A Chinese influencer has people obsessed with her claim that putting cockroach juice on her face helped cure her acne breakouts
ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP via Getty Images
- A Chinese influencer says she cured her acne in two days after using an ointment made from cockroaches.
- Paris Wang said the ointment had worked where countless other skincare products had failed.
- "There was a day when my life was saved by a cockroach," Wang said in a video that went viral.
A Chinese influencer has been turning heads online for her claim that an ointment made from cockroaches cured her acne breakouts in two days.
Fashion and beauty blogger Paris Wang, who goes by the handle "Urruolan," went viral on Thursday after she posted a video extolling the ointment's effects.
"Ladies, I still can't believe it. There was a day when my life was saved by a cockroach," Wang said.
Wang, who has 4.1 million followers, said she experienced an acne breakout after traveling a lot, and struggled to keep it under control through a variety of skincare products. Her skin eventually tore and began bleeding and swelling, she said.
"The doctor gave me this liquid medicine, and said I should use a wet cotton gauze to apply it once in the morning and once at night for 10 to 15 minutes," Wang said. She was also prescribed a paste to be applied on her skin three times a day, she added.
Just two days later, Wang's skin returned to normal "as if nothing had ever happened," she said, showing before and after pictures of her cheek.
Wang said she couldn't believe the results, and checked the medicine's ingredients.
"The Periplaneta America," she said. "Isn't this the legendary cockroach? Save me!"
But Wang said she was impressed by the medicine's effects, and was told that people drink cockroach juice to deal with oral ulcers.
"The reputation of cockroaches has risen in my heart instantly," Wang said. "For sisters with acne and bad skin, I strongly recommend you try this."
Wang's video was viewed over five million times on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, with people claiming they've also seen positive results after using cockroach-related medicines.
"Don't panic, I've had this to drink before, and it tastes a little bad," one person wrote.
"Say with me: Thank you, Periplaneta america," another person wrote.
"I'm freaking out. I didn't want to know this sort of thing," wrote another.
The hashtag #CockroachJuiceCuredMyBadSkin has been viewed more than 50 million times as of Friday morning Beijing time, according to data seen by Insider.
Not everyone was convinced.
"If it were me, I wouldn't choose cockroach juice to cure my skin," wrote "Doctor Chen," an obstetrician and gynecologist with two million followers on Weibo.
Chen instead recommended modern ointments or antibiotics to treat acne, as well as avoiding milk, fried food, and sweets. "Get plenty of sleep and reduce stress. You'll definitely have a significant result," she wrote.
Blogger Luo Baizhu questioned Wang's recommendation. "Have you done a double-blind controlled trial? Is this curing effect recognized by people elsewhere?" he wrote.
Wang later commented on her own video, saying her intentions were only to help her followers with skincare advice.
"What sort of fashion blogger would want to go viral because of bad skin?" she wrote.
Wang did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Dried cockroaches and cockroach extract are regular ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine, and are often included in treatments for tissue-related injuries, skin inflammation, and gastric and oral ulcers.
Chinese researchers have suggested to state media that it might be possible to make facial masks from cockroaches.
Traditional Chinese medicine, a form of medical treatment heavily supported by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, was included in the World Health Organization's global compendium in 2019. But the decision baffled scientific bodies, who said the practice is highly controversial and considered a pseudoscience.
Most of its treatments are unproven by the scientific method, and some researchers say they can even induce negative effects.