Lead oxide is a good option for skin care in TCM

What is lead oxide or litharge(Mi Tuo Seng)?
Litharge mineral is very rare in the natural world. It is in the shape of small croci sheets or earthy powder. It mainly contains PbO, a composition oxidized from galena. Medicinally it refers to lead oxide that is made from the raw material of lead. Hence, other names of it include lithargyrum, lithargite, Lead (II) oxide, lead monoxide, litharge powder, and so on.

Lead oxide is a type of yellow/reddish yellow powder or fine flaky crystal, whose color is inconstant and easy to change when exposed to light. Boiling point is 1535℃. Melting point is 888 ℃. It is insoluble in water and in ethanol, but soluble in nitric acid, acetic acid, and hot lye. Relative density is 9.53 g/cm3 (water=1). When exposed in air, it can gradually absorb carbon dioxide. When heated to 300 to 500℃, it turns into lead tetroxide, and into lead oxide under higher temperature. It is poisonous.

What is litharge used for?
Beside of medicine, it is still used for manufacturing white lead paint, lead soap, cosolvent in metallurgy, paint driers, ceramic materials, rubber vulcanization accelerators, pesticides, and so on. Medicinally it is usually used externally. And pharmacological studies have confirmed that it could kill skin fungus, reduce inflammation, protect ulcer surface, reduce mucus secretion, etc. Actually its health benefits on fading dark spots has been discovered for so long – Tang Ben Cao (Tang Materia Medica) says that it can be used as scar removing creams and the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing Shu (Commentary on ‘Shen Nong’s Classic of the Materia Medica) claims that it is good at healing metal-inflicted wound and removing Acne scars from face. Accordingly, today many ancient beauty recipes still exist. For instance, the formula of Yu Rong San (fair face powder) alone, there are a few different versions. So to speak, it is one of the best dark spots removers you can find these days.