What Do 12 Acne Spots Say About Your Hidden Health Problems?

Can the location of your acne reflect internal health issues? According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), acne spots are more than just skin-deep—they mirror the state of your internal organs. For example, stubborn chin pimples may point to uterine health and hormonal imbalance, acne on the left cheek relates to liver problems, while breakouts on the right cheek signal lung issues. Neck acne is often caused by hormonal disruptions, and pimples around the lips suggest poor gut health. This post explains the meaning behind facial and body acne maps, and shares TCM dietary advice and treatments to help you target the root cause and finally say goodbye to acne. Don’t miss out!

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What 6 Facial Acne Spots Say About Your Body

1. Forehead: Excess Heart or Liver Fire

According to TCM, the forehead corresponds to the liver. If you're quick-tempered or emotionally unstable, you're more likely to get pimples on your forehead and between your brows. Emotional stress and overthinking—common among busy professionals—can also lead to forehead acne due to internal heat buildup.

How to treat it: Relax, manage stress, and return to a more balanced lifestyle. Avoid staying up late and aim to sleep before midnight to allow your liver to detox and your mind to rest.

2. Left Cheek: Liver

Acne on the left cheek indicates a sluggish liver and poor blood circulation, leading to toxin buildup. People with liver heat often break out on the left cheek, forehead, or between the eyebrows.

How to treat it: Get enough rest, keep a cheerful mood, and develop a regular exercise habit to improve circulation and promote detoxification. This not only benefits your skin but also enhances overall vitality and reduces stress.

3. Right Cheek: Lungs

Breakouts on the right cheek are linked to lung health. If you're experiencing a sore throat, light cough, or excess phlegm along with acne in this area, it may be a sign of rising lung heat—often triggered by seasonal changes, smoking, or inhaling secondhand smoke.

How to treat it: Focus on clearing and moisturizing the lungs. Eat lung-nourishing foods like lily bulb, Chinese yam, and poria, and maintain good air quality at home. Avoid barbecued or spicy "heaty" foods.

4. Nose: Stomach and Lungs

Acne on the nose bridge and tip relates to stomach and lung health. Two common causes are stomach heat and lung heat. Symptoms may include indigestion, bloating, or constipation. If acne is accompanied by flaking on the nose, it could indicate poor circulation.

How to treat it: Since this area reflects the spleen and stomach, watch your diet and bowel habits. Avoid fried, spicy, cold, and greasy foods. Eat light, regular meals and drink warm water to reduce stomach heat and improve digestion.

5. Philtrum / Around the Lips: Intestines

Breakouts in this area are tied to gut health. If you regularly eat takeout, consume more meat than vegetables, or enjoy strongly flavored and spicy foods, you might develop intestinal heat and constipation—often reflected as acne around the lips and philtrum.

How to treat it: Eat a cleaner, high-fiber diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables to promote bowel movement and toxin elimination. Avoid oily and spicy foods to restore gut balance.

6. Chin: Hormones / Uterus

Chin acne is especially common in women and often appears before or during menstruation. This is due to a rise in progesterone, which increases oil production and clogs pores. For men, recurring chin acne is usually linked to excess androgens.

How to treat it: Avoid cold and raw foods. Before your period, eat a lighter diet and drink herbal teas suited to your body type to soothe the liver and regulate qi. Manage stress and rest well to prevent liver heat buildup.

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What 6 Body Acne Spots Say About Your Health

1. Neck: Hormonal Imbalance

Neck acne may stem from dirty hair or a combination of hair oils, sweat, and sebum causing bacterial infection. If your hair is clean and still you break out, consider fungal infections or hormonal imbalance.

How to treat it: Keep your neck clean and dry, avoid using conditioners or creams near the area. For fungal infections, seek medical treatment. For hormonal imbalance, consider cutting back on sugar and dairy and observe any changes.

2. Chest: Liver / Intestines

Although less common, chest acne is hard to get rid of once it starts. It may signal poor liver or gut function—especially if caused by poor diet or food sensitivities.

How to treat it: Use body washes with acids like salicylic acid or fruit acids. Identify any food allergens, and stick to a light, non-spicy diet during breakouts.

3. Shoulders: Clogged Pores

Shoulder acne often comes from poor hygiene or infrequent changing of clothes. Heat and sweat mix with oil, clogging pores and promoting bacterial growth. This area is especially prone in teens and those on long-term medication due to hormone fluctuations.

How to treat it: Keep the area clean, change clothes frequently, and use a towel to wipe away sweat. After exercising, shower promptly with a mild or hypoallergenic body wash. Consult a doctor if hormonal imbalance is suspected.

4. Back: Toxin Buildup / Bladder Damp-Heat

Back acne may result from excess oil and sweat, but also reflects internal stress and poor detox function. Stress triggers hormonal changes that lead to oilier skin—even on normally dry areas.

How to treat it: Lighten your diet, manage stress, and exercise regularly to boost circulation and metabolism. This helps your body detox more efficiently and reduces back acne. Always wipe off sweat after workouts.

5. Arms: Vitamin Deficiency

Arm acne may indicate a vitamin deficiency or conditions like keratosis pilaris or allergic dermatitis.

How to treat it: Eat a balanced diet rich in various nutrients. For keratosis pilaris, use exfoliants like fruit acids; for allergies, check your detergents and body products for irritants.

6. Buttocks: Digestive Issues / Sedentary Lifestyle

Pimples on the buttocks can be painful and uncomfortable. They're often caused by sitting too long on dirty surfaces, which clogs pores and breeds bacteria. In some cases, they hint at digestive problems.

How to treat it: Move more to boost circulation and metabolism in the lower body. Avoid cold foods, dairy, and sugar. Take probiotics daily and avoid sitting for long periods whenever possible.

