% of the process. This belief is shared not only in traditional Eastan medicine but also in the skincare world. By incorporating necessary nutrients into your body and eliminating unnecessary ones, you can achieve more efficient overall effects. Therefore, revising your diet is highly recommended.

First, when you’re unwell, your complexion often changes from the usual.

By observing the color of your complexion during this time, you can determine which part of your body might be fatigued.

 

1. If your complexion appears dark or bluish, your liver may be fatigued.

This happens because a decrease in liver function impairs the body’s ability to effectively break down toxins. As a result, dirty, dark blood circulates throughout the body, causing the complexion to appear bluish or dark.

In addition to excessive alcohol consumption, lack of sleep can also be a cause.

Recommended foods include green vegetables, particularly leafy greens like broccoli, which is rich in vitamins.

Other beneficial foods are liver, hijiki seaweed, clams, shijimi clams, chicken, and jellyfish.

For cooking oils, sesame oil is a good choice.

Additionally, sour foods can support liver function.

Incorporate lemon, vinegar, goji berries, and umeboshi (pickled plums) into your diet when you feel fatigued.

 

 

2. If your complexion appears red, your heart may be fatigued.

Just as real fire rises upwards, a similar effect occurs in the human body, causing the face to become flushed or red.

Recommended foods include red-colored items: Red bell peppers, tomatoes, carrots, watermelon, purple onions, eggplant, and figs.

When feeling fatigued, bitter green tea and bitter melon (goya) are also recommended.

 

 

3. If your complexion appears yellow or earthy, your digestive system may be fatigued.

When digestive function declines, your body has difficulty absorbing nutrients effectively. This can lead to a condition known as blood deficiency, causing your complexion to appear yellowish or earthy.

Recommended foods include yellow-colored items: Pumpkin, sweet potatoes, mandarins, corn, seafood, shiitake mushrooms, winter melon, cabbage, pineapple, and bananas.

Additionally, foods that help build blood, such as carrots, liver, and beef, are also recommended.

For digestive issues, consider sour foods like vinegar, lemon, and onions (but avoid these if you experience stomach acid pain).

Sweet flavors are beneficial as well, but opt for natural sources such as vegetables, fruits, honey, and malt syrup rather than artificial sweeteners.

 

 

4. If your complexion appears pale or white, your lungs may be fatigued.

Skin dryness, rashes, and a sore throat can indicate reduced respiratory function or a lack of blood, which can lead to a poor complexion. In this case, both blood and body fluids are deficient, causing a different complexion compared to digestive issues.

Recommended foods include white-colored items: Milk, tofu, enoki mushrooms, daikon radish, turnips, cauliflower, garlic, Chinese yam, white leeks, potatoes, apples, and pears.

Also, to protect the body from dryness, consider honey, olive oil, strawberries, asparagus, white fungus, and eggs.

To build blood, carrots, spinach, liver, and meats are also recommended.

Eggs are especially recommended as they help in the production of both body fluids and blood.

When fatigued, incorporating spicy foods can be beneficial. Consider chili peppers, pickled garlic, ginger, and green onions.

 

 

5. If your complexion appears dark or black, your kidneys may be fatigued.

The kidneys are associated with water. Just as water can become dark and murky when stagnant, the same can happen to the body’s fluids. Other symptoms can include noticeable or increased white hair, lower back pain, swelling, and menstrual pain. Since the kidneys are believed to include the reproductive organs, it’s important to also be aware of hormone balance.

Recommended foods include black-colored items: Seaweeds, pork, eel, oysters, black beans, black-eyed peas, burdock root, konnyaku with black specks, black fungus, black sesame seeds, prunes, and grapes.

When fatigued, incorporating salty foods can be beneficial. Consider umeboshi (pickled plums) and pickles.

If you are concerned about balancing with the heart and avoiding excessive salt intake, choosing foods that match in color can be a safer approach.

 

 

Next, let’s look at the facial areas associated with the five organs:

• The forehead corresponds to the heart.
• The left cheek corresponds to the liver.
• The right cheek corresponds to the lungs.
• The nose corresponds to the spleen (or the digestive system).
• The chin corresponds to the kidneys.

While acne during puberty is often due to hormonal changes and is somewhat normal, acne in adulthood is usually related to internal imbalances.

 

 

Let’s examine where skin troubles appear based on their location.
First, we will consider the forehead in three sections.

 

1. The upper part of the forehead indicates liver and heart issues.

If you are experiencing a lot of stress from work, you might notice pimples or wrinkles forming on the upper part of your forehead. Wrinkles in this area can also become more prominent with age, which may indicate liver fatigue.

Incorporate green-colored foods into your diet.

If you are troubled by romantic or personal relationships, you may experience discomfort around the heart area. If the emotional turmoil from personal issues is more concerning than work-related stress, it suggests that the heart might be fatigued.
Incorporate red-colored foods into your diet.

