Three White Decoction for Fair and Smooth Skin
The widely circulated traditional Chinese medicine beauty formula, the Three White Decoction, is recorded in the Ming Dynasty (16th century) medical text "Introduction to Medicine," consisting of 5 grams each of white peony root (Bai Shao), white atractylodes (Bai Zhu), and poria (Bai Fu Ling), and 2.5 grams of licorice root (Gan Cao), boiled in water and taken warm. Originally used to treat deficiency heat from cold injury, it was later found to tonify qi and blood, and improve skin complexion and moisturization, thus gaining popularity in folk remedies. This formula's combination is precise and suitable for rough, sallow skin, melasma, and pigmentations caused by qi and blood deficiency with cold constitution. Traditional Chinese medicine holds that skin luster is closely related to organ function; when internal organs are diseased and qi-blood harmony is disrupted, skin becomes rough and facial spots appear. Therefore, this decoction works by harmonizing qi-blood and regulating the five zang organs to achieve skin whitening and spot removal.
White peony root, white atractylodes, and poria are traditional herbs for skin moisturizing and whitening. Together with licorice, they also delay aging. In TCM theory, white peony root has a sweet and sour taste, slightly cold nature, and nourishes blood, treating sallow complexion, facial pigmentation, and lack of luster; white atractylodes is warm in nature, sweet and bitter in taste, with anti-aging effects; poria has a sweet and bland taste, neutral nature, capable of fading spots and brightening skin; licorice is neutral in nature, sweet in taste, with moisturizing and deodorizing effects, used for bad breath due to spleen-stomach weakness and skin fissures.
Modern pharmacological studies have confirmed the cosmetic benefits of these herbs: white peony root clears free radicals and has antioxidant properties; white atractylodes and poria enhance immune function and dilate blood vessels; licorice has immunomodulatory effects, and externally, it provides sun protection, whitens skin, removes spots, and prevents skin roughness—thus many whitening skincare products contain licorice extract.
Females can purchase these four herbs from pharmacies and boil them into a decoction for consumption. If inconvenient, one may make tea bags: take 150 grams each of white atractylodes, white peony root, and poria, and 75 grams of licorice, grind into coarse powder, mix evenly, pack into 30 small packages. Each day, steep one package in boiling water like tea.
In fact, traditional Chinese medicine cosmetics have a long history. Besides the Three White Decoction, Ge Hong of the Jin Dynasty created in his "Emergency Formulas from the肘" a beauty mask made from eggs, fragrant powder, and apricot kernels. Numerous formulas with whitening and spot-removing effects exist, such as Qiongyu Gao (from ginseng, raw rehmannia, poria, and honey) recorded in "Collected Verified Formulas of Hong," which tonifies qi and yin, moisturizes skin, and enhances whiteness.