Nothing the skin does is random. Every acneic lesion, every rash, and discoloration may have resulted from specific environmental events, and their locations have meaning and physiologic significance.The skin is interconnected with the entire body network, serving as a key detoxification organ amongst other benefits, including being a beacon for internal health issues. Skin mapping offers a growing collection of evidence that most skin conditions come from within, and skin care professionals can link them to specific organs, toxins, and pathogens.

Medicine has long identified certain patterns on the skin as being helpful in diagnosis, like lupus “butterfly” rash, post-tick “bulls-eye” lesions, herpes-related outbreaks, and more.However, skin care professionals may have not attempted to identify patterns in every skin condition.Acne, rashes, pores, blackheads, rosacea, hyperpigmentation, milia, and uneven skin tone are rarely triggered by surface events.

ACNE ASSUMPTIONS

Acne has been assumed to be a bacterial infection because the skin’s probiotic population is involved in the detoxification and purging events that trigger these lesions.In reality, toxins being purged from the skin do require immune cells in their dismantling, and this creates an inflammatory event.For example, the bacteria involved are there to help digest and process these toxins as well; it is a team effort. The more toxins coming from within, the more cystic the acne.Toxins come from four classes and in most cases include candida toxins, chlorine or bleach, estrogenic pesticides, and estrogenic food preservatives. The location of acne may bea clue to which source is triggering the purging. All the regions in the forehead, temples, cheeks, and directly around the mouth are connected to the digestive tract and, therefore, are the result of an overgrowth of candida in the gut that leads to candida toxins being purged. The nose is the esophagus, the inner cheeks are the small intestine, the outer cheeks, temples, and forehead are the large intestine.This extends to the end of the line which is represented by the region around the mouth and center chin.By identifying the source, it is much easier to clear acne and understand why it recurs. It can also prevent the unnecessary use of harmful medications like antibiotics and Accutane.Candida overgrowth in the microbiome is an epidemic as a result of progesterone-heavy birth control pills, sugar and alcohol, and mucus-forming foods like fried food and dairy.

HORMONAL ACNE

Hormonal acne has long been identified as a unique problem, but it never made sense under the old paradigm model as to why hormones trigger bacterial infectionsalong the jawline. In some, it presents in the digestive zones. What is really going on here? 

Clients are exposed to approximately one million toxins a day and many of them resemble estrogen.The reason jawline acne is common a week or so before the end of amenstrual cycle is because the body is attempting to balance the testosterone spike that occurs as a result of the body having too many estrogen toxins. It is a bit complicated, but simply put, the body adjusts to estrogen toxin exposure by lowering natural estrogen presence.This leads to a testosterone imbalance that triggers hormonal acne. 

Skin care professionalscan identify the pattern of food preservative acne along the jawline and address the client’s eating habits along with offering wellness that detoxes them from the system. Estrogenic food preservatives appear to cause polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), so it is not unusual to see a pattern of acne and this medical condition appear at similar times. These toxins are found primarily in long shelf-life foods, frozen food, and fast food. It should be noted that these foods are often not listed on the food label because of where they are introduced in manufacturing.Digestive zone hormonal acne may occur because progesterone peaks in the body and increases candida overgrowth.

Acne on the neck, both front and back may be directly related to pesticide exposure. This can also show up as swollen fat on the neck. The pattern is most common is those who eat non-organic fruits and vegetables or live in farming communities.The United States has by far the highest usage of these carcinogenic materials of any other nation on earth. They relate closely to breast cancer and so should always be the concern of one’s clients, especially when the skin pattern is indicating high exposure. The best option is to do what they can to remove themselves from exposure and to bind these toxins before they cause acne or worse. 

CHLORINE & BLEACH EXPOSURE

Acne on the chest, upper back, and shoulders may be the result of chlorine or bleach exposure. Make sure to include both terms because clients often think chlorine is not a big concern when every public water system is adding this liquidized solution to drinking water, fish, and protein sources.People often break out on the chest after going to restaurants for this reason. Swimming or hot tubs can result in acne or a rash in these areas as well. Most rashes in the chest area are a chlorine purge. Binding these toxins, getting a chlorine filter for the home, and avoidance are ways to treat this type of acne.Acne on the lower back is common with mold exposure. This is frequently seen with some lesions on the torso and extremities as the mold toxins travel to a number of places. Mold is a very serious medical issue so knowing these patterns can help a client identify a concern in their environment that needs to be addressed. 

