Ear acupressure with a seed helped clear the skin disease rosacea in a trial

If you live with rosacea, here is good news: a low-cost option that needs no device just did well in a careful test. In a trial of people with this skin disease, pressing a tiny seed taped to a spot on the ear, on top of regular treatment, helped more people reach clear or almost clear skin than pressing a seed on a different spot.

You can do it anywhere, in about 30 seconds at a time. It adds to your usual care and does not replace it.

How the study worked

At one hospital in Xi’an, China, 204 people with rosacea who were already getting standard first-line treatment were split by chance into two groups of 102. One group had a small plant seed taped to the inner hollow of both ears. The other group had a seed taped to a different spot on the ear. Everyone pressed their seed 3 times a day for 30 seconds, with extra presses allowed during flare-ups, for 8 weeks. The doctors who judged the skin did not know who was in which group. The results were published Oct. 14, 2026, in JAMA Dermatology, and because the trial ran at a single center with mostly women in their early 30s, other groups still need to be studied.

What they found

At 8 weeks, about 57% of the group pressing the inner-ear spot had clear or almost clear skin. In the other group, about 35% did. The exact figures were 56.9% versus 35.3%.

Put another way, for about every 5 people who used the real spot, one extra person reached clear or almost clear skin.

The researchers also looked at what was happening inside the body. Blood markers tied to inflammation and nerve signaling (LL-37, CGRP, TNF-α and IL-6) dropped more in the group pressing the inner-ear spot. A special imaging test of the skin’s blood vessels showed quick improvement in 59.3% of that group, compared with 7.4% in the other group.

The benefit lasted. At week 20, the real-spot group still had lower scores for overall severity and for redness. No serious side effects were reported.

Why would pressing your ear affect your face?

Rosacea brings redness, flushing and bumps on the face, and it often comes back. One idea is that your nerves and your immune system work together to drive flare-ups. The inner hollow of the ear is served by a branch of the vagus nerve, a long nerve that links the brain with much of the body. Earlier studies had found that stimulating that branch with a device helps rosacea. This trial shows that simple pressure with a seed can work too, and the blood tests back up the nerve and immune link.

What you can do today

This week, write down your three most common rosacea triggers, such as heat, alcohol or spicy food. Bring the list to your next dermatology visit and ask whether ear acupressure could be added to your current plan.