Skin Mapping – How to Read Your Skin

Understanding your skin doesn’t need to be a mystery. In fact, did you know that your face acts as a map for the rest of your body? This means that by knowing how to read your own
complexion, you can usually pinpoint the cause for concern and begin to address it. Of course, you might still need an expert to help you along your journey, though some basic knowledge is a great place to start. We consulted in great detail with one of our skin experts, Justine Masters, to explore.

Zone 1

Area of face: Forehead

Looks like: Redness, spots, inflammation, acne, rosacea, melasma

Cause of concern: Large intestine

If you’re experiencing bad skin in this area, it’s quite possible that you have a ‘Candida’ overgrowth in the gut from consuming too much sugar or yeast-based products, often from drinking alcohol. Some of the simplest ways to address this from a lifestyle point-of-view is to cut back on your sugar intake. You might also like to try stirring a tablespoon of raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar into warm water first thing in the morning and sipping this as it can help lower blood sugar levels and aid in removing toxins from the body. Eat plenty of fibre too, as this also aids in removing waste from the body.

More intensive routes to explore are supplements that contain good bacteria (we love and stock Equi’s Beauty Formula), incorporating probiotics into your diet (live yoghurt, sauerkraut
and kimchi, for example), or even considering a Candida diet to help get the problem under control. The Candida diet is a low-sugar, anti-inflammatory diet that promotes good gut
health and eliminates the sugars that feed a Candida overgrowth.

Recommended Skincare: It is important to rebuild your skin’s natural barrier. Our Gazelli Saviour Mask or Age Repair Cream are both excellent for this.

Recommended Technologies:

● Oxygen-based therapies can help to hydrate and heal
● High Frequency also brings oxygen to the skin and kills bacteria
● Microneedling is great for creating healing collagen
● Blue LED light also helps to control bacteria on the skin

Explore Gazelli Technologies here

Recommended Facials:

If you do decide to seek professional support, we are able to incorporate the above technologies into a bespoke facial to suit your needs, or we can recommend our O2 Radiance Facial, which is wonderful for restoring radiance to your skin and reviving your complexion. This service uses pressurised O2 jets, combined with our special cosmetic formulations, helping to penetrate the epidermis and provide skin cells with oxygen. This boosts the skin’s metabolism, plumping and hydrating for marvellous results.

Zone 2

Area of face: Upper Eyelids

Looks like: Dry / raised skin, eczema, inflammation

Cause of concern: Adrenal glands

If you’re experiencing difficulties within this zone of your face, you can be certain that it’s your body sending you a stress-response from overworked adrenal glands. First things first, take a few deep breaths. The simplest way to begin to address the problem is to reduce your caffeine intake (if you must drink a coffee, perhaps try only having this in the morning after your breakfast and before lunch). Other quick ways to help is to investigate adaptogenic supplements that can help regulate your cortisol and improve your sleep hygiene. High quality Ashwagandha, for example, really helps to ground you and send you off to sleep quicker. Adding more turmeric to your daily diet will also help with any inflammation. In the longer term, breathwork and mindfulness, as well as yoga and meditation, are excellent for lowering cortisol that has been raised by daily stress. You could also consider talking therapies to help support you if there’s something in your life that you need to work through.

Recommended skincare: The eyes are a sensitive area, so it’s best to use very little or very natural on the delicate skin. Our Gazelli Eye Make-Up Remover is a gentle, nourishing and oil-rich product, if you do continue to wear makeup while your skin is inflamed. In addition, the special composition of this product also helps to strengthen the lashes.

Recommended technologies: LED red light can be helpful for taking down inflammation, as can oxygen therapy.

Recommended facials/services: You might want to consider acupuncture to address your ‘Qi’ (energy flow) as this can help rebalance an overworked system. We also offer our unique ‘Hypnomind’ which is a massage timed simultaneously with a hypno-recording designed to unblock mental and physical tensions and restore energetic equilibrium to the body.

