Facial wrinkles are not only a sign of aging, but can also reflect the health status of our organs. Reducing wrinkles can even protect our organs.
The skin is the largest organ of the human body, and the health of the body is often reflected on the surface of the skin. When a person is sick, or often anxious and worried, not only will their gastrointestinal absorption capacity become poor, their qi (i.e. vital energy) and blood circulation will also become stagnant, which is not conducive to the growth of radiant and elastic skin. If the skin is unable to retain water, and the fascia does not have sufficient capacity to restore water, wrinkles will form on the face.
Forehead Wrinkles and Cardiovascular Disease
In Ayurveda, the traditional Indian medicine, forehead wrinkles suggest sadness and anxiety. Sadness, anxiety, and other emotions cause the body to secrete more stress hormone–cortisol. And too much cortisol will increase the chance of cardiovascular diseases.Modern medical research has also found that the deeper and more forehead wrinkles one has, the higher risk of death from cardiovascular diseases.
Researchers tracked these participants for up to 20 years and found that people with a wrinkle score of 1 had a slightly higher risk of dying from cardiovascular diseases than those without wrinkles.
After excluding factors such as age, blood pressure, and blood lipid levels, the risk of death was almost 10 times higher for those with wrinkle scores of 2 and 3, in comparison with those with a score of zero.
Research suggests that relatively deep forehead wrinkles may be a sign of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a pathological condition, in which blood vessels become hardened, narrowed or even blocked due to the accumulation of lipids and the thickening of their lining, resulting in the formation of atheromatous plaques. Atherosclerosis is a common cause of cardiovascular diseases.
Eyebrow Wrinkling and Spleen Fatigue
In Ayurvedic facial diagnosis, wrinkles in the center between the eyebrows suggests a suspicious personality, while the wrinkles on the left eyebrow side signifies spleen fatigue, and the right side represents liver fatigue. A person with a fatigued liver and spleen is also prone to have liver and spleen diseases.Bags Around the Eyes and Lacrimal Grooves
Eye bags may be caused by what traditional Chinese medicine refers to as heavy dampness in the body and poor metabolism. It is related to water retention.Dr. Lin explained that the skin around the eyes is the thinnest and most fragile part of the face. So if there’s too much moisture in the body, the skin around the eyes will easily protrude out, forming bags under the eyes.
Too much dampness in the body will also affect the spleen. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the spleen is responsible for digestion, absorption, and transportation of nutrients, and is the source of the body’s vitality and biochemistry. Excessive dampness will cause the spleen to malfunction, causing all bodily functions to be in a suboptimal health state.
In addition, under-eye puffiness is partly caused by stress and will first manifest as dark circles under the eyes. Dark circles are related to poor circulation around the eyes, which leads to excessive tissue fluid around the eyes. According to Dr. Lin, “under-eye bags are caused by the severity of dark circles to a certain extent.”
- Nasal allergy
- Stress and poor sleep: This can cause an increase in intracranial pressure, making the circulation path from the head to the neck very tight, resulting in poor circulation.
Crow’s Feet and Eye Disease
The formation of crow’s feet is related to eye diseases, and the main cause is the overuse of the muscles around the eyes. When people’s eyes are unable to see things clearly, they tend to squint unconsciously. And the overuse of orbicularis oculi muscles causes muscle hypertrophy, which makes it easy to form the lines at the end of the eyes when smiling.Horizontal Wrinkles on the Nose, Between the Eyes
Horizontal wrinkles on the part of the nose between the eyes suggest fatigue of the heart. According to Dr. Lin, this type of horizontal lines are mostly found in women who are fragile and get tired easily.Nasolabial Folds on the Cheeks
People with nose allergies often blow their noses and use their upper lips and nasal muscles repeatedly. Once these muscles become hypertrophic, they tend to form grooves around the cheeks, such as nasolabial folds and lacrimal grooves.Wrinkles on the Chin
The wrinkles on the chin suggest stress and are related to depression. Dr. Lin explained that when a person wants to talk but cannot, the tension around their lips will rise; and people who often smile bitterly will use their chin a lot.3 Moves to Reverse Wrinkles and Improve Organ Health
Rome was not built in a day, so is the formation of wrinkles. Even if the aforementioned health problems (such as atherosclerosis, nose allergies, and liver and spleen fatigue) are treated and improved, it can only prevent the already formed wrinkles from continuing to deteriorate.Dr. Lin explained that in addition to physical health, emotions, and overuse of local muscles, other causes include localized dehydration of the fascia and dryness of the skin, which can stiffen the wrinkles that have already formed.
Facial Cosmetic Acupuncture
Facial cosmetic acupuncture can directly adjust the tension of facial muscles and fascia, improve the dehydration of fascia, reverse wrinkles and even smooth them out.Facial aesthetic acupuncture works primarily on the fascia, which has no obvious role in the presentation of facial expressions. However, it plays a very important role in making the contours of the face look natural, refreshed, toned, and elastic.
Having performed more than 35,000 acupuncture sessions, Dr. Lin explained that the energy system of both traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda, whether it is the meridians or chakras, is at the fascia level. Therefore, by improving the fascia of the face through cosmetic acupuncture, the local energy circulation will be improved.
