Ancient Tips to Help Skin Care and Enhance Your Natural Beauty

Ancient Tips to Help Skin Care and Enhance Your Natural Beauty
(Andrey Popov/iStock)
Jingduan Yang
1/2/2023
Updated:
1/3/2023

The benefits of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) reach far beyond treating acute and chronic diseases. Since ancient times, Chinese medicine doctors have used acupuncture and various Chinese herbal formulas to improve skincare and enhance beauty.

Chinese medicine views the human body as a holistic system with a complex network of interconnected parts. The body is considered healthy when the interconnected parts are in balance. In Chinese medicine, skin health reflects the condition of internal organs, and any skin-related issues may be traced back to the imbalance of the internal organs in the body.

Why Is Lung Health Important for Skin Care?

In Chinese medicine, five significant organs (the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and spleen) connect the entire body. Skin is considered an extension of the inner organs.

In TCM, the lungs are more than just a respiratory system—they are deeply related to the large intestines and hold a strong role in breathing in and out, the necessity of living a healthy life. The skin is seen as an external reflection of the lungs as an internal organ.

The lungs cannot nourish your skin correctly if their energy is blocked or the qi (vital energy) is too weak. Therefore, Chinese medicine skin care usually starts by treating issues of the lungs.

In TCM, qi and bodily fluids are the essential substances for life’s activities, all originating from the internal organs and flowing constantly inside the body. Ensuring these essential substances are sufficient and circulating throughout the body is very important for health and well-being.

How Do Environmental Factors Affect Skin Care?

Due to the delicate nature of the organs, they can be affected by several environmental factors that, in turn, impact skin health.

Lung health, for instance, can be affected by heat, cold, dryness, and wind.

Poor diet or lifestyle habits can result in consuming too many foods with “heat,” including spicy or deep-fried food, excessive alcohol, caffeine. Smoking also creates heat. Too much heat interferes with the balance and harmony in the lungs, resulting in skin symptoms such as redness, dryness, hot flushes, acne, eczema, or psoriasis. In addition, spending too much time in the sun can result in severe skin damage.

Cold and dry air can irritate the airways of people with lung disease and can cause dry, itchy, and cracking skin. Excessive consumption of cold foods and icy beverages can also have a similar impact on the skin.

Dampness is another factor that can affect lung health. According to Chinese medicine, dampness may be caused by poor digestion and a diet high or rich in fatty foods. Dampness may result in skin issues like thickening skin, pus, pimples, and lumps such as cystic acne or warts.

Does Facial Acupuncture Work?

For thousands of years, traditional Chinese medicine doctors have used herbs and acupuncture to treat and prevent various skin issues and achieve beautiful, young-looking skin.
Cosmetic acupuncture works because it treats the root causes of skin issues, identifies and treats the imbalances of organs, and addresses the environmental impact on the skin. The facial acupuncture treatment stimulates blood circulation in the face, helps reduce wrinkles, and improves the overall skin condition. After a series of facial acupuncture treatments, most people not only look younger but also feel better. That is why people call facial acupuncture a health lift.

What Natural Herbs Help Clear Skin Care?

For a great skincare routine, there are some universally beneficial herbs.

Chinese herbalists usually recommend chamomile tea to calm and reduce facial redness, tea tree oil to relieve mild or moderate acne breakouts, honeysuckle to relieve rosacea, and calendula oil to soothe eczema.

They also recommend herbal teas that include tulsi, echinacea, olive leaf, and green tea for clear skin.

Additional herbs and spices that support healthy skin from the inside out include:
  • Turmeric for reducing inflammation.
  • Oregano for maintaining a healthy microbial balance.
  • Chaga, an antioxidant, for protecting the body from oxidative stress or pollution.
Jingduan Yang, M.D. F.A.P.A. is a board-certified psychiatrist specializing in integrative and traditional Chinese medicine for chronic mental, behavioral, and physical illnesses. Dr. Yang is also the founder of the Yang Institute of Integrative Medicine and the American Institute of Clinical Acupuncture and the CEO of Northern Medical Center, New York. He contributed to the books "Integrative Psychiatry," "Medicine Matters," and "Integrative Therapies for Cancer." He also co-authored "Facing East: Ancient Secrets for Beauty+Health for Modern Age" by HarperCollins and "Clinical Acupuncture and Ancient Chinese Medicine" by Oxford Press.
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