Crisinis carbonis, Burnt Hair, Xue Yu Tan 血余炭

Xue Yu Tan (Carbonised Human Hair) (TCM)
Sha’r (Unani, Avicenna)
Picture From ‘Treatise on the Hair‘, Nashua & Co., 1876 (Wikimedia)

Zoological name:
Homo sapiens
In TCM, burnt Human hair is used.
The burnt hair and wool from various quadripeds or from Humans was used in the West.

Parts used:


Burnt Hair or Wool from Humans or various quadripeds.
Salmon (Seplasium) said burnt Hair is collected either from:
  1. ‘almost all four-footed beasts’
  2. Hair from the head of humans
Human hair was generally preferred, and that of a strong young man was considered strongest.
TCM uses Burnt Human Hair as an official drug.

Temperature & Taste:


Neutral. Bitter
“The burnt hair are strongly Warming and Desiccating” [drying]” (Avicenna)

Classification:


L. Stop Bleeding

Uses:


1. Stops Bleeding: (TCM, West)
-‘Man’s hair also burnt, and beaten to powder, staunches much… all manner of bleeding’. (Wirtzung)
-used for various types of Bleeding, topically and internally.
-especially for Uterine Bleeding and excess Menstruation
-stops bleeding while gently moving Blood, thus reducing stasis
-some TCM sources list it for Amenorrhea
-burnt hair of Humans and of variousd animals can be used

2. Clears Heat and Damp, Promotes Urine: (TCM)
-painful, difficult or dribbling Urine
-Jaundice

3. Clears Heat, Resists Poison: (West)
-‘good against Plague and all Malign Diseases’. (Salmon, Seplasium)
-Fever and Epidemic diseases
-the ashes (burnt to whiteness) were more commonly used for this purpose.

4. Externally:
-applied to Stop Bleeding (TCM, West)
-blown into the Nose to stop nose-bleeding
-applied to Slow-healing or Ulcerated Sores and Burns
-“facilitates rapid drying up of the Wet, Filthy and Flabby Ulcers”. (Avicenna)
-“Human hair is plastered with Vinegar in cases of Rabid Dog Bite”. (Avicenna)
-Hare (or Rabbit) hair burnt and the fumes inhaled was highly regarded for Hysteria.


Dose:


Decoction: 5–9 grams
Powder: 500mg–1500mg (1 scruple was commonly used in the West)

Substitute:


1. Hair from various domestic animals, as well as washed wool, can be used in place of Human hair.
2. ‘Its nature transforms stagnant blood and generates new blood very much like Notoginseng San Qi‘ (Essays on Medicine Esteeming the Chinese and Respecting the Western)

Comment:


Charred or carbonised Hair was used in East and West to stop Bleeding. If it is burnt to ashes (grey or white) it is said to greatly reduce its effectiveness to stop Bleeding. However, the ashes were used (as a fixed alkali) for Fever and Epidemic Heat diseases in the West.

Preparation:


1. In TCM, it is prepared thus:
  Hair or wool is washed well with salt water or soda water, then rinsed and sun-dried. It is then placed in a wok and a smaller wok is placed upside down over the wok with hair and the joint between the two sealed with mud. Grains of rice and stuck to the top of the upper wok and the whole is place on a fire, heating until the rice grains become yellow. Then the wok is removed from the heat and left to cool before opening and collected the charred hair. It is then powdered and kept for use.
  Note that its quality is reduced if it is burnt completely to ashes. Therefore, it is just wanted to be charred to black.
2. Powdered Hair (used in the West):
  The Hair or Wool is washed well, then dried. It is then heated in an oven until it will rub to powder between the fingers. This was the main preparation used in the West to stop Bleeding.
3. Cut Hair:
  Sometimes in the West, Hair (especially hare or Rabbit hair) was ordered to be ‘finely cut’, that is, cut as finely as possible usually manual methods. The above Powdered Hair is far superior and should be preferred.
4. Ashed Hair:
  The hair is was ashed in a large red-hot vessel until ashed to a grey or whiteness. This was previously used for Fever and acute Heat diseases. (West)

Main Combinations:


