🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Gray hair blackening formulas refer to remedies capable of turning yellowish or white hair black and lustrous. Primarily used for premature graying or dull, dry hair. Mechanism includes nourishing kidney essence, enriching blood and qi, protecting hair, enhancing hair quality, and coloring hair. Many external preparations for blackening hair possess direct coloring effects.[Formula I] 30 grams each of white sandalwood powder, white angelica root, white peony root; 90 grams of cardamom seed; 90 grams each of talc and litsea cubeba; 90 grams each of indigo and fragrant costus root. Grind all herbs into fine powder. Before use, wash hair thoroughly with rinsed rice water (fermented rice water is better), then evenly sprinkle 30 grams of the herbal powder onto hair and comb repeatedly. This formula helps restore black color to hair.[Formula II] Equal parts raw walnut peel, raw pomegranate peel, raw persimmon peel. First, remove pulp from sour pomegranate, fill with good cloves, then dry walnut peel, persimmon peel, and the filled pomegranate and cloves together. Grind into fine powder. Mix with fresh cow milk to form a paste, store in a ceramic jar, seal, and bury in horse manure for 10 days. Take a thin thread, stretch it taut, place a small amount of ointment on the thread. If both ends turn black, the medicine is ready. If not, rebury in manure until black. Apply a small amount of the ointment evenly to hair before sleep, rinse off in the morning. This formula restores black color to hair.[Formula III] 30 grams black beans, 1–2 pears. Cut pear into slices, add to black beans with sufficient water, boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat until soft and tender. Eat pear and drink broth twice daily for 15–30 days. This formula nourishes lungs and kidneys, excellent for blackening hair.[Formula IV] 15 grams each of dodder seed, poria, 10 grams white lotus seed, 15 grams black sesame, 100 grams purple rice, appropriate salt. Clean all ingredients, combine with purple rice and sufficient water, boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat until porridge forms. Add a little salt before eating. This formula nourishes yin and strengthens kidneys, blackens hair and enhances beauty.[Formula V] 1 pair pig kidney, 30 grams eucommia bark, 15 grams desert thorn, 30 grams walnut meat. Combine ingredients and pig kidney with sufficient water, boil over high heat for 30 minutes, then simmer over low heat until pig kidney is tender. Consume pig kidney and walnut meat, drink soup, one dose daily for 7–10 days. Helps blacken hair and enhance beauty.[Formula VI] Appropriate amounts of mulberry fruit (or mulberry leaf), black sesame. Wash selected mulberry fruit or leaves, dry under sun, grind into powder, mix with four times the amount of black sesame powder, store in a bottle. When using, take an appropriate amount of mulberry-sesame powder, add honey, knead into dough, divide into about 10-gram pills. Take one pill morning and evening. This formula nourishes hair and blackens hair.[Formula VII] 20 grams fo-ti root, 15 grams goji berries, 6 jujubes, 2 eggs. Boil all ingredients together until cooked, discard residue, eat eggs and drink soup. One dose daily for 10–15 days. This formula nourishes yin and strengthens kidneys, blackens hair and beard.[Formula VIII] Pig bone or ox bone. Crush bones, mix 1 part bone with 5 parts water, simmer gently for 1–2 hours. After cooling, a sticky substance settles at the bottom of the container. Stir the bone broth before use; can be used to cook dishes, make soups, or as seasoning. This medicinal dish is both delicious and beneficial for blackening hair and enhancing beauty.[Formula IX] Appropriate amounts of black sesame, sugar. Wash and dry black sesame, stir-fry gently until roasted, grind into powder, mix with equal amount of sugar, store in a bottle. Take two spoonfuls daily with warm water in the morning and evening. Can also be mixed into milk, soy milk, or congee for breakfast, or used as filling for sweet buns, or made into sesame salt. This formula nourishes blood, moistens dryness, strengthens liver and kidneys, and blackens hair.[Formula X] 10 grams longan flesh, 15 grams lotus seeds, 10 jujubes, 50 grams glutinous rice. Boil all ingredients into porridge, consume twice daily for 15–30 days. This formula supplements both qi and blood, blackens hair and brightens complexion.[Formula XI] 30–60 grams fo-ti root, 3–5 jujubes, 100 grams glutinous rice, appropriate red sugar or rock sugar. First, decoct fo-ti root in a clay pot until concentrated, discard residue, then add glutinous rice and jujubes, simmer over low heat until porridge is nearly ready, add red sugar or rock sugar, boil again. Consume 1–2 times daily. A course lasts 7–10 days, followed by a 5-day break before next course. Must be taken long-term to see results. This formula nourishes blood and qi, nourishes hair and blackens hair.