Wild Cultivated
Additive & Filler Free
Gluten Free
Packed in Glass
Safe for Children
Levigated Pearl Powder - Nano Sized Micropowder
✧ What is Levigated Pearl Powder?
Our Pearl Powder is a super-micro-ground 'Levigated' Pearl Powder: 100% pure freshwater pearl (Hyriopsis cumingii), finely ground using the traditional Chinese method known as shui fei fa, the water flying method. Free from additives and fillers. Known in Chinese as zhen zhu fen (珍珠粉), pearl powder has been valued in Traditional Chinese Medicine for over 2,000 years as a Shen tonic, used to calm the spirit, brighten the eyes and soften the skin. Pearl is one of a small family of Shen tonics, alongside Reishi and He Shou Wu.
Pearl Powder has been treasured for centuries as both a beauty remedy and a deeply restorative tonic. Ancient physicians understood beauty as something that arose from balance, nourishment and inner stillness. A calm spirit, clear eyes and soft, luminous skin were seen as reflections of harmony from within.
Pearl Powder was often described as cooling and grounding in nature. It was used when there was excess heat, agitation or depletion, supporting clarity, composure and restoration.
✧ What does Pearl Powder do?
For the skin
When applied externally, Pearl Powder has long been treasured as a beauty remedy to restore radiance to tired-looking skin. Traditionally used in masks and beauty preparations, it is valued for helping refine the appearance of pores, soften the visibility of fine lines, visible pigmentation, age spots and skin weakened by environmental stress.
Pearl's naturally calming and restorative qualities make it a beautiful addition to skincare preparations designed for dullness, dryness and stressed-looking skin.
For the eyes and spirit
Taken internally, pearl was traditionally used for clouding in the eyes. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, pearl’s nourishing and cooling properties were valued for helping clear excess heat and soothe nervous system disturbance, patterns believed to diminish the brightness of the eyes. Across traditions, the eyes have long been seen as windows into the body’s vitality, revealing the condition of the nervous system, spirit and inner reserves.
The Ri Hua Zi Ben Cao, a Chinese materia medica over a thousand years old, describes pearl as calming the heart-mind: settling restlessness, easing anxiety, and supporting deep, restful sleep.
In modern life
Pearls diffuse light through their delicate layers of aragonite calcium carbonate and conchylin proteins, creating their characteristic inner glow. They radiate softly from within.
Stress, overstimulation, poor sleep, environmental exposure and emotional exhaustion all leave their imprint on the skin, nervous system and the eyes. The benefits traditionally associated with pearl: inner light, enduring beauty born from the grittiness of life, a calm heart and clear vision, are the fundamentals our busy lives so often ask us to replenish.
For deeper nervous-system support, pearl is often combined with Ashwagandha.
✧ What is in our Pearl Powder?
Ingredients
100% Pure - Freshwater Pearl Powder
- Zhen Zhu: Freshwater Pearl
- Latin name: Hyriopsis cumingii (Lea)
- Levigated using the traditional wet-grinding method. No heat, acids, alkalies, or enzymes are used in the preparation of our pearl powder
- Food-grade pearl powder: made to the same standard classical physicians have held to ensure potency and purity
- Suitable for internal and external use
- Free from fillers, preservatives, bulking agents, and humectants
- Tested for purity: heavy metals, pesticides and other contaminants. View the Certificate of Analysis or download the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)
Product carefully sourced from China. Click here for info on our sourcing policy
Explore our full range of tonic herbs.
✧ How is it made, and is it real Zhen Zhu Fen?
How it's made
Almost all Pearl Powder available today is hydrolysed, processed using acids, alkalis or enzymes for quick, large-scale production. But hydrolysis is a chemically destructive process, altering the pearl’s original structure and degrading the delicate compounds that Traditional Chinese medicine valued.
Levigation is the original method of preparing Pearl Powder, known as “the water flying method”. Pearls are slowly stone-ground with water, without heat or chemicals, until the powder becomes exceptionally fine. The original grit/seed is removed, leaving a pure, ultra-fine powder with the pearl’s complete organic matrix preserved intact. Nothing added and nothing destroyed.
Is it real Zhen Zhu Fen?
Yes. Zhen Zhu Fen (珍珠粉) is the Chinese name for pearl powder. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, pearl was classified as a Shen tonic and was valued for its calming, settling and brightening qualities. The classical preparation method, levigation, is the same one we use today. Most modern Chinese pearl powder is hydrolysed for speed and lower cost. Ours is prepared the traditional way, preserving the qualities classical physicians valued.
Food-grade vs cosmetic-grade
Food-grade pearl powder is tested for purity and made to the standards required for internal use. It is free from fillers, contaminants and additives, and can be used both externally on the skin and internally as a tonic. Cosmetic-grade pearl powder is intended only for external use and may include fillers or be processed differently. Our pearl powder is food-grade, which is why the same jar can be used in your skincare routine and in your daily wellbeing practice.
✧ How to use Pearl Powder?
In your skincare
Pearl powder contains an organic matrix of proteins which is understood to signal cell behaviour, which makes it valuable when applied directly onto the skin. Using pearl in your daily or weekly skincare routine has a compounding effect. The classical physicians described pearl as 'arresting the face against time', preserving luminosity and youthfulness, especially as the skin matures.
Weekly self-care: Mix half a teaspoon with raw honey, your favourite facial oil or water and form a smooth paste. Apply to clean skin and leave for 10 or 15 mins. Rinse with cool water.
Targeted skincare: Apply overnight. Mix a small amount with water or blend in the palm of your hand with your nightcream/serum and let it nourish your skin all night long.
- Pairs beautifully with raw honey and rose water
- A mineral-rich addition to masks, creams and beauty preparations for mature or tired-looking skin. Traditionally used in pearl preparations to support an even, luminous tone when modern stresses dull our natural glow
- Can be used as a setting or finishing powder if you have light or pale skin
- For darker skin tones, blend into your foundation or daytime moisturiser to highlight and add luminosity without leaving a layer of white powder visible on the skin
Taken internally
If taken internally, we suggest 0.5 to 1 gram (approx ¼ to ½ level teaspoon) of pearl powder daily. Consider cycling all tonic herbs, including pearl powder for optimal use, giving the body a chance to process and assimilate for long-term use.
* Please note: Our Pearl Powder will not dissolve. Hydrolysed pearl powders dissolve because the pearl has been chemically broken apart. Traditionally prepared whole Pearl Powder should remain suspended in water and not dissolve. When mixing pearl into water/juice, it will settle at the bottom if left, just give it another stir before drinking.
Pearl’s nutrients exist within a delicate crystalline structure (preserved through levigation). This unique mineral matrix is considered deeply compatible with human calcium metabolism, and is what makes pearl so supportive and not just a straightforward calcium supplement.
Reviews
Our pearl powder reviews, and the testimonials below, are very helpful for discovering further suggestions, potential benefits and easy ways to use pearl powder.