Also recommended: Suzy Reading is a wonderful author and friend and her book ‘And Breathe’ is a beautiful, guided journal that can help you prioritise self care. She is also
available as a referring practitioner offering counselling service through Gazelli. Please call or email to enquire.

Zone 3

Area of face: Under the eyes

Looks like: Dark circles, puffiness, wrinkles

Cause of concern: Liver and kidneys

If you have noticed that the skin around your eyes is in trouble, it can be the result of strain on the liver and kidneys, likely owing to poor lymphatic drainage, drinking too much alcohol,
having a poor diet or sleep routine, or a build-up of toxins from taking over the counter medicines such as aspirin and ibuprofen. The best thing you can do is begin to work on your sleep routine, improve your diet and consider homoeopathic or natural remedies for any cause of pain. For simple sleep issues, we recommend trying Ashwagandha as a supplement as this really helps to ground the body and mind and make drifting off easier. For diet, regularly drinking bone broth can work wonders for rebuilding the liver (and plumping the skin with all its collagen) or Justine also recommends Milk Thistle as a liver support.

Recommended skincare: A good eye cream (such as our Gazelli Reviving Eye Cream, which contains wonder ingredients like DMAE, lipoic acid and peptides) can help soothe and
nourish the skin to better health, as well using a Gua Sha or Face Cup to improve lymphatic drainage – be sure to be careful with the delicate skin here, or seek a professional to do this
for you.

Recommended technologies: Radio Frequency for stimulating collagen regrowth, our Body Ballancer suit for lymphatic drainage for the body overall.

Recommended facials/services: Gazelli Zen Facial – for simultaneously calming the body and skin with healing energy work, while also using a Gua Sha for lymphatic drainage (we
can also show you how to use one at home).

Also recommended: Acupuncture is excellent for restoring the liver, and our expert Phoebus Tian can also show you acupressure that you can achieve at home to support
yourself in between sessions.

Zone 4

Area of face: Cheeks and temples

Looks like: Bumps, cysts, rosacea

Cause of concern: Gut, liver, large intestine

Similarly to the forehead, trouble in these areas can usually be connected to the gut, a possible candida overgrowth and an imbalance in the stomach acid. As well as dietary changes such as cutting back on sugar and caffeine, Justine recommends that the best way to address this might be to seek a food sensitivity test to see if something you’re eating is creating an issue. In the meantime, it’s important to try and balance your gut bacteria with good enzymes for breaking down food (found in prebiotic-rich foods such as garlic, onions and dandelion greens), plenty of Omega 3 (found in oily fish), and remembering to remain hydrated at all times. As a result of an imbalanced gut, you may also find that you’re constipated, so eating plenty of fibre can help with this, too.

Lifestyle changes such as incorporating mindfulness and breathwork will also aid in reducing inflammation.

Recommended skincare: To keep the skin calm, use a gentle cleanser to clean your face and try not to scrub or aggravate the skin. You will need a serum that is specific to your skin
type – a consultant can help. Always wear a good SPF.

Recommended technologies: LED light, oxygen therapy, high frequency, pharmaceutical grade peels and gentle gua sha work.

Recommended facials/services: We would recommend working with our experts on a bespoke facial to really create a programme that will treat the problem holistically. If you’re
on a budget, however, our Zen Facial is wonderful for a calming, gentle experience that will bring new life to your complexion. We also recommend acupuncture to address the imbalance in the body’s energy.

Also recommended: If you need support on how to improve your breathing, you might like to speak with our referring Breathwork and Mindfulness expert, Melike Hussein, and we can
also recommend giving yourself a gentle gut massage every day at home by rubbing the palm of your hand on your stomach in a clockwise direction for a few minutes.

Zone 5

Area of face: Lower middle cheekbone

Looks like: As above in explanation of Zone 4, though more specific to rosacea and rosacea acne.

Cause of concern: Small intestine and digestive tract.

