Acne is a skin disease often characterized by inflammation in the skin, erupting in lesions. This condition is widespread, particularly during adolescence, and the majority of people experience it at some point during their life. There are many myths about what causes and cures acne, and an enormous industry has built up around products intended to help prevent and treat the disease, especially in teenagers.

To understand acne, it’s important to understand at least basically what a hair follicle looks like. The follicle is buried in the skin, and a hair grows out of it, breaking the skin surface. Attached to the follicle are sebaceous glands, which produce an oil, called sebum, that helps keep skin healthy. Acne occurs when, for whatever reason, that hair follicle gets blocked and the sebum builds up under the skin. In that rich environment, bacteria start to grow, eventually causing pimples.

In TCM, it is believed to be related to the production of free fatty acid in the local area by propionic acne bacillus in the sebaceous under the function of androgen. This disease belongs to the category of "Acne of Lung Wind" and"Acne" in Chinese medicine. The disease can be caused by improper food intake, and excessive intake of greasy and sweat foods, which result in accumulation of heat in the lung and stomach to fumigate the face along the meridians, plus secondary infection of pathogenic wind. It can recur repeatedly in severe conditions to lead to failed function of qi activity, phlegm accumulation and blood stasis.