The second name of ginseng is “Rapah ginseng”, which translated from Chinese means “almighty root”. There is a legend of ancient people about where this plant came from in China: “During a storm, lightning struck a mountain river. The water dried up, and in place of the river a beautiful bush grew, which absorbed all the power of the heavenly gods. And that plant became like a person, it could heal any disease...”
Modern cosmetologists, taking into account the properties of the “magic” root, have found use for it in the prevention and treatment of facial skin and hair. Due to its widespread use, people have learned to grow ginseng in an unnatural environment. Powders, balms, and elixirs are produced from the root. Golden root can be found in the pharmacy in tablets and tinctures.
Characteristics of the properties of the Chinese root
The healing root has found its use in cosmetology due to the content of a large amount of substances valuable to the body. The high content of folic acid, minerals and microcomponents, as well as vitamins B, E, C, nicotinic acid compounds, panaxinol promotes rapid regeneration of skin cells.
The ability to improve the regeneration of the cellular apparatus is widely used for cosmetic purposes. Dull, brittle strands become strong and silky in a short time. Fading facial skin with wrinkles is quickly smoothed out, the upper layer of the dermis is renewed. Due to these qualities, a person looks much younger than his age.
Properties of ginseng
Ginseng has a protective function against the effects of ultraviolet radiation. It is used for damaged skin as a bactericidal healing drug. Reduces swelling, inhibits tissue inflammation.
In the form of a tincture, it is used to improve well-being, memory, resistance to stressful situations, and endurance of the body. Hair tinctures are widely used by cosmetologists to treat alopecia - focal destruction of hair follicles.
The root has a special foaming property. In pharmaceutical establishments on the counter you can see shampoos, balms, and cosmetic milk based on ginseng root.
Ginseng: benefits and applications
Ginseng is beneficial for the face due to its high content of saponins. These are complex organic compounds from plant glycosides. They have a powerful regenerating and anti-inflammatory effect, ensure complete metabolism and energy balance of skin cells. Simply put, ginseng extract for the face actively resists aging, reduces inflammatory processes occurring in the skin, and protects the epidermis from the adverse effects of the environment.
Useful properties of ginseng:
- Helps smooth out wrinkles
- Well moisturizes and nourishes
- Relieves inflammation
- Powerful antioxidant
- Tones
- Increases elasticity
- Strengthens the walls of blood vessels
- Protects against external factors and photoaging
- Gives radiance to the skin
Korean red ginseng is most often found in cosmetics. It is added to cleansers, tonics, serums, face and eye creams, masks, patches, shampoos and balms. Korean anti-aging lines with valuable extract are very popular.
Types of ginseng
In the world of flora, there are about seven species of this medicinal plant. Most of the biological species are grown in Korea. There are different types of plants depending on the temperature regime of processing. Korean ginseng is:
Golden (“color of the sun”) – processed at a temperature of 1100 C. Crimson root (“red ginseng”) – a five-year-old plant undergoes heat treatment at 900 C. Colorless (white) – fresh dried root up to five years old.
For homemade cosmetic masks, you need to use a root that will meet the processing requirements. Improperly dried root or inappropriate heat treatment temperature affects the biological properties of the product. If fresh ginseng root is not available, you should buy it in pharmacies, where there is always a certificate of product quality.
A little history
The plant was first mentioned in the first century BC. Korean ginseng was already considered an extremely valuable extract, beneficial for health and prolonging life. The royals were really hunting for him. In the 16th century, it was recognized as rare and was forbidden to be consumed by everyone except the emperor and his family. The main consumer of the plant has always been China. During the reign of the Chinese Empire, Korea even paid tribute in valuable roots. In modern Asia, ginseng is grown on an industrial scale and is used not only as a medicine, but also added to everyday food.
How to use ginseng root?
Regardless of what cosmetic purposes the healing properties of the red extract are used for, to achieve quick results, in addition to external use, it should be taken internally. Any illness originates from within the body.
Hair loss is the cause of internal disharmony, a consequence of depression and nervous overexcitation. Ginseng tincture is indicated for use precisely in such conditions.
Who should not use golden root?
Not every panacea can have a positive effect for certain groups of people. For whom is the life-giving power of the healing extract inaccessible? Ginseng is contraindicated:
Persons with high blood pressure (especially in the summer months). Diagnosed with hyperthyroidism (dysfunction of the thyroid glands). During pregnancy. When breastfeeding. Persons suffering from migraine, frequent headaches of unknown etiology. For sleep disorders. The effect of the extract and tincture is increased by frequent consumption of alcoholic beverages, coffee, and strong tea. Individual intolerance.