 

2. The center of the forehead indicates spleen, liver, and kidney issues.

Are you experiencing constipation, diarrhea, or digestive issues? In such cases, you might see pimples or sagging in the middle of your forehead. This could be a sign of fatigue in the spleen (or digestive system).

Incorporate yellow-colored foods into your diet. If you tend to overeat, reducing your food intake and giving your digestive system a rest may also be helpful.
While everyone has some under-eye circles, if you notice prominent dark circles along with forehead issues, it could indicate liver fatigue.

Incorporate green-colored foods into your diet.

How about your ears? If you are experiencing hearing difficulties, tinnitus, or lower back pain alongside forehead issues, it may suggest kidney weakness.
Incorporate black-colored foods into your diet.

 

3. The lower part of the forehead indicates lung issues.

This area is prone to problems when the lungs are not functioning well. Additionally, if you have throat discomfort, a cough, or are a smoker, you’re likely to see issues in the lower part of the forehead.
Incorporate white-colored foods into your diet.

 

 

Next, let’s look at the troubles in the glabella and the cheek.
These can be determined by the condition of your skin.

１・If your heart is tired, you will develop wrinkles on the glabella that don’t disappear even when you stretch the skin.
Do you have any personal relationship troubles? To relax, it might be good to watch a soothing movie, look at photos, watch videos, or listen to music during your tea time.

 

２・If your lungs are tired, you will develop fine wrinkles on the glabella that disappear when stretched, as well as pimples.
If you also have pimples on your right cheek, it’s likely that your lungs are weak. The lungs are sensitive to dryness and cold.
White-colored foods are recommended.

 

３・If you have trouble around your eyes or on your left cheek.
It might be a sign that your liver is weak. Even if you are not drinking alcohol, how is your sleep? Lack of sleep can weaken the liver and make it harder to purify the blood. Additionally, if you have crow’s feet or are prone to pimples due to aging, consider taking care of your liver.
Green-colored foods are recommended.

 

４・Trouble across the entire cheek.
Dryness or pimples may indicate a decline in lung or liver function, and could also be influenced by shoulder stiffness or arm fatigue. Shoulder stiffness can be caused by blood stasis, which means poor blood circulation.
Foods that promote blood circulation, such as garlic chives and hawthorn, as well as green-colored foods, are recommended.

 

Other areas

If you have pimples or skin irritation around your nose or mouth, your stomach and intestines may be weak.
Constipation caused by indigestion can also be a factor. Foods that promote digestion, such as radish, as well as yellow-colored foods, are recommended.

If you are concerned about nasolabial folds, it may be a sign of excess fat or a lack of muscle.
Weak stomach and intestines could also be a factor. Incorporate yellow foods, drink tea, consume protein-rich foods, and engage in moderate exercise.

Pimples or sagging around the chin may indicate weak kidneys.
Black-colored foods are recommended.

Lastly, the neck can also be a sign of weak stomach and intestines.
While yellow-colored foods are beneficial, consider incorporating olive oil to regulate your intestines and engage in exercise to stimulate intestinal activity.

 

 

Now, let’s move on to full-body skin issues.
Consider whether you are experiencing any of the following symptoms.

 

１・ skin issues can arise due to cold or hot weather.

For example, cold urticaria. If you experience itching and your skin remains white due to cold, consume warm foods and drinks. If you experience red itching due to heat, consume foods and drinks that help cool your body. In both cases, sweating helps remove the cold or heat from your body.

Recommended foods for cold-related issues include green onions, ginger, shiso, cinnamon, cilantro, mitsuba, and myoga.

For heat-related issues, try edible chrysanthemum, mint, and kudzu root.

 

２・If you are experiencing blisters, erosions (where blisters become raw), chest bloating, loss of appetite, fatigue, or a white coating on your tongue, it is recommended to care for your spleen (stomach and intestines).

Sweet flavors are beneficial for spleen care. Natural sweetness from honey, fruits, vegetables, and meats is ideal. Be cautious with artificial sweeteners, as they do not provide nutrition and can accumulate in the body, causing increased cravings. Sugar also has moisturizing properties. While moisturizing is necessary, blisters indicate retained moisture, which needs to be properly managed.

Recommended foods include shepherd’s purse, winter melon, mung bean sprouts, daylily, pearl barley, bananas, lettuce, Jerusalem artichokes, conger eel, white fish, pufferfish, clams, adzuki beans, soybeans, black beans, broad beans, plums, corn, and plantain.

 

３・Red, hot skin, erosions, pustules, itching, pain, dry mouth, constipation, reddish urine, or a yellow coating on the tongue.

When organs accumulate heat, these skin troubles can arise. First, remove the heat from the body. Cool and purify the blood.
Recommended foods include lotus root, celery, Chinese cabbage, dandelion, mung bean sprouts, and olives.

 

４・Skin itching, erosions, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, diarrhea.

These symptoms might be caused by insects, athlete’s foot, or parasites. Contaminants could be hidden in food, and even with thorough washing, some may remain.

Recommended foods to reduce body heat include lotus root, celery, Chinese cabbage, dandelion, mung bean sprouts, and olives.