[Formula XII] 1000 grams pig trotters, 40 grams peanuts (with red skin), 40 jujubes, and appropriate seasonings: cooking wine, soy sauce, sugar, green onions, ginger, monosodium glutamate, Sichuan pepper, star anise, salt. Remove skin from pig trotters, clean, blanch in water until 70% cooked, then remove and coat evenly with soy sauce. Fry in vegetable oil until golden brown. Place in clay pot, add water and other ingredients and seasonings, bring to boil over high heat, then simmer until tender. Divide into four portions for meals. Consume continuously for 10–15 days. This formula tonifies middle energizer, nourishes blood, benefits hair and blackens hair.[Formula XIII] 1 hen (~1000 grams), 30 grams astragalus root, 6 grams ginkgo seed, appropriate salt, green onion segments, ginger slices, cooking wine, monosodium glutamate, white pepper powder, clear broth. After slaughtering and removing skin and internal organs, briefly blanch in boiling water, then place astragalus and ginkgo seeds inside the chicken cavity, add other seasonings, steam over high heat until chicken is fully cooked (~2 hours). Remove from steamer, discard astragalus and residue, sprinkle with white pepper. Divide into 5–6 portions for meals. Consume continuously for 10–15 days. This formula boosts qi, nourishes blood, treats deficiency, and has hair-blackening and beautifying effects.[Formula XIV] Mulberry fruit (or mulberry leaf), honey. Take fresh ripe mulberries, mash them, filter juice through gauze, place in earthenware pot and simmer until slightly thickened, then add appropriate honey until forming a paste. Cool and store in bottle. Take 1–2 tablespoons twice daily, washed down with warm water. This formula blackens and nourishes hair.[Formula XV] 15 grams each of white poria, ginseng, fine cinnamon (without leaves), safflower (roasted, hair removed), white spiny aster (roasted, horn removed), ligusticum, cardamom seed; 21 grams each of dragon bone (ground), gypsum (calcined), hundred-part herb, white angelica root; a small amount of musk. Grind all herbs into fine powder, mix in musk, re-grind evenly. Apply with warm water before bed and in the morning, brush onto hair. This formula turns gray hair black.[Formula XVI] 50 fresh carp bile, 1 iron file (15 grams), 5 dried chebulic myrobalan (roasted, kernels removed), 2 pieces of turmeric, 15 grams coptis (cut fine), 15 grams black beans, 15 grams purple sage, 15 grams litsea cubeba, 50 ml ginger juice. Mix all ingredients uniformly, place in a silk bag, put into a mixture of 120 grams bamboo sap oil and 350 grams sesame oil, soak in a sealed oil box, store in cool place for half a day, then remove and apply daily to scalp. This formula blackens hair, effective for yellow and sparse hair; within 100 days, hair becomes jet black and never falls out.[Formula XVII] 3 grams mother clove, 2 myrobalans, 4.5 grams Chinese gallnut, 30 grams fragrant costus root, 4.5 grams iron sand, 7.5 grams white peony root, 1 new nail, 6 grams chebulic myrobalan peel, 3 grams cardamom seed. Roast iron sand with vinegar. Grind all ingredients except iron nail into fine powder. Add 1 large bowl of water, boil until 7/10 cooked, filter out residue, transfer to glass or ceramic bottle, insert iron nail, seal mouth. Can be used after 3 days (5 days in winter). Usage: Wash hair in the afternoon, apply medicated solution with soft brush before sleep, rinse off with warm water in the morning. This formula darkens beard and hair, makes hair glossy and black.
[Formula XVIII] 3 fresh young walnuts. Grind whole (including skin) into fine powder, add 2 cups human milk, place in silver vessel, gently stew over low flame while constantly stirring with a bamboo spatula until thickened into ointment. Before use, wash hair, dip a brush into the ointment, apply evenly to hair, rinse off with warm water the next morning. This formula makes hair black and shiny.
[Formula XIX] Equal parts pork fat from lunar December, sheep dung ash, and sweet flag grass ash. Mix thoroughly, apply externally to scalp every 3 days. This formula nourishes and moisturizes hair, promoting black growth, specifically for treating gray hair.
[Formula XX] Sour pomegranate, gallnut, sesame leaf. Crush, place in a silk bag, soak in iron vessel with water, wash hair to turn black.
[Formula XXI] Frost-covered paulownia leaves and seeds. Gather plenty, crush, steam in a steamer, immediately wrap in cloth and squeeze out juice while hot. Take a small amount of paulownia leaf and seed juice, mix with warm water to wash hair. Using this formula results in black, lustrous hair. <Hair Care>