There is no other plant on our planet that enjoys such great fame as an all-healing remedy as ginseng. Ginseng is perhaps the most famous representative not only of the Araliaceae family, but also of medicinal flora in general.
It is most often called the “root of life.” Literally translated from Chinese, the word “ginseng” means “root man” (zhen – man, shen – root). This name was given for the striking resemblance of the ginseng root to the human figure. Based on the principle of similarity, the more the root resembled a human figure, the more it was valued. Eastern healers considered ginseng a panacea (the literal meaning of this Greek term is a remedy for everything; the generic name “Panax” comes from the same word and means “all-healing”).
Ginseng has been known in Eastern folk medicine for at least 3000 years. Reliable references to the use of ginseng are contained in medical treatises dating back to the 4th century. BC e. Ginseng roots were first brought to Europe from Asia by Dutch merchants in the 17th century. In Russia, ginseng became known in 1675 thanks to the Russian envoy to China N.G. Scafari.
Ginseng is a perennial herbaceous plant that lives up to 100 years, with a rhizome (neck) and a fleshy taproot (body). The root has 2–6 branches at the end. In the upper part there are ring wrinkles, the number of which increases with age. A wintering bud develops at the top of the rhizome, and the future above-ground shoot is formed in it. The flowers are small, greenish, collected in an apical umbel at the end of the peduncle. The fruit is a bright red two-locular (occasionally three-locular) berry-shaped drupe. It blooms in June, the fruits ripen in August and remain on the plant until September.
It grows in the Far East: in the Primorsky Territory and in the south of the Khabarovsk Territory. Found on mountain slopes, in cedar-broadleaf and cedar-spruce-broadleaf forests in single specimens or small groups. Ginseng roots are harvested no earlier than August in order to preserve the seeds, since the plant reproduces only by seeds. Natural reserves of the plant are very limited and tend to decline further. The natural restoration of ginseng is hampered by the slow growth and development of the plant. Harvesting of wild plants is carried out only under licenses. Ginseng is included in the Red Book.
The cultivation of ginseng began in Korea in the 1st century. BC e., a little later this practice was continued in China. Currently widely cultivated in China, Korea, Japan, and Russia. The experience of growing ginseng shows that its cultivation is possible where it is possible to create conditions close to natural ones. In ginseng growing in the taiga, the mass of the root increases slowly and it reaches marketable condition by about 20 years. Under cultivated conditions, ginseng develops faster; on plantations, ginseng roots can be harvested after 6–7 years.
The pharmacological properties of ginseng root are primarily associated with triterpene saponins - panaxosides A, B, C, D, E, F. These are glycosides of tetracyclic triterpenes of the dammarane series, which are absent in other Araliaceae. In panaxosides A, B, C the aglycone is panaxatriol, and in panaxosides D, E, F it is panaxadiol.
In addition, the roots contain up to 18% protein substances, 2–3% lipids, a significant part of which is phytosterol, up to 20% starch, 16–23% pectin substances, as well as sucrose (3–4%) and monosaccharides (glucose, fructose and etc.). The specific smell of the roots is due to the presence of essential oil. There are mucus, tannins, resins, ascorbic acid, vitamins B1, B2, biotin, nicotinic, folic, pantothenic acids, polyacetylene compounds. The content of phosphorus, sulfur, and microelements is significant. More than half of the root ash consists of phosphates.
Ginseng leaves, as well as the root, contain triterpene glycosides - ginsenosides and flavonoids. The content of the total glycoside fraction in the leaves is higher than in the roots. In Korea, ginseng leaves are used for medicinal purposes to heal wounds and ulcers.
Contrary to popular belief, the chemical composition and medicinal properties of wild and cultivated ginseng are almost identical, but the cost is much lower.
The mechanisms of pharmacological action of ginseng have not yet been fully disclosed. Most scientists believe that more than one mechanism underlies the various manifestations of the action of ginseng. An increase in human mental performance indicates the undeniable influence of ginseng on the cerebral cortex. On the other hand, the effect of ginseng on the reactivity of the body, metabolism, gonadotropic and antidiuretic effects indicates the effect of ginseng on the diencephalon - the pituitary gland, and thereby on other endocrine glands.
