How did ancient people whiten their skin?

Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty, who is 80 years old, still maintains a youthful appearance and is not old. "New Tang Book" said that she was "good at painting herself, although she was old in spring and autumn, but she didn't know her decline".

The beauty secret recipe used by Wu Zetian was later incorporated into the Pharmacopoeia Newly Revised Materia Medica compiled by the Tang government, and soon spread to the people. Its method is to harvest the whole motherwort grass on the fifth day of May, without scholars. Sun drying, mashing into fine powder, sieving, adding flour and water, stirring, kneading into egg-sized pills, and sun drying. Use yellow mud as a 1 stove, enlighten the four directions, put charcoal up and down, and put pills in the middle. After big fire 1 meal time, burn 1 day and night with slow fire, take out, cool thoroughly, finely grind, sieve and put into a dry porcelain plate. When in use,110 talcum powder and110 rouge are added, evenly mixed, ground, and scrubbed at the end of the medicine when taking a bath or washing your face or hands.

This side is also called "Xianyu powder".

2. Taizhen Ruby Cream

This recipe is a beauty secret recipe used by Yang Guifei, one of the four beauties in ancient times. After using it, her face is rosy and beautiful.

The almond in the formula is soaked, peeled and ground into fine powder, which is mixed with calomel and talcum powder in equal parts. After steaming, add a little borneol (also known as borneol) and musk, make it into a paste with egg white, and apply it after washing your face every morning.

During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, there were many stunning beauties in the harem, among which only Yang Guifei was favored by Emperor Li Longji, which played a great role in addition to her natural beauty.

After "Taizhen Ruby Cream" came out of the forbidden palace, it had a great influence on later generations, and people also applied it one after another. It is said that Empress Dowager Cixi uses it every day, leaving her face in her 70s soft and ruddy, and no wrinkles and age spots can be seen.

Calomel in the recipe is poisonous, while almonds are poisonous. Never eat it.

3. Princess Yonghe medicated bath beans

Bath bean is a powdery skin care agent used for bathing in ancient times. Mainly use bean powder, preferably black bean powder, and then add various kinds of powder, which can moisturize the skin and prevent skin diseases.

Princess Yonghe often used bath beans in the Tang Dynasty to keep her skin white, tender, delicate, soft and elastic. The method of making her bath beans is as follows: first, pour hot rice into cold water for five or six days, take the upper layer of clear water to boil, add melted antler glue and appropriate amount of glutinous rice, and simmer into porridge. Spread out the porridge and dry it. Then, dry porridge, peach kernels, almonds, black beans, angelica dahurica, ampelopsis, bletilla striata, Atractylodes macrocephala, Poria, Aquilaria Resinatum, Gleditsia sinensis and a small amount of musk are mashed into fine powder and sealed for later use. Used to scrub the skin in the bath.

4. Princess Yongle Beauty Tea

Princess Yongle, the daughter of Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, was born in the palace and had excellent living conditions, but she was sickly and haggard since childhood. Princess Yongle, under the guidance of a private doctor, made tea with local tribulus, and her health gradually improved. Later, she turned out to be as beautiful as flowers and jade, and her figure was extremely symmetrical.

The earliest existing pharmaceutical monograph in China, Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, said: "Taking Tribulus terrestris for a long time will make you grow muscles and improve your eyesight, but it will strengthen your body." Li Shizhen said that it can "tonify the kidney and cure fatigue".

5. Princess Taiping Beauty House

According to folklore, Princess Taiping, Wu Zetian's favorite daughter, often uses a beauty secret recipe, which can make people as white as snow, smooth and moist. The method is to collect peach blossoms in the shade on the third day of the third lunar month every year, grind them into fine powder, and collect chicken blood on the seventh day of July for painting and wiping the body.

The beauty function of peach blossoms has long been known by the ancients. According to Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica, peach blossom is "a good color", which, in modern terms, has a beauty function. Chicken blood can treat various skin diseases and nourish the skin. The harmony of peach blossom and chicken blood can promote skin metabolism and provide sufficient nutrition, so it can play a role in beauty.

Chinese medicine believes that black-bone chicken blood is the best medicine, and its curative effect is more obvious.

6. Pangsanniang Beauty House

Pang Sanniang, a famous actress in the Tang Dynasty, was still in high spirits until middle age, just like a girl. Her beauty secret is to use pearl powder, mica powder, mung bean powder, musk, borneol and honey as face cream. The proportion of pearl powder, mica powder and mung bean powder is 1: 3: 5, and a little of four seasons and borneol respectively.

Pearl is an essential medicine for beauty. In Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica, it is said that using pearl powder "makes people moist and look good". All pearls are used for beauty. It is best to bring new ones, not those that have been unearthed or buried as jewels. Pearl powder is made by washing fresh pearls, wrapping them with fine cotton cloth and white cloth, putting them in a casserole, boiling them with water and tofu for two hours, taking out pearls, mashing them into fine powder, grinding them with water, and drying them before use.

7. Qing Palace Beauty Secret Recipe

There are many beauty secrets in the courts of various dynasties. The beauty secret recipe commonly used by Empress Dowager Cixi in Qing Dynasty is: 6 parts of mung bean powder, 4 parts of kaempferia kaempferia rhizome, 4 parts of Bombyx Batryticatus, 2 parts of borneol and musk 1 part, finely ground, finely divided and evenly mixed with1.24g of pancreatic soap. This prescription comes from Jingshou Pharmacy on June 23rd, 30th year of Guangxu reign.

8. Lotus smiles

Lotus is graceful, graceful, muddy but not dirty, and has always been known as "a gentleman in flowers". Lotus has good color and taste, can be eaten, and has beauty effect. The Book of Flowers and Fruits with Good Food and Medicine contains nearly ten recipes for taking lotus flowers.

Compendium of Materia Medica says that the effect of lotus is "calming the heart and benefiting the color, and staying in the face is light and comfortable". The book also contains the method of "nourishing beauty with food", which is later recorded for supplement: "Seven lotus seeds were picked on July 7, eight lotus roots were picked on August 8, and nine lotus seeds were picked on September 9, dried in the shade and sieved. Every inch you take, you must take it with warm wine. "

"Square inch finish" is the name of the ancient instrument for measuring powder. Its shape is like a dagger, and its size is 1 inch square in ancient times, hence the name. L square inch bi is about 274 ml, the dosage of Jinshi is not about 2 g, and the dosage of vegetation is not about1g.

9. Pearl Beauty Powder

The beauty function of pearls has long been recognized by the ancients, which can be used externally or orally. The pearls used for beauty should be picked newly (see the secret recipe of beauty in Qing palace for the production method).

Pearls contain a variety of amino acids and calcium carbonate, which can nourish the skin. When used as cosmetics, it is advisable to take 0.6 g ~ 0.9 g each time, and take it every 10 day/time.

It is said that taking pearl powder is also an important beauty method for Empress Dowager Cixi.