The cheekbone point of the face. Quanliao (SI-18) clears Heat and Wind from the face, relieves pain in the cheek, jaw and teeth, and is one of the key local points for facial conditions — from toothache and trigeminal neuralgia to Bell's palsy and swollen cheeks.
Contraindications
As a facial point, keep the needling shallow and precise. No special contraindications are noted in the sources; simply avoid deep insertion and apply clean technique.
Name & story
The name 颧髎 Quanliao tells you exactly where to find it: 颧 (quán) means "cheekbone" and 髎 (liào) means "bony hollow" or "cleft" — the kind of depression you find where bones meet. So the name simply means "the hollow of the cheekbone". Press your fingertip gently under the outer corner of your eye and feel the cheekbone — the little dip you land in is this point. Simple, precise and descriptive, as classical point names so often are.
Point family & character
Quanliao (SI-18) belongs to the Small Intestine Meridian (SI). It is also the meeting point of the Small Intestine Meridian (SI) and the Triple Burner Meridian (TB) — two Yang channels that both travel across the face — which helps explain its strong reach over facial Heat and pain.
Five-element dynamics
The Small Intestine is a Yang channel of the Fire element. Fire, when it rises upward and accumulates in the face, can produce swelling, redness, pain in the teeth and jaw, and twitching or stiffness of the facial muscles. Quanliao (SI-18), sitting right at the cheekbone where two Fire-natured Yang channels cross, is ideally placed to draw that excess Heat outward and restore calm to the face.
Location
Find the outer corner of the eye and drop straight down to the lower border of the cheekbone. There, in a small hollow directly below the outer canthus, is Quanliao (SI-18). Another way: it lies level with the base of the nose, directly beneath the outer corner of the eye.
Anatomy & fascia
The point lies in the depression directly below the outer corner of the eye, beneath the cheekbone (zygomatic arch), over the masseter muscle.
Needling
The needle is inserted perpendicularly, or slightly obliquely toward the area being treated. Because this is a facial point, the insertion is gentle and relatively shallow.
Safe depth
Approximately 0.3–0.5 Cun.
Moxa, cupping & Tui Na
The golden tip
For toothache or a sore, tense jaw, try pressing gently but firmly on the hollow just below your cheekbone, directly under the outer corner of the eye. Hold for one to two minutes on each side, breathing slowly. This can take the edge off dental pain or jaw tension while you wait for treatment. Keep the pressure gentle — this is a delicate area.
For education only — not medical advice. Consult a qualified practitioner.