🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Whitening and Beautifying Facial Formulas refer to prescriptions that make the facial complexion as white as jade, clear and radiant. These formulas have obvious whitening effects, working through mechanisms such as dispelling wind, activating blood circulation, benefiting lungs and kidneys, moisturizing skin, removing spots, and enhancing skin clarity. [Formula One] 500 ml each of sheep fat and dog fat, 35 grams of white angelica root, 15 grams of pinellia, 1 whole licorice root, 15 sour plums. Combine all ingredients and simmer, then store in a white vessel for facial application. This formula makes the face as white as jade. [Formula Two] 10 grams each of white job's tears, white angelica root, dodder, red cinnabar, white cinnabar, almonds (skin and tip removed), peach blossoms, melon seeds, achyranthes root, chicken droppings, polygonatum, and polygala (heart removed). Crush the twelve ingredients into powder. Mix with 100 ml human milk and 100 ml white honey, take 7 pills on an empty stomach, three times daily. This formula makes the face fair and beautiful. [Formula Three] 1 gram of roasted black bindweed, 60 grams each of fragrant white angelica root, spikenard, sweetgrass, trichosanthes root, tea seeds, and soap pod powder. Grind into fine powder and use as usual (for facial washing) to achieve soft, fair, and clean skin. [Formula Four] 30 grams each of white job's tears, deer antler glue, rock salt, white atractylodes, fine cinnamon, 11 egg whites. Chop finely. First boil white atractylodes with 1500 ml water, filter out the juice (600 ml), then place in a silver pot, steam over water to obtain 200 ml, add other ingredients, continue cooking down to 150 ml, strain through cotton cloth, store in a porcelain container. Apply every night before sleep after washing face and drying, leave on overnight. This formula makes the skin moist and tender, as fair and bright as jade. [Formula Five] 60 grams each of black bean flour, white angelica root, green sandalwood, fragrant sweetgrass, spikenard, patchouli, 120 grams each of winter melon seeds, trichosanthes seeds. Crush and sieve the herbs, use as usual (i.e., wash face with this mixture). This formula makes the face smooth and white. [Formula Six] 120 grams of raw Pharbitis nil, 15 grams each of fragrant white angelica root, fragrant sweetgrass (soil removed), 30 grams of spikenard, 21 grams of trichosanthes root, 15 grams of ligusticum, 30 grams of spikenard again, 21 grams of trichosanthes root again, 15 grams of ligusticum again, 7.5 grams each of fine cinnamon and prepared donkey-hide gelatin, 30 grams of soap pod, 15 grams of patchouli, 60 grams of paper mulberry fruit, 15 grams of radix angelicae pubescentis. Grind all herbs into extremely fine powder. Each time, take 5 grams and mix with water in a basin when washing face. Use once in the morning and once in the evening. After washing, the face becomes fair, spotless, and fragrant. [Formula Seven] Unrestricted amount of raw pinellia. Dry and grind into fine powder, mix with rice vinegar to form a paste, store in bottle for later use. Apply frequently from morning to night. After three days, wash off with soap pod decoction. This formula disperses nodules, removes blood stasis, expels wind, and whitens the face, leaving it delicate and fresh. [Formula Eight] 38 grams of white melon seed (winter melon seed), 15 grams of white poplar bark, 30 grams of peach blossoms. Crush into powder, take after meals, three times daily, 3 grams each time. To whiten, increase melon seeds; to redden, increase peach blossoms. After 30 days, the face turns white; after 50 days, hands and feet also become white. This formula harmonizes blood and qi, moisturizes skin, treats blackened face and limbs, restoring brightness and whiteness. [Formula Nine] 3 parts each of orange peel and white melon seeds, 4 parts of peach blossoms. Crush and sieve into powder; take 1 tablespoon (about 1 gram) after meals with wine. This formula removes blood stasis and activates blood, resulting in overall fairness of the entire body. [Formula Ten] 60 grams each of cuttlefish bone, fine cinnamon, trichosanthes, dried ginger, Sichuan pepper, 1000 grams of ox marrow. Chop herbs finely, soak in sour wine (vinegar) for 3 days, then prepare 1000 grams of refined ox marrow and simmer. When vinegar aroma disappears, the medicine is ready and can be applied to the face. This formula regulates qi and blood, enhances whiteness, and removes dullness. [Formula Eleven] 90 grams of oyster shell, 30 grams of wild cucumber root. Grind into powder, mix with white honey, apply to face before dinner each evening, rinse off the next morning with warm water, avoid wind and sun exposure. This formula clears heat, eliminates blood stasis, moisturizes skin, and whitens face. [Formula Twelve] 1 whole winter melon. Remove outer green skin, use flesh, pulp, and seeds. Cut flesh into slices, combine with 1.5 liters of wine and 1 liter of water, cook until soft. Filter through bamboo sieve, then through cloth, reduce to thick paste, add 500 grams of honey, cook further until consistency is right, filter again through new cotton, store in ceramic container. Use by taking a grain-sized amount, mix with saliva, apply to face, rub gently. This formula moisturizes and whitens face, suitable for dull, dark, lifeless complexion. [Formula Thirteen] 60 grams of mung bean powder, 30 grams each of white angelica root, white lotus root, white peony root, white silkworm pupa, white job's tears, white trichosanthes root, 15 grams each of starch, mountain cardamom, rush grass, 6 grams each of spikenard, windproof, radix angelicae pubescentis, 2 bars of soap pod. Grind into fine powder, use during facial washing. This formula dispels wind, moisturizes skin, opens meridians, perfumes the flesh, making the face as white as jade. [Formula Fourteen] 30 grams each of cloud stone powder and almond. Soak almonds in hot water to remove skin and tip, crush finely, mix with silver vessel, blend with yellow cow’s milk, slightly steam, apply to face at night, wash off the next morning with water. This formula makes the face fair and moist. [Formula Fifteen] 1 small deer antler, 1500 grams of cow’s milk, 90 grams each of ligusticum, fine cinnamon, tianmen winter, white angelica root, white job's tears, white atractylodes, white peony root, 14 almonds, 90 grams of ghee. Grind all herbs into fine powder. Soak deer antler in water for 100 days to remove blood odor, cut into 1-inch pieces, then add to cow’s milk with other herbs, slowly simmer until milk nearly turns into paste. Strain through white silk cloth and store. At night, take a small amount of milk and place in a mortar, grind deer antler in the mortar to extract juice, apply to face, wash off the next morning with rice-washing water. With long-term use, the face becomes as fair as young jade, radiant and tender.<Whitening>