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TCM Remedies for Acne Based on Location

1. Forehead / Brow / Temples: Chamomile Tea

Acne here signals liver or heart fire. Get more sleep and avoid heaty foods.

Recommended foods: Chamomile and jasmine flower tea to relax and de-stress. Sweet soup made with lotus seeds, lily bulb, snow fungus, and coix seed helps clear internal heat and nourish the skin.

2. Chin / Lips: Green Vegetables

Linked to digestive issues or hormonal imbalance.

Recommended foods: Drink lots of water and eat fibrous greens like Chinese mustard and spinach. Cool-natured veggies like bok choy and winter melon help clear internal heat.

3. Nose Bridge / Tip: Coix Seed Water

Related to spleen and stomach heat.

Recommended foods: Coix seed and red bean water to clear damp heat. Soups with Chinese yam, coix seed, and dried dates help boost spleen function.

4. Neck / Back: Five-Flower Tea

Caused by bladder damp-heat or hormonal issues.

Recommended foods: Five-flower tea cools the body. Sugarcane, imperata root, and water chestnut tea help flush bladder heat and taste refreshing too.

5. Left / Right Cheeks: Green Tea

Left cheek = liver heat; right cheek = lung heat. Both worsen with late nights, smoking, or spicy food.

Recommended foods: For damp-heat and spleen deficiency, drink “Four Gentlemen Soup” with poria, white atractylodes, Chinese yam, coix seed, and jujube. Green tea or matcha helps relieve heat but avoid it if you have cold limbs or stomach.

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Does Acne Location Reflect Health? — TCM Perspective

In TCM, acne placement reveals the health of internal organs. Different areas on the face and body correspond to specific meridians and organs. As the saying goes, “What’s inside is shown outside.” TCM practitioners diagnose conditions by observing features like skin tone, tongue, and eye color. Repeated acne in the same area suggests imbalances in the related organ(s), which require targeted treatment. Ignoring it can worsen internal issues, leaving lasting marks and harming your overall health.

TCM divides the face into three zones:

• Upper (forehead and brows): Heart and liver
• Middle (nose and cheeks): Spleen and stomach
• Lower (lips and chin): Liver and kidneys

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Western Medicine’s View on Acne Location

Western medicine doesn’t attribute much meaning to acne placement. Instead, it explains acne as a result of excess sebum production, disrupted keratinization, and clogged pores—leading to bacterial buildup and inflammation, no matter where the acne appears.

Forehead Acne: Often caused by wearing hats frequently, oily bangs, or not wiping off sweat promptly, which can lead to clogged pores.

Cheek Acne: Makeup, cleansing oils, oil-based skincare products, and wearing face masks can all clog hair follicles, leading to breakouts.

Chin Acne: Triggers include wearing masks, using fluoride toothpaste, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), frequently resting the chin on your hand, improper shaving, or consuming too many sweets and dairy products, which can cause persistent chin acne.

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How Does Chinese Medicine Treat Stubborn Acne Like Hormonal and Stress Acne?

Chinese Medicine for Acne 1: Herbal Remedies

The primary method in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for treating stubborn acne—like stress-related or hormonal acne—is prescribing customized herbal formulas. Since each person’s acne location and root cause differ, TCM emphasizes individualized diagnosis and internal balance. 

Unlike Western medicine, which often prescribes antibiotics or isotretinoin (Accutane), TCM uses observation, tongue reading, and pulse analysis to formulate unique prescriptions. Many TCM practitioners note that modern people tend to have a combination of heat and cold syndromes, along with qi deficiency and dampness. Randomly taking "cooling" herbs can actually worsen the condition by increasing yin deficiency and inflammation. In addition to internal herbal treatment, topical therapies with heat-clearing and anti-inflammatory properties are sometimes used.

Chinese Medicine for Acne 2: Acupuncture

Different acne zones reflect imbalances in various internal organs. TCM may incorporate facial observation and pulse diagnosis to identify imbalances and then use acupuncture to treat the issue. Acupuncture helps unblock meridians, promote circulation of qi and blood, enhance microcirculation, and nourish the skin, leading to detoxification and unclogging of pores. However, similar to herbal remedies, acupuncture requires consistent, long-term treatment for visible results. It can be costly and often requires multiple sessions for significant improvement.

Chinese Medicine for Acne 3: Gua Sha and Cupping Therapy

Acne-prone areas often reflect internal organ health. The color of the marks left behind by gua sha and cupping—such as redness or bruising—can indicate different bodily imbalances. For example, bright red marks suggest excess internal heat, while dark purple spots imply damp-heat in the spleen and stomach. These therapies deliberately break tiny blood vessels to promote microcirculation and the body’s healing response, a concept increasingly recognized even by some Western doctors.

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Editor’s Trial: I Personally Tested an Acne Treatment – Hormonal Chin Acne Gone in 1 Week!

Many women are often plagued by recurring chin acne — constant breakouts that leave the chin never truly smooth. According to TCM, chin acne is related to endocrine imbalances. Besides internal regulation, external skincare is also crucial for eliminating chin acne!

This time, our editor visited Perfect Medical to try the Acne Treatment, which uses dual-spiral suction drainage technology. It not only clears clogged pores but also removes dead skin cells and impurities deep within, leaving the skin cleansed from within!

During the treatment, the editor felt no pain at all. Afterward, there were zero wounds and no recovery time required — she was able to go shopping and dine with friends right away! About a week after the Acne Treatment, the number of chin acne spots had reduced by half, and the redness and inflammation were visibly improved. The skin on her chin felt noticeably smoother to the touch. Highly recommended for anyone struggling with acne!

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Perfect Medical is currently offering a free trial of the full Acne Treatment! Simply register online to claim your free session. Spots are limited — don’t miss out!