Treat as outlined in Zone 4

Zone 6

Area of face: Next to the nose

Looks like: Redness

Cause of concern: The gut

Redness on either side of the nose is indicative of food not being broken down and digested properly, an overgrowth of candida, and the possible presence of H Pylori in the gut, which is
a kind of bacteria that causes inflammation. These issues can be treated in much the same ways as outlined in Zone 4, though you might want to consider taking a Urea Breath Test to determine if H Pylori is present, which can then be treated via your doctor.

Zone 7

Area of face: On the nostrils

Looks like: Redness, rosacea

Cause of concern: Acid in the lower oesophagus

Redness on the flared part of your nostrils can indicate that there is an acid reflux issue in the lower oesophagus. As part of a holistic solution, the recommendations outlined in Zone 4
can help support you, as well as looking into a diet that describes which foods are best to eat and which are best to avoid.

Zone 8

Area of face: Tip of the nose

Looks like: Redness and inflammation

Cause of concern: Back of the throat

Redness on the tip of the nose is caused by acid in the back of the throat as a result of prolonged drinking or binge drinking of alcohol. It can be treated by following the recommendations outlined in Zone 4, though we would also recommend seeking speaking therapies or a type of therapy that suits you to explore your relationship with alcohol if this is a longer term problem.

Zone 9

Area of face: Lower jaw and side of jaw

Looks like: Acne / Melasma

Cause of concern: Liver

If you’re experiencing bad skin in these areas, it might be due to a high amount of toxins in your diet such as preservatives and pesticides, too much fluoride (which can affect your hormones) and having a poor diet in general. We recommend trying to switch to organic produce (or washing non-organic produce thoroughly to remove pesticides), and relying less
on ready meals. Look for natural foods, avoid e-numbers, and consider filtering your water to remove toxins. If you have started to experience these problems as a result of becoming
vegan, it might be worth exploring a more flexible diet that can add certain foods back into your diet on occasion – especially when good, local and organic produce is out of season.

Recommended Skincare: Be sure to use a gentle cleanser to calm the area – at Gazelli our Skin Balancing Cleanser is one of our bestsellers and contains calming and balancing
ingredients such as zinc, aloe vera and tea tree). Always wear a good SPF, and try a very gentle scrub or exfoliation on occasion. Within our facials, we use a special enzyme scrub
that works to break down dead skin without the need for abrasion, though our Gazelli Skincare Illuminating Polish works at home to gently exfoliate with ground rice compounds,
and soothes with an infusion of Gazelli White Oil, which is a very special oil extracted from deep within the soils of Azerbaijan – exclusive to Gazelli.

Recommended Technologies: LED light, oxygen therapy and high frequency.

Recommended Facials / Services: To find easy, actionable ways to improve your diet and habits, you might like to book a consultation with our visiting nutritionist, Sue Camp.

Zone 10

Area of Face: Around the mouth

Looks Like: Acne, perioral dermatitis, bumps and cysts

Cause of Concern: Hormone imbalance / constipation and high toxins

When trouble appears around the mouth, this is likely as a result of an imbalance in oestrogen and / or testosterone, or an ongoing issue with constipation, which can result in a high number of toxins in the body. Make sure that you eat mindfully without rushing and avoid eating too late in the evening. Undigested food can often be caused by not having enough fibre, good fats or hydration in the diet, so try to introduce these back in to help move things along.

Recommended Skincare: Use a gentle cleanser, always wear SPF, seek advice from an expert for the best treatment serum for your skin type, and try to keep your product selection quite natural so that you don’t overstrip or clog skin.

Recommended Technologies: LED Light, high frequency, oxygen therapy

Recommended Facials / Services: Choose a bespoke service with one of our experts so that we can build in some of our best technologies. Our visiting nutritionist, Sue Camp, can
also help with diet and habits.

Also Recommended: Explore our book collection, which has a number of great recipes and food books to start improving your diet and daily food rituals.