Treating acne with Acupuncture

First published online on blueheronclinic.com/blog.html on May 27th 2012.

Acne,  one little four letter word that strikes fear into the hearts of many.  It is mostly experienced by adoslescents and males are more susceptible than females.  It can cause massive self-confidence issues that can leave many physical and emotional scars. To add insult to injury, it’s not just teenagers that suffer from this affliction. Adult acne is more common than you think with gorgeous celebrities such as Cameron Diaz  and  Katy Perry admitting to a daily struggle against the debilitaing affliction. Diaz has admitted in interviews that “she tried everything from facials to meditation” with no success.

What causes it?Well, the truth is no one can say for sure. There are various notions regarding sebaceous gland secretions(sebum) blocking the sweat glands leading to blackheads and inflammation. It’s usually the face and neck which is affected, however, the chest and back are also susceptible to outbreaks in more severe cases.

Traditional Chinese Medicine puts the blame on an accumulation of heat in the body. There is almost always an element of Qi stagnation also, which may manifest symptoms of irritabilty, headaches and general moodiness.

So what can be done? Acupuncture can be very effective at treating acne as it works very well at unblocking stagnation in order to promote a smooth flow of Qi. This will help the negative emotional aspect of acne aswell as the cosmetic one.

And speaking of cosmetic,  Facial or Cosmetic Acupuncture can also make a huge difference, being a step further along the treatment scale.  Extra fine needles are applied to the face as well as the arms and legs for a deeper, more intense treatment. 10 sessions of this should be enough for most bodies to be detoxified from the occurence of acne.

A good acupuncturist, as well as treating the affliction will also dispense advice on nutrition and lifestyle choices which should help to combat the problem. As acne is often caused by an accumulation of heat,  your therapist will suggest cooling foods such as peppermint,  apple, barley, watermelon, grapefruit, millet, cabbage, clam, bamboo shoots, elderflower and potato. It is also a good idea to stay away from heat producing food such as alcohol, sweet and sugary foods, spicy foods, preservatives and coffee.

If you do suffer from acne, make sure to heed the above advice, as well as drinking 6-8 glasses of water a week, getting plenty of rest and make sure not to pick the pimples as this will increase the likelihood of permanent scarring.