The number one natural beauty tip I can give you is to take your health seriously. In Chinese medicine, we know that natural external beauty is a reflection of inner health and well being. Often,
solution to external beauty problems is an internal one. That means foods and herbs. In
case of skin problems, herbs can be use to create creams or wraps and applied directly. In Chinese medicine, we treat problems like acne, blemishes, and other skin problems, hair loss, and premature graying of
hair. Some of this you may need to see a Chinese medicine herbalist for, but some of it you may be able to deal with yourself. I’m going to give you natural beauty tip after natural beauty tip to help you do just that.
Natural Beauty Tip #1 – Eyes Lacking Luster What does it mean? You can see it in babies and young children – bright, glowing eyes. Our oldest Chinese medicine classic (written between 200-500 B.C.) states that “the essence of
internal organs ascends to
eyes.” The Bible says something similar, “Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light.” Clear and glittering (shining) eyes indicate vitality of mind and essence. Dull, clouded eyes reflect a disturbed mind, and weakened essence – this often happens in people with long term and deep emotional problems.
How can you fix it? Well, first of all, if you have some emotional problems, work through it with a professional- either a counselor, therapist, or someone within your religion. This is one part of getting to
clear, vibrant personality that shines through in bright eyes. It may take a while to get there. Second, you can take herbs and eat foods that benefit
eyes.
Probably
best Chinese herb for
eyes is lycium fruit (gou qi zi). Other herbs are black sesame seeds (hei zhi ma), and privet fruit (nu zhen zi). Good foods for
eyes include shepherd’s purse, undried raspberry (fu pen zi), and animal liver.
Natural Beauty Tip #2 – Bags Under Your Eyes Bags under
eyes indicate Kidney-system (root energy) deficiency, blood stagnation, or allergies. Respectively,
solutions are to increase energy and minimize overwork; get more movement and circulation; and find
allergy cause, eliminate it, and take anti-allergenic herbs and foods.
The Kidney-system energy is limited. If you overwork, have too much sex, or use more energy than your digestive system can produce, you’ll dip into this limited energy fund. This can lead to more than circles under your eyes- you can end up with premature aging and hair loss, impotence and infertility, and ankle, knee, and lower back problems. If that’s your problem, try to practice moderation, eat better, and take supplemental herbs and foods like black cohosh, Chinese chive, mutton, walnut, oysters, pork, dried rehmannia (sheng di), Chinese yam (shan yao), and horny goat weed (yin yang huo).