Acupuncture: An Eastern Tool for Treating Acne

You may be used to slathering on spot treatments or taking medication to help control your breakouts but an Eastern approach has been gaining popularity stateside. Acupuncture, which involves the insertion of  ultra-thin sterile needles into the skin, is a fairly painless way to signal the brain to make changes within the body. “Acne comes from a deeper imbalance in the body, acupuncture is one tool which can help address those imbalances by treating the root cause,” says Brooklyn acupuncturist and herbalist Sandra Lanshin Chiu, who treats skin with Chinese medicine.  The highly nuanced Eastern approach takes a lot of trial-and-error so don’t expect a quick fix since Chinese medicine looks to treat ailments internally, not just topically. Chiu integrates the use of both herbal treatments and acupuncture to help treat acne. According to traditional Chinese Medicine, acne could be caused by a variety of ailments like blood stagnation, lung or stomach heat,  and toxin buildup.  It might also help balance androgen levels to inhibit excess oil secretion of the sebaceous gland.

During a session which can run about an hour, hair thin needles are placed in various points to help bring balance and increase circulation and energy. “We all have different channels of energy running in our tissues and system, we make use of these energetic systems that run through the body to create a change,” says Chiu. . “The needle acts as a dial and gives information to the system, unblocking those meridians,” explains Chiu. “There might be an issue in the digestive system or reproductive system which can create a disruption in functionality of the skin so we’ll treat these areas. It uses specific points to help channel that energy and balance the system. “If I needle into your stomach channel to balance it, you’ll hear your stomach gurgling- there’s an immediate response,” says Chiu.” When your organs are operating below optimal function, “connecting to its meridian channel will help balance the whole organ,” explains Chiu. And if you’re worried about pain, don’t be, you might just feel a slight pinch, at first.  Most treatments actually promote a sense of calm, like the soft, woozy feeling you might have after a glass of wine. “We lose function as we work and age, so acupuncture is about restoring that function and bringing back optimal harmony,” says Chiu.

Using Face Mapping as Tool
Whether you’re looking to treat acne or eczema, like most holistic practitioners, Chiu believes, “there’s always an internal disruption that precedes a skin disorder, the skin is an outer display of the inner state of our bodies.”  Like a detective, she uses clues to figure out what might be out of whack internally. Both Ayurveda and Chinese medicine rely on face mapping to help identify root issues. N.Y.C. dermatologist Joshua Zeichner agrees with Chiu, “associating acne on specific parts of the face with a particular cause can be difficult to do but we can make some generalizations.” If you constantly get an “acne beard,” it might be a deeper issue than just topical or environmental concerns. “Breakouts on the lower face, around the mouth and upper neck usually indicate hormone related breakouts,” says Chevy Chase based dermatologist Elizabeth Tanzi.

For women, “their period can be closely linked to breakouts and it’s often cyclical,” says Chiu. If your acne shows up on the cheeks and if your nose is tinged red, “this might be a digestion issue,” says Chiu, who recommends taking a probiotic and drinking less alcohol. “The channels of the stomach run through to areas by the cheeks and nose so the skin can show digestive issues here,” says Chiu. If you have blemishes on your nose,  it can indicate a respitory issue (consider sinus or allergy congestion and exposure to air pollution and smoke). “These are no hard and fast rules here but we use some guidelines to give us a general idea on how to treat the skin,” says Chiu.