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Experts say the secret to Empress Dowager Cixi's keeping her skin white and smooth even at the age of 70 is facial cleanser made from bird droppings.
Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908) was famous for her love of beauty. In the bookThe Imperial Perfume of the Temple(Actual records of the daily life of Empress Dowager Cixi) written by Duc Duc Linh, a female official close to Empress Dowager Cixi and published in 1933, despite her old age, Empress Dowager Cixi still kept her skin white, smooth and soft "like a young girl".
In the bookPortrait of Empress Dowager Cixi, Katharine Augusta Carl, an American artist who painted her portrait from 1903 to 1904, described the Qing Dynasty empress dowager as being nearly 70 years old but "at first glance not yet 40", "having a noble aura, causing people to immediately feel sympathy for her at first sight".
The secret to Empress Dowager Cixi's beautiful skin was ginseng, pearls, and especially Yurong powder, a cosmetic she used throughout her life, according to Wan Hongqi, former head of the Palace Museum.
Ngoc Dung powder was specially created by Qing imperial physicians for Empress Dowager Cixi to use in the 6th year of Guangxu (1881), based on the formula of Bat Bach powder used by women in the Jin Dynasty, including white cloves, white tribulus terrestris, white silkworm, white atractylodes, white ox, angelica, white aconite, and white poria.
White cloves are the droppings of male sparrows. They are bitter, warm, and slightly toxic. They are used to remove wrinkles, brighten eyes, detoxify, and reduce swelling.Daily ManuscriptThe Yuan Dynasty described white cloves as helping to "remove freckles and acne." Many skin-whitening recipes in traditional Chinese medicine books include bird droppings as an ingredient.
Ngoc Dung powder only uses 6 out of 8 herbs in Bat Bach powder, adding 8 more herbs: white lotus pistil, eagle droppings, pigeon droppings, saposhnikovia root, camphor, rehmannia root, white liana, eucalyptus. The ingredients are ground into a fine powder, mixed with water into a thick mixture used for massage, washing the face with water. Use 2-3 times a day.
This method helps brighten the skin, prevent wrinkles and dark spots. Dr. Huang Yongxing, deputy head of the Department of Dermatology, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said that traditional medicines made from bird droppings have long been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat gynecological diseases, tumors and skin diseases.
Bird droppings have the effect of enhancing blood circulation, eliminating blood stasis, clearing heat, reducing swelling, and dispersing blood stasis. In addition, bird droppings also have the effect of treating some skin diseases caused by blood stasis and heat generation.
"However, it is difficult to find types like white clove and white eaglewood in pharmacies today, and it is also difficult to verify their quality. Even clinical trials rarely use them," said Dr. Hoang.
Nowadays, there is a beauty method using bird droppings, which is to disinfect the bird droppings and make them into masks. This type of mask is used by some of the rich and famous people in the world, such as the Beckhams.
According to Ms. Hoang, from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, it is important to note that some types of bird droppings are slightly toxic. "For treatment and beauty care, bird droppings are rarely used alone but are often combined with many traditional herbal medicines to remove dark spots and whiten the skin," the doctor said. "Today, these types of bird droppings are hardly used as medicine in clinical practice due to concerns about their safety and risks."
HA (according to VnE)