🌿 Folk Prescriptions

White hair does not include age-related natural graying but refers to premature white hair caused by genetic factors or certain diseases. Modern medicine holds that white hair is primarily due to reduced melanin formation in hair, weakened function of melanocytes in producing melanin, and decreased activity of tyrosinase. Excessive emotional stress, overuse of the brain, worry, fear, nervous trauma, and chronic wasting diseases may all lead to white hair. Traditional Chinese medicine believes the following factors are related to white hair: First, deficiency of essence and weak blood—insufficient kidney essence fails to transform into yin blood; deficient yin blood leads to lack of nourishment for hair, hence graying. Second, excessive blood heat—emotional agitation causes insufficient water to nourish wood, resulting in hyperactive liver and dry blood, excessive blood heat, and poor nourishment of hair roots, thus premature whitening. Third, liver qi stagnation and spleen dampness—liver qi stagnation damages heart and spleen; spleen dysfunction impairs transformation and transportation, depriving blood production of source, thus causing white hair. Numerous verified remedies and folk formulas exist for treating white hair, mainly as follows. [Formula I] Cortex Mori Albi 30g, Gallnut 15g, Celosia cristata seed 60g. Decoct and use the liquid externally for washing. [Formula II] Lycium root bark, raw Rehmannia, Dodder seed, Eucommia, Polygala, and Acorus tatarinowii, in appropriate amounts. Make into honey pills or decoct and take orally. [Formula III] Sour pomegranate 100g, Gallnut 150g, Sesame leaf 50g. Grind coarsely, place in iron vessel with water, extract juice for external application. [Formula IV] Ligustrum fruit 500g, Sesame seed 250g. Decoct and take 20ml each time, twice or thrice daily with warm water. This formula is excellent for treating white hair due to yin deficiency and dry blood. [Formula V] Two cloves garlic, one piece ginger. Crush into paste, rub on scalp, then rinse with water; spray perfume to reduce garlic odor. Continuous use for 3–4 months yields results. [Formula VI] Cortex Mori Albi 90g. Chop finely, boil for 5–6 times, remove residue, frequently apply to temples; prevents hair loss. This formula serves as a hair health tonic—easy to obtain and suitable for all ages. [Formula VII] Ligustrum fruit 520g, Eclipta prostrata 300g, Mulberry Fruit 300g. Dry Ligustrum fruit first, soak in wine for one day, steam thoroughly and dry again. Dry Eclipta and Mulberry fruits, grind all three herbs into fine powder, mix with honey to make pills, each weighing 10g. Take one pill morning and evening, with diluted salt water. [Formula VIII] Black sesame powder and Prepared Polygonum multiflorum powder, each 150g. Add appropriate sugar, cook into porridge-like consistency, dissolve in boiling water, consume one bowl nightly. After half a year, white hair turns gray, gray hair turns black. [Formula IX] Own stray hair 30g, Sichuan pepper 50 grains. Wash own stray hair, add 50 grains of pepper per 30g, seal tightly with clay, burn in furnace until black as lacquer, grind into powder, take 3g with white wine. [Formula X] Prepared Rehmannia 2000g, Apricot kernel 500g (soaked, skin and tip removed, double kernels, ground into paste), Chebulic Myrobalan peel 250g. Crush and mix all ingredients, add apricot paste evenly, stir with honey for 200–300 strokes, form into pill-sized balls like tamarind seeds. Take with warm water, start with 10 pills, gradually increase to 40 pills, avoid raw scallions, radishes, and garlic. [Formula XI] Fresh cypress leaves (chopped) 1000g, Pork fat 500g. Crush cypress leaves into powder, mix with pork fat to make 20 pills. Wrap one pill in cloth and soak in rice wash water, dissolve and use to wash hair. Once daily; after one month, hair gradually becomes black and lustrous. [Formula XII] White wax, appropriate amount. Remove white hairs, melt white wax and fill holes; new black hair grows. [Formula XIII] Coptis chinensis, several grams. Soak in wine overnight, dry, grind into powder, make honey pills the size of tamarind