Acupoint · Acupressure only
Quanliao
颧髎
Location
Standard location. On the face, inferior to the zygomatic bone, in the depression directly inferior to the outer canthus of the eye.
How to find it. Find the outer corner of the eye, then move straight down until the finger reaches the lower edge of the cheekbone. The point is in the hollow just under that edge.
The hollow is below the bone, not on it. Pressing on the bone itself is not the point.
Acupressure
What it is used for
Skin and face
- Cheek tension, especially after clenching the jaw.
- Mid-face dullness read as Blood Stagnation, alongside gua-sha-face.
- The cheekbone step of the sequence on facial-acupressure.
- Where a practitioner works in cosmetic needling, described on cosmetic-acupuncture.
Actions
- Clears wind-heat from the face
- Relieves facial pain and heaviness
- Benefits the cheek and jaw
- Moves Qi and Blood across the mid-face
Practitioner note
Safety
Safety and when to get help
- Light pressure only, because branches of the facial nerve pass close by.
- Do not press on an acne cyst, a cyst or an inflamed lesion on the cheek.
- Avoid strong pressure over a bruise or after filler in the cheek until it has settled.
- This point is not used with strong pressure in cupping; see facial-cupping.
Used with
Common questions
Where is Quanliao?
In the hollow just below the cheekbone, in a straight line down from the outer corner of the eye.
Does pressing it hurt?
It can feel tender when the jaw is tight. Use light, steady pressure and let the tenderness ease.
Is this the point used in cosmetic acupuncture?
It is one of the points a practitioner may use on the face. The treatment itself is described on cosmetic-acupuncture, and it is not something to reproduce with a needle at home.
How it is understood
Quanliao sits in the hollow below the cheekbone, in line with the outer corner of the eye. The tradition uses it for facial pain and swelling, toothache and a heavy cheek, and in cosmetic work it is one of the points that moves Qi and Blood across the mid-face. It is the natural partner of Jiache at the jaw angle and Yingxiang beside the nose.
Sources
Guidelines and standards
SI-18 Quanliao
On the face, inferior to the zygomatic bone, in the depression directly inferior to the outer canthus of the eye.
WHO Standard Acupuncture Point Locations in the Western Pacific Region World Health Organization, Regional Office for the Western Pacific, 2008.
Location quoted from the WHO standard. The classical record for this point has not been verified against a primary text here, so it is not quoted.