There are basically three types of skin: normal skin, oily skin, and dry skin.
Normal skin is firm, of moderate thickness, smooth, soft, and elastic, making it a desirable skin type.
Oily skin has larger pores on the face, more fat, and an oily sheen. This type of skin is prone to facial infections but is less likely to develop wrinkles.
Dry skin is red, white, fine, and delicate; it is prone to dryness, wrinkles, and damage, and is more sensitive to physical and chemical factors, making it prone to allergies. Additionally, there is a combination skin type, where the forehead and nose are oily (with excess oil and a shiny appearance), while other areas are dry, red, white, fine, and delicate, and sensitive to ultraviolet rays in sunlight. Approximately 80% of women have combination skin.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, based on a person's constitution, oily skin is often associated with "internal dampness"; conversely, dry skin, with abnormally low internal moisture levels, is associated with "dryness."
From a modern medical perspective, individuals with oily skin have more active sebaceous glands, higher levels of androgen secretion, and dilated skin capillaries. Those with dry skin have insufficient moisture in the skin, slow metabolism, reduced sebaceous gland function, and a dry skin surface. Therefore, different dietary adjustments can affect the skin, and without disrupting nutritional balance, individuals with different skin types can select suitable foods accordingly. [美食中国]
For those with oily skin, it is advisable to choose foods that are cool or neutral in nature, such as winter melon, loofah, white radish, carrot, bamboo shoots, Chinese cabbage, bok choy, cabbage, lotus root, daylily, water chestnut, watermelon, pomelo, coconut, whitebait, chicken, and rabbit. It is best to eat less of spicy, warm-natured, and high-fat foods, such as cream, cheese, cream products, preserved fruits, fatty pork, lamb, dog meat, peanuts, walnuts, longan pulp, lychee, walnut kernels, chocolate, cocoa, and curry powder. It is also advisable to use traditional Chinese medicines that remove dampness and clear heat, such as Poria Alba, Alisma, Pearl, White Chrysanthemum, Coix Seed, Maifan Stone, and Reishi Mushroom.
For those with normal or dry skin, it is advisable to eat more alkaline foods such as beans (like black soybeans, soybeans, and red beans), vegetables, fruits, and seaweed. It is best to eat less acidic foods from birds, beasts, fish, and shellfish, such as dog meat, fish, shrimp, and crab. It is also advisable to use traditional Chinese medicines that invigorate blood circulation and remove stasis, as well as those that nourish yin, such as Peach Blossom, Peach Kernel, Angelica Sinensis, Lotus Flower, Rose, Safflower, and Goji Berry, Solomon's Seal Seal, Glossy Privet, Eclipta, Lily, Mulberry Mistletoe, and Mulberry.