seeds. Swallow 20 pills before bedtime with wine. [Formula XIV] Raw Rehmannia and processed Polygonum multiflorum, each 5g. Steep in boiling water, drink daily as tea, continue for several months. [Formula XV] Three green walnuts (with skin crushed). Mix with 3 bowls of milk, stir evenly in silver or stone container, apply to beard and hair 3–5 times. [Formula XVI] Green vitriol, mint, and Aconite, equal parts. Grind into powder, soak in iron-rich water, apply daily. [Formula XVII] Frost-covered Catalpa leaves. Collect plenty, crush, steam in steamer, squeeze juice through clean cloth, use to wash head. [Formula XVIII] Centella asiatica 500g, Apricot kernel (soaked, skin and tip removed, double kernels, roasted until yellow), prepared Rehmannia 1000g. Mix all ingredients, pound for 10,000 strokes until color resembles lacquer, form into pills the size of tamarind seeds. Take 30 pills on an empty stomach with warm wine in the morning, another dose at night. [Formula XIX] Pomegranate flower. Dry and grind into powder, mix with a small amount of iron powder, dissolve in rice vinegar broth, take 3g in the morning and evening. [Formula XX] Polygonum multiflorum and iron ore, each 60g. Grind into fine powder, take 2–3g each time, twice daily. [Formula XXI] Asparagus root and prepared Rehmannia, each 250g. Combine, make into honey pills the size of tamarind seeds, take 30 pills before meals with wine daily. Regular use effectively treats premature graying, but avoid raw scallions, radishes, and garlic. [Formula XXII] Black beans, hawthorn, large green leaf, each 30g. Decoct and take orally, twice daily. [Formula XXIII] Cypress fruit shell 10 pieces, raw Rehmannia 10g. Boil together and drink as tea, one dose daily, continuous use for 1–3 months. [Formula XXIV] Black sesame 10g, Polygonum multiflorum and walnut meat, each 3g. Stir-fry all three ingredients in iron pan until cooked, swallow. One dose per day, continue for three months. [Formula XXV] Small black beans 500g, Lycium berries 60g, Polygonum multiflorum 30g, 12 walnuts. First decoct Lycium and Polygonum, use the decoction to boil black beans and walnuts, then mix and dry in shade. Take 30 black beans on an empty stomach in the morning and evening. [Formula XXVI] Castor bean kernels 200g, sesame oil appropriate amount. Fry castor bean kernels in sesame oil until charred, filter out residue, let sit for three days, then brush onto hair frequently. Particularly effective for yellowish hair that fails to turn black. [Formula XXVII] Raw and cooked Rehmannia, each 2500g. Grind both into fine powder, mix with honey to form pills the size of mung beans. Take 10g each time, three times daily, with white wine. This formula is potent and suitable for all ages and genders suffering from white hair. [Formula XXVIII] Wood apple 500g. Soak in hemp oil for one month, extract oil and comb through hair. Long-term use gradually restores dry, dull hair to soft and lustrous black. [Formula XXIX] Walnut skin (or green walnut) and tadpoles, each 100g. Crush into paste, mix with 3 bowls of milk in glass container. Apply sufficient amount to dye beard and hair, combined with peach oil for combing. Long-term use can change white hair to dark. [Formula XXX] Rice vinegar 500ml, black soybeans 250g. Cook beans in vinegar, remove beans, further decoct until paste-like, use to dye hair. Particularly effective for female white hair. [Formula XXXI] Sesame seed, chrysanthemum, Poria, each 1000g. Grind into powder, make honey pills the size of mung beans. Take orally, three times daily, one course lasting three months. This formula is especially beneficial for patients with hypertension and white hair. [Formula XXXII] Achyranthes root 2000g. Each time decoct 20g, take twice daily. Particularly suitable for young adults with premature hair graying. [Formula XXXIII] Lycium berry 200g, sweet flag 100g, five dried persimmons. Cook dried persimmons and sweet flag together until soft, dry Lycium berries, grind all into powder, make into pills using water, size of tamarind seeds. Take 50 pills each time, three times daily, with sweet flag decoction.<White Hair>