BLACKHEADS

Blackheads can also be mapped. For decades, most people have associated them with being dirty.Their tendency to repopulate quickly after extractions should have been the first clue that surface dirt may not be involved. Blackheads can be caused by the purging of mucus byproducts from the digestive tract. This is why they are mapped mostly to the digestive zones of the face. The esophagus (nose) is a commonplace for mucus. The small intestines map near the nose zone and can easily accumulate mucus. It is less common to see blackheads on the forehead and chin but that indicates mucus near the end of the large intestine.This link has been proven, as odd as it may sound, by offering mucus cleanses (patent-pending) that decongest the skin and often clear acne up as well. Mucus is a source of acne (candida grows on mucus) which is why the two often present together.Sometimes blackheads on the chest or back are seen, and this relates to mucus in the lungs.

ROSACEA

Rosacea has been linked to digestive illness by a recent clinical trial. However, instead of people with rosacea having a higher risk of digestive illness, it is that people with digestive illnesses have a higher likelihood that those conditions are reflected on their face, such as rosacea. For this condition skin care professionals also need to look at the digestive zones in skin mapping.Acne rosacea may be caused by candida. In other cases, like redness right around the nose (stomach zone), it can be caused by helicobacterpylon(H. Pylori).Sometimes a bacteria or virus is behind a client’s inflamed skin, so the protocols to clear the condition can vary.Once comfortable with the link between organs and their zone on the face, it becomes easier to see the patterns. Based on cases ranging into the thousands at this point, it is clear that mites in the skin or other surface issues are not a concrete claim, especially when factoring in that most rosacea triggers are ingested. One aspect of rosacea often misdiagnosed are the capillaries that show up on the sides of the nostrils. These have long been linked to sun damage, which does not make a lot of sense considering their angle makes them less susceptible to sun than most other parts of the face. Instead, they may represent the lower esophageal sphincter and damage from acid reflux. Thismay be why they are so common in aging skin.

PIGMENTATION

Skin mapping for pigmentation is a little more challenging. This is because outside of age spots, which are driven by surface damage from the sun, pigment overproduction is by design, protecting the dermal inflammation linked to liver damage. Melasmamay be from liver damage as well. When it comes to mapping, the liver can show on most of the face depending on the lobe(s) involved. The liver can also showon the forearms and back of the hands.The main cause of liver damage are synthetic hormones; although natural hormones can cause damage in pregnancy (because of the increased amount) if the liver is less healthy. This often occurs in pregnancies after the age of 30 plus. Birth control pills are a main cause, but other medications are linked, including many antidepressants, anxiety, and other medications.Mapping which lobe is involved is not what is important.Instead, focus on the medication source and healing the liver. Common favorite supplements for healing liver wounds are trioxolane and alpha ketoglutarate.

Liver spots and melasma are notoriously difficult to lighten because of dermal pigmentation. The reality is that the skin may normalize its own pigment production once the liver is healed. In the liver category,there are many red zones where skin care professionals can see aging in the face. These are essentially early liver spots that are not inflamed enough to trigger a melanin response but may get there over time. These can be healed internally, as well as lead to a dramatic improvement in assessed skin age.

TRENDS

There are some general trends inskin mapping that can help. Clients with irritation of their upper eyelid often think they have eczema or are reacting to product. Instead, this is the adrenal zone and indicates that stress is the cause of their irritation.Once identified, it is easier to address this concern with supplements and stress-reducing strategies.The neck is also a stress zone for some. Acne in the underarm region is often mold-related. Ingrown hairs may be from mercury poisoning if near the groin and the above-mentioned toxins if in the facial regions discussed earlier.Keratosis pilaris may also becaused by the digestive tract and a different strain of candida. Enlarged pores also follow the digestive zone pattern and have been found to be linked to yogurt and ice cream.

Lastly, practitioners map the facial fat pads as their volume loss has much to do with fine lines and wrinkles around the face. Fat pads, some more than others, decline with age, causing significant volume losses that collapse the nasolabial fold, resulting in vertical lip lines, marionette lines, and are 80% of the reason smile linesand forehead lines increase, including the “11s” presented. By looking for common patterns to a client’s aging face, they may be a primary candidate for fat pad replacement. 

The world of aesthetics is changing in front of the industry’s eyes. Online services are going to become the norm for many skin care professionals. Competition may increase for keeping or attaining new clients, and skin care professionals need to have every tool that makes them stand out and help clients achieve efficient and permanent results.Mastering skin mapping will make any skin care professional a better aesthetician. It will make protocols and treatment plans more targeted and effective.It can expand their reach, so that they are impacting clients’ health, along with making one’s career more rewarding.

Ben Johnson, MD is a physician, inventor, and entrepreneur who has spent the last 25 years dedicated to solving some of the world’s most challenging skin and health conditions. He holds multiple patents related to skincare and wellness as a result of his unparalleled research and philosophies pertaining to the skin-body connection. Dr. Johnson founded Osmosis Beauty with a revolutionary approach that is changing the direction of skin care, away from excessive exfoliation and renewing the focus of dermal remodeling, barrier and DNA repair, and detoxification.He has found that the skin and body are capable of healing themselves with the proper tools and the removal of toxic influences.