Kshira-vriksha Mukha-Kshalana (Daily face wash)
Kṣīravṛkṣa Mukha-Kṣālana क्षीरवृक्ष मुख-क्षालन
Also known as: Four-bark face wash
Indications
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Modern | Classical |
|---|---|---|
Drava — liquid medium | ||
| Nyagrodha (Banyan) · Nyagrodha | 5 g | — |
| Udumbara (Cluster Fig) · Udumbara | 5 g | — |
| Ashvattha (Peepal) · Aśvattha | 5 g | — |
| Plaksha (Java Fig) · Plakṣa | 5 g | — |
Vehicle | ||
| Cow milk (Goksheera) · Gokṣīra Raw cow milk | 125 ml | — |
Source
Sushruta Cikitsa 24.8: “The mouth and the eyes of a person of sound health should be washed with the decoction of the barks of Kshira trees mixed with milk … This procedure would soon prove efficacious in destroying such affections of the body as Nilika, dryness in the mouth, pustules or eruptions, Vyanga and the diseases due to the (concerted) action of the Rakta and Pitta, and by such washings the face becomes lighter and the sight stronger.”
What you actually do
This is meant as a daily morning face splash, not an occasional treatment. The decoction is made fresh each day (or at most every 2 days, refrigerated). The combination of fig-genus bark tannins + lactic acid of raw milk gives a gentle astringent + mild lactic-exfoliating effect — the closest classical analog to a modern AHA + tannin-based toner.