Dang gui helps nourish the "Liver blood", a precursor to skin moisturizing oil.

Alternative Names

• Wind Dispersing Powder
• xiao feng san
• hsiao feng san
• syuhu san
• shofusan

This formula does four things that all support healthy skin. They work together to address the internal organs as well as the external skin.

The four treatment principles inherent in this formula include the following:

1. Nourish the blood to moisturize the skin.
• This is often the root cause of rashes or dry skin. “Nourishing the blood” doesn’t necessarily mean that you have anemia. The secretions of oil in the skin are considered a subset of the blood. So dry skin is addressed through the blood.
2. Extinguish wind to eliminate itching.
• When “wind” is said to enter the skin, it may produce the sensation of an insect crawling on the skin, or simply cause itching. This formula includes a few herbs to “extinguish wind” for this reason.
3. Dry damp to address wet or weeping rashes.
• Dampness arises from a fluid metabolism disregulation in the body. When you are humid inside, it is easy for oozing rashes and sores to arise in your skin. Some itchy rashes also feel wet after you scratch them. This too is dampness.
4. Clear heat to protect the blood and remove redness.
• Whenever we see redness on the body, we assume that there is “heat” involved. Usually red things are warm to the touch too. So, another goal with red rashes is to locate the heat and remove it.

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