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Chinese Face Reading

The face is the most powerful communication tool we have.  Instinctively as we watch people talk we are using more than our ears to understand their meaning.  We are all familiar with associating personality traits to facial features; novelists often draw such distinctions: “he had a determined jaw” or “she was blessed with kind eyes”.  As an acupuncturist and herbalist, my job is to help the patient heal the root cause of their symptoms and so I observe a patient’s face for personality traits that might give me clues as to how a health problem arose. 

For centuries, the art of face reading in China has been used not only as a diagnostic tool by physicians, but also for assessing suitability of couples for proposed marriage alliances and a person’s suitability for a certain job or promotion.  A talented face reader can tell you aspects of your past and your future, where your talents and your foibles lie, what features to look for in a potential mate and can counsel new couples in how to avoid marital problems.  For instance, my wife’s eyebrows have a good arch which means she likes to get things done quickly.  My eyebrows, however, are much flatter and suggest a somewhat more laidback approach to life.  So a face reader would advise me that if asked to do something around the house, there would be less chance of any potential conflict if I did it sooner than I would normally!

It is through the relaxation or contraction of the fifty-three facial muscles that we form a smile or frown; express anger, sadness, joy and so on.  The repeated use of these muscles over the years etches character lines into our face.  And it is through the observation of these and the relative size and shape of the features that amazingly accurate predictions can be made about the person behind the fac-ade; including clues that might indicate current or even potential health issues.

Every major organ has a group of features that show how well that organ is functioning, whether physically or emotionally. For instance, continuing with the eyebrow theme, the liver’s health and vitality is expressed in the brow, and the character traits shown here include an orientation towards action, temper, the desire for altered states, determination, and issues with authority.  There are many shapes and sizes of eyebrows, but the most important quality about them is their size.  The bigger they are, the stronger the liver energy and as a herbalist, I need to take this into account – as the thinner the eyebrow, the lower the herb dosages I will prescribe.  In addition, Spring is synonymous with the liver and often questioning patients at this time of year, it can emerge they feel uncharacteristically irritated by work colleagues and family members. I’ll therefore use acupuncture points that soothe the liver energy to change this temper into a healthy drive and determination.  Happily, the next time I see them, they report how much less irritating everyone else is!

By Tom Lawrence (pictured above) Tom can be contacted at the

Pitlochry Acupuncture Centre on 01796 474100.