For insect-related issues, garlic, honey, and pomegranate peel are beneficial.

Garlic and honey are particularly effective, but they should not be consumed together. It’s best to use them separately, such as at lunch and dinner. Asparagus is also recommended.

 

５・If you experience sudden and recurring skin redness, swelling, blisters, erosions, itching, pain, a sensation of heat, and a yellow, sticky tongue coating, it may be due to medication, food, insects, or chemicals.

To address these issues, focus on cooling the body and supporting liver function to promote detoxification.

Recommended foods include lotus root, celery, Chinese cabbage, dandelion, mung bean sprouts, and olives.

 

６・If you have symptoms such as purple areas, bruising-like spots, lumps or nodules, thickening, irregular menstrual cycles, or purple spots on the tongue, these may indicate 気（Vitality) stagnation or blood stasis.

These symptoms are often caused by stress-related 気（Vitality) stagnation and poor blood circulation. It is essential to focus on relaxation and engage in physical activity to release energy and promote blood flow.

Recommended foods for 気 stagnation include buckwheat, onions, pickled garlic, hyacinth beans, pea shoots, citrus fruits, jasmine, and edible rose (rose red is also acceptable—choose fragrant varieties).

For blood stasis, consider bok choy, chives, garlic, scallions, saffron, broccoli, vinegar, safflower, hawthorn berries, beetroot, taro, and turmeric.

 

７・If you experience skin dryness, thickening, rough texture, itching, dizziness, a pale complexion, and a white coating on the tongue, these may be signs of chronic lung damage leading to liver overstrain and blood deficiency, which in turn affects skin nourishment. The focus should be on nourishing the blood.

Recommended foods to improve blood nourishment include carrots, spinach, black beans, peanuts, lychee, squid, oysters, pork, beef, chicken, grapes, liver, red shellfish, angelica root, white and black fungus, sesame seeds, quail eggs, wild boar, milk, lard, and olive oil.

 

８・Severe itching, headaches, a red complexion, irritability, a bitter taste in the mouth, dry throat, a red tongue, and yellow coating on the tongue are signs of blood deficiency affecting the skin. Anger, which is associated with the liver, indicates an imbalance where the liver is overly dominant.

The liver nourishes the heart, and when the liver is too dominant, it can overwork the spleen and weaken the lungs. To calm the liver, it’s important to reduce alcohol consumption and focus on nourishing the blood to stabilize the body.

Recommended foods to help with blood nourishment and liver balance include carrots, spinach, black beans, peanuts, lychee, squid, oysters, pork, beef, chicken, edible chrysanthemum, and abalone. Oysters, in particular, are highly recommended.

 

９・Dry skin, thickening, rough texture, flaky white patches, itching, dark spots, hair loss, and lack of luster in the nails may indicate chronic skin inflammation.

This condition might stem from impaired function of the liver and kidneys, so it is crucial to take care of both organs. In Traditional Eastan Medicine, the kidneys are associated with reproductive health, so hormonal imbalances may also be a factor. If symptoms like tinnitus or eye fatigue are present, it suggests significant strain on the liver and kidneys, necessitating careful attention.

Recommended foods to support liver and kidney health include: Lily bulbs, Black beans, Soy products, Milk, Eggs, Shellfish, Goji berries, Walnuts, Black sesame seeds, Black fungus, Lemons, Hijiki seaweed, Konnyaku, Carrots, Spinach, Peanuts, Lychee, Squid, Oysters, Pork, Beef, Chicken, Grapes, Burdock root, Eel, Seaweeds, Prunes, Jellyfish, Chives, Watercress, Broccoli, Bell peppers, Cabbage, Edamame, Komatsuna, Okra, Shungiku (chrysanthemum greens), Peaches, Vinegar

 

If you notice any of the symptoms mentioned, it’s important to actively incorporate the recommended foods while also including a variety of other colors and flavors in your diet. Relying too much on just one type of food could potentially lead to additional skin problems. Balance is key in all aspects.

 

Skin troubles can sometimes be caused by stress, which may place a burden on the adrenal glands.
Additionally, a weakened immune system and imbalanced sex hormones can contribute to skin issues. Vitamins are beneficial for the adrenal glands, support liver function, and provide essential nutrients for sex hormones. They also help maintain healthy skin, so incorporating a variety of vitamins into your diet is highly recommended.

If you have noticed an increase in acne due to friction from towels or skincare products, or if your cosmetics or skincare items may not be suitable for your skin, it could be worth revisiting your skincare routine to improve your skin’s condition.

Moreover, lack of exercise can also be a factor. Regular physical activity improves blood circulation, which can contribute to healthier skin.

 

Strive for skin so beautiful that you’ll want to touch it, and achieve a healthy, radiant look from the inside out!

 

“In the case of skin conditions, it’s important to understand that sometimes the skin is simply weak, and not all issues are caused by internal factors. Please keep this in mind.”

 

“Let’s also look at it from a skincare perspective.→ Skin Type Assessment