For thousands of years and up to today, TCM or traditional Chinese medicine has been and is being practiced by practitioners and by people in the Western medical profession. It is not only effective in addressing dozens of ailments of the body it can also be used to maintain a person’s beauty and youthfulness.
The approach of TCM into providing you with a brighter, smoother, and more youthful-looking face is starkly different from the philosophy followed by Western conventional medicine. Signs of aging on the face are addressed by Western medicine through surgical treatments such as blepharoplasty and face lifts, laser resurfacing, and non-surgical methods such as the application of beauty products. All these procedures have one thing in common – they only target the wrinkles and other imperfections on your face.
On the other hand, TCM follows the belief that the spirit, mind, and body are integrated and correspondingly, outer beauty is an indication of internal balance within the body. In other words, the imperfections in your face have an underlying cause which is an imbalance in the body. TCM taps into the self healing processes of your body and empowers it to bring back balance and consequently, radiance and smoothness to your face.
In the rejuvenation of your face, one of TCM’s modes of treatment is through the use of herbs. There are literally hundreds of herbs that have shown to have a positive effect on the preservation of youth.
One herb that is widely used because of its many benefits to health is the root of astragalus which in Chinese is called huang qi. Astralagus is commonly used to help boost the immune system. It is also used to increase the body’s Yang qi that can lead to firm facial muscles and the elimination of wrinkles. Yin and Yang is often depicted in a circle sign that has black on one side and white on the other, that’s segregated by a flowing line dividing the black and white colors. In Chinese philosophy, Yin and Yang is a concept used to explain the structure of all phenomena in the universe. According to yin yang philosophy, everything in the physical universe has two polar opposites, when there is black, female, and night, there is also white, male, and day respectively, and so on and so forth.
The astralagus herb used in TCM has chemicals that contain polysaccharides and saponins. It is a plant replete with antioxidants that can help soften your skin.
The astralagus seed is another beneficial herb used in TCM herbal therapy. Its Chinese name is sha yuan ji li. It is obviously the seed of the astralagus plant whose root we talked about just a while ago. It’s believed that during the Tang dynasty, there was an emperor who was forced to flee the capital because of a political upheaval. He fled to a village wherein there were a lot of ladies that looked youthful. Fascinated, he questioned the locals about the beauty secret of these ladies. He was told that the ladies regularly drank a tea made from the sha yuan ji li. He had a daughter who had dry skin and when the emperor came back to the capital after the turmoil ended, he told the princess to drink the tea regularly. She followed her father’s advice and three years later, her dry skin became supple and smooth.
The astragalus seed, like the astragalus root, is a plant herb that boosts Yang qi. It is also known to nourish one’s kidney essence and liver blood which nourishes the face. With regards to its chemical attributes, the astralagus seed has similar antioxidant ingredients as the root of astragalus.
The dang gui or Chinese angelica root is the last herb this article will discuss. The dang gui is known to invigorate the flow of blood in the body that results in speedier nutrient replenishment on your face. It is high in the antioxidants carotene and ferulic acid and in vitamins B-12 & E.
Before using these herbs on a regular basis to attain that radiant youthful, and supple look you so desire, talk to your local TCM practitioner first and ask him or her if the herbs are right for you. If the practitioner answers yes, then take these herbs regularly, and see how many beauty benefits you can attain for years to come.