Does Medicinal Beauty Really Work?
Nowadays, many women seek beauty through medication. However, clinical TCM practitioners warn: “All medicine carries toxicity,” and any drug may have side effects, including adverse effects on beauty. Especially some drugs cause greater harm to skin, hair, and body shape—so avoid excessive or improper use.
Drugs Harmful to Hair
Fine, lustrous hair is a sign of beauty. Drugs such as nitrogen mustard, busulfan, actinomycin D, procarbazine, and cyproterone, particularly various anticancer chemotherapy agents, cause severe hair loss. Compounds containing thallium, arsenic, and sulfur also induce hair loss. When necessary, alternate between different drugs to reduce hair loss.
Drugs Harmful to Skin
Drug side effects most directly and quickly manifest on the skin. For example, aminopterin, nitrobenzene, quinine, cinchophen, sulfonamides, chlorine-containing compounds, and toxic substances like phosphine can cause yellowing of the face and entire skin. Iodine turns skin black; silver nitrate turns skin blue-black. Many drugs directly trigger dermatitis or rashes—such as bromides, sulfonamides. Penicillin, penicillamine, quinidine, reserpine, tetracycline, etc., can cause “drug-induced rashes,” appearing as unsightly butterfly-shaped rashes on the face.
Topical Drugs Directly Affecting Skin
Some topical medications cause pigment deposition, especially hormone-containing ointments like cortisone cream or fluocinolone cream. For facial treatment, test first on the upper arm for several days to check for allergic or other adverse reactions, avoiding potentially irreversible pigment changes.
Drugs Affecting Body Shape
Yeast tablets and insulin can cause obesity. Long-term use of propionate testosterone or methyltestosterone in women may prevent breast development, harming body contour. Conversely, prolonged use of estrogen, prolactin-stimulating hormones, or rifampicin in men may lead to gynecomastia.<Beauty>