Acupoint · Acupressure only

Sibai

四白 sì bái

Location

Standard location. On the face, in the infraorbital foramen.

How to find it. Look straight ahead and drop a line down from the pupil. About one finger-width below the rim of the eye socket there is a small hollow in the cheekbone; the point sits in that hollow, in the infraorbital foramen. Press gently for 10 to 20 seconds a side.

The landmark is the infraorbital foramen, the small hollow in the bone below the rim of the eye socket. Pressing upward onto the rim is safe; pressing inward towards the eye is not.

Acupressure

How

With the pad of the ring finger, press gently upward onto the bony rim, not inward toward the eye.

Hold

10 to 20 seconds on each side, with very light pressure.

Frequency

Once a day, and gently.

In a sequence

After Cuanzhu (BL-2), then outward to Quanliao (SI-18) on the cheekbone.

What it is used for

Skin and face

Under-eye heaviness and puffiness, alongside dark-circles.
Cheek tension and a heavy feeling across the mid-face.
The under-eye part of the sequence on facial-acupressure.
Dullness in the cheek area, where the pattern is read as Blood Stagnation.

Actions

Clears heat from the face and eyes
Benefits the eyes and eases strain
Relieves facial pain and twitching
Moves Qi and Blood in the under-eye region

Practitioner note

Needling is a practitioner procedure and is not described on this page. Where it is relevant to a treatment, the beauty page for that practice explains what a practitioner does.

Safety

Safety and when to get help

Never press onto the eyeball or into the eye socket. The direction is upward, onto the bone.
Very light pressure only. Nerves and vessels pass through the foramen this point sits in.
Do not press after recent eye surgery, laser treatment or filler in the tear trough, until the practitioner says it has settled.
Stop at once for any change in vision, flashes, floaters or eye pain, and see a doctor.

Used with

Chengqi (ST-1) Cuanzhu (BL-2) Quanliao (SI-18)

Common questions

How do I find Sibai?

Directly below the pupil, about one finger-width below the rim of the eye socket, in the small hollow you can feel on the cheekbone.

Is it safe to press under the eye?

Light pressure on the bony rim is the safe form. Pressure onto the eyeball or deep into the socket is not.

Can acupressure help under-eye circles?

It is traditionally used for under-eye heaviness, and no human study has tested it for dark circles. dark-circles sets out what is known and what is not.

How it is understood

Sibai sits on the Stomach channel directly below the pupil, in the small opening in the bone under the eye. The tradition uses it for the eyes and the face: tired or strained eyes, facial pain and twitching, and the heavy, puffy feeling under the eye that people notice on waking. It is the main under-eye point in a facial routine, and the one that needs the lightest touch.

Sources

Guidelines and standards

ST-2 Sibai

On the face, in the infraorbital foramen.

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.