Traditional Recipes Fade Age Spots Within 10 Days

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As one grows older, there are chances that brown age spots might appear on the face. Some advocate for laser treatments to remove them, but there are time-tested alternatives as well.

To treat these age spots, it’s necessary to know their causes.

In simple terms, age spots are just a kind of pigmentation. It is termed “seborrheic keratosis,”  caused by skin aging and UV damage. It usually appears on the face, backs of hands, chest, upper back, and neck.

People commonly confuse age spots with sunspots. The difference between the two is that age spots feel raised, while sunspots do not.

An eminent traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner based in Taiwan shared with us six ways to prevent them in the first place and herbal recipes to lighten and erase them.

Traditional Chinese Medicine to Cure Age Spots

Dr. Chen Junru, director of Taiwan Wonderful TCM Clinic, shared how she helped her nearly 80-year-old father significantly reduce the age spots on his face within 10 days.

The basic concept, Chen said, is to “invigorate the heart and kidney.”

In TCM theory, “pains, itches, and sores all belong to the heart,” as written in the classical TCM text “Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon.” This means that swelling, pain, and itching of the skin can all be linked one way or another to the heart.

There is also clinical evidence that the heart and the kidney are closely related. For instance, the insufficient blood supply to the kidney due to heart disease causes kidney disease. And on the other hand, kidney disease increases the burden on the heart due to an imbalance of body fluids and electrolytes.

Chen said to treat age spots, we must first strengthen the cardiovascular function to increase circulation to the peripherals, which then helps expel the body’s metabolites.

In addition, the kidney is an important organ for the detoxification of the body. When the kidney does not function properly, waste cannot be eliminated efficiently. This will result in poor metabolism, which will, in effect, speed up body aging.

Chen prescribed for her father Coptis chinesis, donkey-hide gelatin, Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza), Chuanqi (Anredera cordifolia), and Cannabis fruit pills. Combined with a hot bath, exercise, and a light diet, the large age spots on her father’s face shrunk in about 10 days, and some of the dark ones disappeared.

Salvia miltiorrhiza is the root and rhizome of Salvia miltiorrhiza plant, an herb of the Labiatae family. According to its entry in the Ming Dynasty classic TCM text “The Compendium of Materia Medica,” it is said to have the effect of promoting blood circulation. More and more modern experiments today also continue to confirm that the main biological components of Salvia miltiorrhiza have obvious pharmacological functions, such as protecting the myocardium, inhibiting thrombosis, anti-oxidation, and anti-inflammation.

Donkey-hide gelatin is a solid glue made from donkey skin, which has the functions of nourishing blood and stopping bleeding, anti-oxidation, and improving immunity. Studies have shown that donkey-hide gelatin may inhibit the aging process by enhancing antioxidant activity, scavenging free radicals, and regulating the propagation of aging-related genes.

Chinese herbal medicine is meant to be prescribed by a professional, but there are also many remedies and formulas suitable for at-home use.

Chen recommended a drink that can lighten spots and a facial mask for the same purpose.

Some of these herbs may sound unfamiliar, but they can be found at shops we trust here:

• T S Emporium: https://m.tsemporium.com/en_us
• Kamwo Herb & Tea LLC: https://kamwoherbs.com/

Anti-Spot Tea Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 grams (0.11 ounces) Lotus leaf
• 3 grams (0.11 ounces) Honeysuckle
• 5 grams (0.18 ounces) Salvia miltiorrhiza
• 3 grams (0.11 ounces) Liliant grass
• 5 grams (0.18 ounces) Donkey-hide gelatin

Preparation:

• Soak everything in hot water for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Serve.

Anti-Spot Mask Recipe

Ingredients:

• 0.5 grams(0.02 ounces) Angelica dahurica
• 0.5 grams (0.02 ounces) Ligusticum edulis
• 1 gram (0.04 ounces) Asparagus
• 1 gram (0.04 ounces) Pearl powder
• Egg white or bitter tea oil

Preparation:

• Grind all the ingredients until you have a powder.
• Add a bit of egg white or bitter tea oil as a binder and stir and mix thoroughly.
• Apply a thin mask on the face for about 15 minutes, then wash it off.

Note: This mask is light-sensitive, so it’s better to use it at night. People with sensitive skin can reduce the amount of Angelica dahurica and Ligusticum edulis.

6 Ways to Prevent Age Spots

What are the best things to do in daily life to avoid age spots from cropping up in the first place? Chen proposed six tips.

1. Avoid UV damage
   Ultraviolet rays are the main culprit of various pigmentation spots. It causes melanin to be produced at the bottom of the skin. It will slowly come to the skin surface over time, forming pigmentation spots visible to the naked eye.
2. Restrict fat intake
   Age spots are related to lipofuscin in cells. There are unsaturated fatty acids in animal fats that we take in, which can become lipofuscin as a by-product of oxidation of those unsaturated fatty acids. Lipofuscin is a granular brown-yellow pigment that can easily become age spots when accumulated. Therefore, Chen recommended that we restrict the daily fat intake to around 50 to 60 grams (1.8-2.1oz).
3. Eat more antioxidant foods
   Antioxidant foods can reduce lipofuscin production and thereby prevent age spots. These include fresh vegetables and fruits rich in vitamins A, E and green tea.
4. Take more anti-aging Chinese herbal medicines
   As we grow older, our skin will age and easily cause keratin accumulation. The rough and raised feeling of age spots is the manifestation of keratin accumulation. You can take Chinese medicinal substances with anti-aging effects, such as ginseng, astragalus, ganoderma, hawthorn, and white fungus.
5. Improve local blood circulation
   Age spots are a kind of pigmentation, so strengthening local blood circulation can help slow down the speed of pigmentation. Things like exercises and taking a hot bubble bath help with blood circulation.
6. Improve sleep quality
   Insufficient sleep or going to bed too late will affect the body’s metabolism. Usually, people who go to bed late tend to have a dull complexion, which is a manifestation of poor metabolism. It is best to go to bed before 11 p.m. whenever possible.