Ginseng has adaptogenic, metabolic, biostimulating, antiemetic, tonic effects, and increases appetite. Stimulates the central nervous system, reducing general weakness, increased fatigue, drowsiness, increases blood pressure, mental and physical performance; stimulates sexual function. Reduces cholesterol and glucose levels in the blood, activates the activity of the adrenal glands.
Based on the research results of Professor Brekhman I.I. and other domestic authors, it is quite justified to use ginseng as a stimulant and tonic for physical and mental fatigue, decreased performance, after suffering debilitating diseases of the body, some nervous and mental diseases of a functional nature (neuroses, neurasthenia, psychasthenia), etc.
Ginseng is prescribed to adults as a stimulant for mental physical stress, arterial hypotension, neuroses, neurasthenia, neurocirculatory dystonia of the hypotonic type, asthenia of various etiologies, convalescence after illness, to increase physical endurance in athletes.
Ginseng is contraindicated in cases of hypersensitivity, arterial hypertension, increased excitability, insomnia, bleeding, febrile syndrome due to acute infectious diseases; in childhood (up to 16 years), pregnancy, lactation. Additional contraindications for the tincture: liver cirrhosis, alcoholism, epilepsy.
For medical use from ginseng root (cultivated and wild), crushed plant raw materials and tincture (1:5 in 70% ethanol) are allowed, which are used orally 30–40 minutes before meals, 30–50 drops of tincture 2–3 times in a day. The maximum daily dose for adults is 200 drops.
Capsules are prescribed orally with meals, 0.5–1.0 g (in terms of dry standardized ginseng extract) 2–3 times a day for 25–30 days. If necessary, repeat courses of treatment are carried out with a break of 2 weeks.
Ginseng root extract is the main active ingredient of the medicinal products Gerbion Ginseng and Gerimax Ginseng.
Gerimax Ginseng tablets are prescribed orally for adults at 200–400 mg (1–2 tablets) per day. Gerbion Ginseng capsules are prescribed 1 capsule per day after breakfast. The course of treatment is 4–8 weeks.
As a general tonic and anti-stress drug - 100 mg 2 times a day for 11 weeks. To increase mental performance - 400 mg daily.
In order to obtain a hypoglycemic effect in type 2 diabetes mellitus, as well as to increase antiviral immunity (can be used as a supplement during vaccination) - 100-200 mg daily.
For erectile dysfunction - 600 mg daily.
Ginseng root extract is also included in complex medicines: Vitrum performance, Ginsana, Doppelhertz vitalotonic, Doppelhertz ginseng active, Doppelgerz ginseng, Multiproduct for men, Multi-tabs active, Teravit antistress, Teravit tonic, which are taken as prescribed by a doctor and in accordance with instructions for medical use.
Regarding ginseng, an opinion has been formed that it is an absolutely universal remedy that can be taken almost like a vitamin for everyone and for everything. In fact, this is not true at all. Ginseng has a fair number of side effects when used uncontrolled. Capsules can cause diarrhea, insomnia, headache, nervousness, nausea, vomiting, tachycardia, agitation, increased blood pressure, nosebleeds, hypoglycemia, allergic skin reactions (edema). Tincture: allergic reactions, tachycardia, headache, sleep disturbance, hypoglycemia. Ground vegetable raw materials: tachycardia, agitation, sleep disturbance. Film-coated tablets: diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, allergic skin reactions, tachycardia, headache, insomnia, increased blood pressure, increased nervous irritability.
Ginseng enhances the effect of psychostimulants and analeptics (including caffeine, camphor, etc.). Shows antagonism to drugs that depress the central nervous system (including barbiturates, tranquilizers, antiepileptic drugs). Enhances the effect of hypoglycemic drugs. Strengthens the effect of warfarin. Increases the risk of developing resistance to loop diuretics.
To avoid sleep disturbances, ginseng preparations are not recommended to be used in the afternoon. Use with caution in patients with cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Ginseng exhibits a distinct seasonal effect: its use is most effective in autumn and winter. In spring and summer, the effect may be the opposite of what is expected. Eastern medicine prescribes taking ginseng in combination with physical labor in the fresh air.
Making cosmetics from ginseng at home: what do you need to know?
The effectiveness of using the root depends on its preparation method.
If it is not possible to purchase a fresh product, you can use extracts, tinctures, oils, the addition of which to cosmetic products also has a positive result.
The final outcome of treatment depends on the degree of damage to the intended area that will be affected. Hair will not grow back after one use of a mask with ginseng, and your face will not rejuvenate after a couple of therapy sessions. To achieve maximum effect, you need to regularly use the life-giving power of the root.
