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.

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.

Ingredients

Dang Gui 當歸 tangkuei, Chinese angelica root Radix Angelicae Sinensis [supports pregnancy]

Sheng Di Huang 生地黃 Chinese foxglove root, rehmannia (fresh),Rehmannia root Radix Rehmanniae Glutinosae

Hei Zhi Ma 黑芝麻 black sesame seeds Sesami Semen nigrum

• The three herbs above go directly to the root cause beneath red rashes. There’s an ancient saying in Chinese medicine that states “To treat wind, first treat the blood; when the blood moves, the wind will naturally be extinguished.” To put this into more familiar terms, to moisturize the skin and relieve itching, you must nourish and promote the circulation of the blood. These two herbs nourish and promote the movement of blood.

Jing Jie 荊芥 schizonepeta stem or bud Herba seu Flos Schizonepetae Tenuifoliae

Fang Feng 防風 saposhnikovia root, ledebouriella root, siler Radix Ledebouriellae Divaricatae

Niu Bang Zi 牛蒡子 great burdock fruit, arctium Fructus Arctii Lappae

• The three medicinals listed above all “extinguish wind” which is to say that they address itching, but they also guide the benefits of the other herbs in this formula to the skin.

Ku Shen 苦參 sophora root, flavescent sophora root Radix Sophorae Flavescentis [supports pregnancy]

Cang Zhu 蒼术 atractylodes rhizome, cang shu Atractylodis Rhizoma

• These two herbs have a drying property for the “internal dampness” that causes weeping or moist sores. The ku shen also has a cooling property that is commonly used when a moist rash is red in color.

Tong Cao 通草 rice paper plant pith, tetrapanax Tetrapanacis Medulla

• This herb replaces the herb used traditionally in this formula to help excrete internal dampness for weeping rashes by stimulating urination. The herb that this one replaces is safe when the correct one is used but there are two that get mixed up and so modern clinics often make this safe substitution.

Zhi Mu 知母 anemarrhena rhizome Rhizoma Anemarrhenae Asphodeloidis

Shi Gao 石膏 gypsum Gypsum Fibrosum

• These two herbs address another potential cause for red rashes, which is internal heat. The shi gao is a mineral that is commonly used in a construction material called “dry wall”. Place your hand on any dry wall you may have around you. It feels cold! Shi gao clears heat from the stomach and the “qi level” which is more body-wide than just the stomach. Zhi mu also clears heat internally, but also nourishes the body fluids which is smart, because heat tends to damage the body fluids. In fact, these two herbs come from “Gypsum Combination” for high fever with great thirst.

Gan Cao 甘草 licorice root Radix Glycyrrhizae [caution]

• As usual, licorice root is added to prevent side-effects or harsh actions of the other ingredients, also helps them to blend like leaving left-over soup in the fridge overnight.