Natural Anti Aging - 5 Chinese Herbal Masques To Turn Back the Clock

Thousands of years ago the Imperial Physician in China was tasked with all things health and wellness related for the Emperor and Empress - aches, pains, colds, flus, fertility, vigor, focus and yes - appearance.   To rule a nation one had to appear as youthful and strong as possible and, since each Emperor wanted his dynasty to last forever, both actual longevity and the appearance of youth to maintain the confidence of the people was of tantamount importance.

In China this meant a combination of Acupuncture, Herbs, Massage, Gua Sha, Cupping, Dietary and Lifestyle advice - all the tools Licensed Acupuncturists still employ in tandem today to help YOU stay healthy for the long term!  

In the realm of natural anti aging specifically however, in addition to Acupuncture, herbs were not only taken internally to support the constitution and maintain health, but also used externally as masques to prevent visible aging and turn back the hands of time when needed.

One of the truly lovely things about Chinese Medicine and Chinese Herbology specifically, is that FOOD is MEDICINE both internally and externally.  Here, therefore are my five favorite Chinese herbal facial masques to help prevent and reverse aging using ingredients you can easily get at your local health food store or asian market.  If all else fails, Amazon surely has what you need in stock!

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5 DIY Chinese Herbal Masques - Natural Remedies for Anti Aging

Most of these require the use of a cloth masque - you boil a tea and then soak the tea in the cloth masque, apply cloth masque to face.  If you don’t have a cloth masque, you can easily make one with an old t-shirt or just use gauze.  

**To use a T-Shirt - cut out a circle that is the size of your face and under chin area - you can extend all the way to the collar bone to encompass the “decollette” area if you like. Soak in tea, apply!

**To use gauze - pick up some large squares or a roll of gauze in the first aid department of the drug store.  Open enough packages, or cut enough strips, to cover the face.  Soak in tea, apply!

Anti Aging Facial Masque Ingredients and Indications:

• Chinese Yam (Shan Yao)- Wild Chinese Yam is ideal, but any yam has mild hormone balancing effect.  Excellent for hormonal imbalance acne, dry skin, redness, irritation, fine shallow lines.  Boil, steam or bake yam and mash into paste - apply as masque to dry skin or fine line problem areas.
  

• Dried Rose - look for whole bud dried roses to encompass the rose hip, where a high concentration of anti-oxidant rich Vitamin C is found. Boil for 20 minutes into tea, use tea for base with cloth masque. Overall blood moving meaning it will brighten the complexion, mild detoxificant, excellent for skin clarification, acne, general base for any combination masque you’d like to make.
  

• Chrysanthemum Flower - boil for 20 minutes into tea, apply with cloth masque. This herb is detoxifying, heat and wind clearing energetically. Use for areas of redness, inflammation, acne. Wild chrysanthemum flower is best, but any white or yellow chrysanthemum will do.
  

• Goji Berri - Yin Tonic Chinese herb. Boil berries for 20-30 minutes, use tea as base for cloth masque or can concentrate drops of tea through cloth onto specific areas of dry skin/fine line concern.  Same indications as Wild Yam but slightly more moving - complexion brightening - action.  Can also mash cooked fruit into masque for problem areas.
  

• Ginseng - King herbal for anti aging.  Especially good for sagging, puffiness, deep lines, general loss of lustre in the skin. Use Korean or Chinese Ginseng for Yang Deficiency - overall sensation of cold, fatigue, low energy. Use American Ginseng for Yin Deficiency - overall heat sensation (menopause), dryness, redness.  Combine both if you feel “neutral” in temperature. Fresh Ginseng is best, but dried also works well.  
  
• Fresh Ginseng - steam in double boiler 1 hour, mash into paste and apply to whole face for overall anti aging, or to specific sagging/wrinkling areas.
• Dried Ginseng - boil for 2 hours, use tea with cloth masque to concentrate on problem areas. Can also mash remaining root and apply as compress.  Dried ginseng can be boiled and used 2x.
  

Contact Rebecca for More Information - See Her at New Seasons This Month for More Anti Aging Tricks!

For the ultimate in anti aging therapies, Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture is your best holistic natural anti aging face treatment.  Encompassing thousands of years of Chinese Medicine knowledge, your personal constitution is assessed and specific techniques are applied to your individual concerns to turn back the hands of time.  Expression lines, fine lines, deep lines, complexion concerns, are all addressed using a combination of highly individual Acupuncture, herbal, massage and home therapies that not only treat your appearance, but also your internal physical and energetic self to optimize health and wellness.

In Chinese Medicine, the face cannot be divorced from the rest of the body.  The energetic channels represented there include Stomach, Bladder, Gall Bladder, Large Intestine, Conception Vessel, and stimulating them stimulates and balances the internal organs while we are treating those pesky signs of aging.  It is a quite a bit more than skin deep!

As for the information above, all of these herbs can also be taken internally in capsule form, or cooked and consumed as tea.  Yes, even rose!  So don’t hesitate to use them both internally and externally if they match your constitution.

If you want to more, please peruse my website, facebook page or pinterest page. Better yet - contact me!  You can contact me via email anytime or schedule an appointment or free consultation (phone or in person) online 24/7.

You can also catch me in person at New Seasons in February for a lecture on Chinese Medicine Facial Rejuvenation and Anti Aging - see dates below.  Email class@newseasonsmarket.com to sign up for these **FREE** classes or call the wellness class hotline at 503-280-5177.  I hope to see you there!

Until next time,

~Rebecca