At home, you can dry the root (then use powder), make an alcohol tincture (the optimal alcoholic strength is 400), or a tincture without alcohol. The resulting ingredients are added to shampoos, masks, and balms.
Benefits of ginseng extract for hair
The positive effect of the extract on hair is in no way inferior to the benefits for the skin:
- by activating blood circulation, it “wakes up” the hair follicles, causing the hair follicles to wake up.
- strengthens and accelerates hair growth;
- nourishes the scalp, increases elasticity, normalizes water balance;
- thanks to tannins, it prevents the formation of dandruff;
- affects follicles, strengthens hair roots and reduces hair loss;
- hair becomes manageable and gains a healthy shine.
What do manufacturers offer?
- tianDe / GINSENG Hair Repair Balm Restoring hair balm with ginseng extract.
Photo taken from open sources
Treats hair structure, enhances hair growth, prevents hair loss. Protects against dandruff formation. Hair becomes strong, silky and manageable. Recommended for weakened hair damaged by coloring and perm.
- Angel Professional Shampoo with ginseng extract against hair loss.
Photo taken from open sources
The encapsulated form of RB1 restores brittle hair, reanimates the structure, nourishes the hair follicles and stimulates hair growth. In tandem with eucalyptus extract, it prevents hair loss.
- OLLIN PROFESSIONAL / FULL FORCE mask against hair loss.
Photo taken from open sources
Toning, with purple ginseng extract. Tones the scalp. Strengthens roots, heals hair shafts.
You can buy ginseng extract itself in pharmacies and stores and use it in homemade masks for your face and hair. But this is a whole topic for study. Someday we will return to it. Today I wanted you to understand how beneficial this plant is for a woman. I hope the story was interesting and useful.
How to prepare the tincture?
Peel the fresh product from the top layer, cut into small circles. Place the drying agent on thick paper or cardboard. When the root dries, pour it with an alcoholic drink (at least 400) in a ratio of one to ten:
Ginseng – 10 g Alcohol – 100 ml
Immerse the contents in a glass container. Leave for 30 – 60 days in a cool, dark place. Stir the tincture regularly with a stick. Avoid contact of liquid with metal objects.
Ginseng infusion
An infusion of the root is used for poor skin tolerance to alcohol. Sometimes the skin of the head or face is very susceptible to external influences, and an allergic reaction may appear in the form of rashes, swelling, and peeling. In this case, use an infusion of the root without alcohol.
Preparation:
Ginseng powder – 70 g Water – 250 ml
Heat water to boiling point, pour powder into it. Cover the container with a terry towel. After two hours, strain the infusion through 2 - 3 layers of gauze. Pour the prepared broth into a clean container.
Homemade face masks: recipes
By following the rules for preparing cosmetics, you can achieve quick and good results.
Toning mask against aging skin
Compound:
Ginseng powder – 70 g Water – 100 ml
When mixing the components, the water should have a temperature of 80 - 900. After a homogeneous mass is obtained, apply the slurry to the face, avoiding getting the mask in the area of the upper and lower eyelids. The temperature of the mask, ready for use, is 350 - 370 C. Procedure time: twenty minutes. Rinse with water and apply moisturizer.
Anti-aging lotions
Recommended for women over forty years of age.
Compound:
Fresh Korean root – 100 g Water – 400 ml
Finely chop the fresh product. Pour the chopped root with running water and bring to a boil.
Cut small rectangular strips from gauze and fold in half. Apply lotions to your face for fifteen minutes.
Combined mask for dry skin
Compound:
Coconut oil – 15 ml Raspberries – 60 g Wheat bran – 30 g Ginseng oil – half a teaspoon
Mash the raspberries before use. Mix all ingredients. Apply the mask to clean facial skin. The procedure time is fifteen minutes.
What does ginseng look like?
Ginseng is a perennial herbaceous plant. It reaches a height of 30-70 cm, has large dark green leaves and white flowers at the top of the stem, collected in a simple umbrella. After the flowering period, bright red fruits with seeds inside appear on ginseng. The plant is widespread in Asia and North America. It grows in the wild and is also cultivated in agriculture.
The ginseng root is of greatest interest, since it is from it that most medicines and cosmetics are prepared. It is about 3 cm in diameter and yellow-grayish in color. With its shape, ginseng root resembles the silhouette of a person. Thanks to this feature, the plant was credited with many healing and even mystical properties.