1. Stop Bleeding:
i. Carbonised Hair with Notoginseng San Qi
ii. Carbonised Hair, Red Earth, charred Rhubarb
iii. to stop Bleeding topically, Carbonised Hair with Aloe powder and Red Earth
2. Uterine Bleeding
i. Carbonised Hair with Motherwort (Yi Mu Cao). If there is deficiency, add Dang Gui.
3. Excess Nose-bleeding:
i. beat Egg whites with Hare’s hair, Aloe, Frankincense, Dragons Blood, Red Earth and use topically. (Wirtzung)
ii. put Hare’s hair into the nostril; then beat 12 egg whites with Alum (4 oz.), wet a cloth in it and apply to the neck, temples and forehead. (Wirtzung)
4. Bleeding Hemorrhoids:
i. beat Egg whites with prepared Hare’s hair, Cobweb, Aloe, Frankincense, Dragons Blood, Red Earth and use topically. This powerfully staunches Blood. (Wirtzung)
5. Hematuria, Carbonised hair with Notoginseng San Qi, Ophicalcite (Hua Rui Shi)
6. Dysuria with Yin deficiency, Carbonised hair with Talcum (Hua Shi), Mallow seed (Dong Kui Zi)
7. Strangury with Blood in the Urine, Carbonised hair with Cirsium Xiao Ji, Lophatherum Dan Zhu Ye, Rehmannia Sheng Di Huang
8. Jaundice, Carbonised Hair with Artemisia scoparia Yin Chen Hao, Lysmachia Jin Qiao Cao, Gardenia Zhi Zi
9. To resist Poison and for Epidemic diseases, Carbonised Hair with burnt Deer horn (West)
10. Prolapse of the Uterus: Hares hair prepared (half dram), Oak leaf, Cypress. nuts, Rose, Camomile (2 drams) all beaten to powder, sew into a cotton bag the length and breadth of a finger and insert into the vagina. (Wirtzung)
11. Abscesses, Carbuncles, powder and mix with Sesame oil and Wax to form an ointment.
12. Severe painful swellings, Carbonised Hair with Snake skin (She Tui), Wasp Nest (Feng Fang) (equal quantities, all charred), taken with Wine (as in San Sheng San)
13. Burns, Scalds, Carbonised Hair with Arnebia Zi Cao and ointment base for topical application.

Major Formulas:


Hua Shi Bai Yu San
Kui Fa San
Hua Xue Dan
San Sheng San

Cautions:


1. Caution in those with weak Digestion or who are prone to nausea and vomiting. It may cause nausea and vomiting.
2. Occasional allergic reactions have been reported.

Main Preparations used:


Carbonised Hair, Ashed Hair, Tincture of Hair, Gelatin of Hair

TINCTURE OF HAIR:
i. Powdered Hair (above) 2 oz.
  Spirit, 2 lbs.
Mix, digest 2 days, filter and keep for use.
ii. Tartarised Spirit of Wine, 3 lbs.
  Spirit of Nitre or Sulphur, 1 oz.
Digest them together for 10 days, then use it to extract a tincture from Powdered Hair.
  The Tincture is used to move the Blood and open obstructions of all kinds and can be used for Apoplexy, Epilepsy and Hysteria. The second tincture also clears thick and viscid humors from the Stomach, Urinary system and Womb.
Dose (of either): 1–2 drams (Salmon, Seplasium)

GELATIN OF HAIR
  A Gelatin was prepared from Human hair in the same manner as it is prepared from Deer Horn.
This was regarded as an effective to restore in weakness and deficiency, Consumption, as well as Pain and Weakness of the Lower back. It is a Yin and Blood tonic. (Salmon, Seplasium)

VOLATILE SALT OF HAIR
  Prepared as for other Volatile Salts (via destructive distillation)
  ‘The Volatile Salt restores in Consumptions, opens Obstructions powerfully, chiefly in the Lungs, cures Asthma’s, Pleurisies, Stitches, resolves Vapors, and helps Fits of the Mother; it rarifies the Humors of the Body, by reason of its peculiar nature, absorbs Acids, cures Epilepsies, Vertigoes, Palsies, and other Diseases of the Head, Brain, Nerves and Womb;’ (Salmon, Seplasium)
Dose: 250–650mg (4–10 grains)