I have always been curious about Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) because they use mixture of herbs to help the body and the skin function correctly. So, I was so excited when to take a class Sandra Lanshin Chiu about TCM at the WELL Summit last October in Brooklyn, NY. Sandra is an Acupuncturist, Chinese Herbalist, Skin Specialist, Treatment by Lanshin

Chinese Medicine in a very short nutshell -

Chinese medicine is about finding ways to live your life in a better way.

In TCM:

• Herbs are primarily in this type of medicine.
• It takes 4-6 months when using TCM for your skin to recover. TCM doesn't not relieve the symptoms; its goal is to restore and reestablish regular functioning of the organ. TCM focuses on blood circulation.
• Puffy face might be due tension in the body. What we think is fat is sometimes just fluid stock. Try Facial Gua Sha at home watch the video here!

More about TCM -

TCM:
[ ] Amplifies or restores your skin's natural function.
[ ] Once you are treated for acne by TCM - you should not have it back. Eczema might come back, so it is in remission
[ ] Focuses on the internal root condition of your skin. It looks at the whole system to see if it functions well.
[ ] Chinese medicine read the skin.
[ ] You will hear a lot about "blood heat" and "toxic heat" in TCM. TCM looks at your blood systems and circulation
[ ] Identify various type of inflammation during treatment
[ ] Uses herbs and seeds are cooked to create treatments in TCM

To identify a good TCM practitioner, ask them: Do you test your herbs for toxicity? Is your facility FDA approved?

TCM and Rejuvenation of the skin -

We tend to think that having a skin problem has always to do with gut issues, but it is not always the case. It could be from the digestive system.

In Chinese medicine, your skin is your other lung. So the respiratory system is important. TCM does internal [Internal Therapy] and external medicine at the same time.

TCM also uses facial acupuncture to relax the muscles so you skin can go back to function well; it resets your skin.

I learned so much about TCM during this class and it makes me even more curious about it. Did you tried TCM? What do think?

No matter if you believe that these chemicals can seriously affect your overall health or not, there is one thing that you just need to accept. Back in 2009, the European Union (EU) decided to ban 1,328 chemicals from cosmetics. As you can imagine, this decision wasn't taken lightly and the proper authorities did several studies and researches to get to this ban. However, in 2018, in the US, the list of banned chemicals only sums up 30. So, what's going on here? After all, the US is a developed country and there's no way we can only be banning 30 chemicals from cosmetic products when the EU is banning more than 1,300 for almost a decade now.

One of the main reasons for this huge difference is how both regions look at chemicals and their effects. While on European Union, they tend to take the preventive approach, on the US we take the reactive approach.

This simply means that in the case of the EU any chemical shows the smallest evidence that is causing any harm, it will be banned. On the other hand, in the US, we need to see a lot of evidence of the damage before the regulation appears.

Just take a look at talc, for example. Ten years ago, talc was used in EU in many different cosmetic products and even on babies. After all, with great moisture absorption features and a soft texture, a lot of people used it. However, it has been discovered that talc could contain asbestos, which is a dangerous substance that can be related to serious lung problems. So, the EU acted immediately and included talc in their chemicals bans list. However, when we look at the US, you can still see a lot of cosmetic products using talc even if Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay” $72 million to the family of Jacqueline Fox, whose death by ovarian cancer was linked to her daily use of talcum-based Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower products.”  If you are not sure that your products are safe? Ask your skin care and makeup brand to confirm that they use asbestos-free talc.

This happens for one reason only: FDA can't find strong evidence that the use of talc can be harmful. However, and what is very strange in the middle of all this, is that they can't also guarantee that talc will be free of asbestos either. So, what are natural alternatives to talc? Arrowroot starch, tapioca starch, rice powder, and oat flour are all safe alternatives that have some of the same properties as talc. They absorb moisture very well, applies nicely on the skin, and absorb oils to help with shiny skin. Rice powder is my favorite alternative; 100% Pure Fruit Pigmented Powder Foundation and Blushes and their Bamboo Blur Powder are made with rice powder and I found that they are the beat at keeping the shine at bay.  

Talc is just one of the most evident examples. However, the truth is that you can find a lot of dangerous chemicals on the most diverse cosmetic products (and some will even state they are organic). If you are looking for alternatives to your regular cosmetics, I share with you several safe natural skin care and cosmetics that are great alternatives to regular commercial products.

While we may all blame FDA for not protecting our health and for not banning these chemicals like the EU is doing, the reality is that the FDA doesn't have a lot of power in these questions, especially about what concerns to cosmetics. Cosmetics regulations haven’t been updated since 1938 and this is clearly not FDA fault but Congress fault.
 
So, beauty companies can keep getting their skin care products approved like organic even if they are full of chemicals. And until we don't update the legislation and deliver more power to the FDA, we really need to be careful about what we put on our skin. In my post 5 Tips for Transitioning to Organic or Natural Skin Care, I share with you few ideas on how to switch to a safer skin care beauty routine.

We don’t have to use cosmetics that contain potentially dangerous chemicals; there are plenty of natural and organic cosmetic brands that make amazing products.