A TikToker is calling out white-run wellness companies for culturally appropriating Eastern traditional medicine and selling products like “Sexy Resin” without a proper understanding of the natural herbs and botanicals used in them.
Pragadish Kalaivanan (@pragadishkalaivan) posted a now-viral TikTok on Thursday that accrued over 12,000 views. “No wonder there were so many questions about shilajit, it’s been reduced to sexy resin,” he says in the video. On the green screen, he displays an image of a shilajit product Sexy Resin manufactured by Moon Juice, a wellness brand that sells plant-based beauty products.
The product description reads, “Long used as an aphrodisiac, [shilajit] balances systems throughout the body and can optimize testosterone, cultivating an increased sexual change in men and women.”
According to its website, Moon Juice was founded by Amanda Chantal Bacon in California after she put “an autoimmune condition into remission after being told it wasn’t possible.” The self-proclaimed apothecary now sells products in Los Angeles and on wellness sites like Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop.
Shilajit is a naturally occurring substance found in the rocks of the Himalayas that looks like a black-brown powder. It’s been used by practitioners of Eastern medicine like ayurveda for centuries for its various health benefits, including improved cognitive activity and longevity.
Kalaivanan told the Daily Dot that he was inspired to make the TikTok because he’s talked about ashwagandha, an herb long used for medicinal purposes, in the past online, and people were asking him for more information about shilajit.
According to Kalaivanan, shilajit “has been used in ayurveda for a long time with a multitude of benefits, but as soon as it came into the hands of white people, it became nothing more than Indian Viagra.”
As one of the oldest medical systems, ayurveda has roots in ancient India and focuses on natural and holistic approaches to health and healing.
“If that wasn’t bad enough, none of them tell you how to properly ingest it,” Kalaivanan continued. “None of the shilajit products come with warnings.”
The Moon Juice website recommends consuming it with “dark chocolate and coffee,” but traditionally it’s taken with warm milk.
At the end of the day, Kalaivanan said, shilajit is a traditional medication and will affect bodies differently depending on body structure and other medications.
“The way shilajit is just added to random products and then recommended by white holistic creators for increased energy and performance in bed is just astounding,” he said. “It’s almost as if they fail to understand natural does not mean without side effects.”
His video also shows a screenshot of a Men’s Health article written in March 2019 by a white man. In the article, titled, “I Tried This Himalayan Gunk for More Energetic Workouts. Here’s What Happened,” the writer tries shilajit for a month and writes about his experience.
“These kind of headlines, just, I can’t even,” Kalaivanan said.
“Ayurveda at the end of the day is an ancient traditional medical practice,” he explained. “When things were recommended by ayurveda experts, it depends on the need of your body, the composition of your body, and what you were using it for. You can’t just have a dosage up there that is one size fits all.”
In the comments of Kalaivanan’s video, users called Moon Juice and companies like it “irresponsible.”
“So offensive! I’m sorry you have the opportunity to make so many of these videos. It shouldn’t be this easy, thank you for informing,” one TikToker commented.
“These products always have mediocre to bad reviews too. Bc duh the ingredients are being misused so of course they don’t work or have negative effects,” another wrote.
Moon Juice and other white wellness influencers and creators have often been called out for culturally appropriating traditional health and wellness techniques and rebranding them as new wellness trends.
“A lot of white wellness brands seem to come from a lack of knowledge mixed with the need to have something new in the market,” Kalaivanan told the Daily Dot. “If blatantly stealing and appropriating from Asian cultures isn’t enough, they are putting their customers’ health at risk all because there are no set guidelines and people don’t view it as authentic medication.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Moon Juice via email.
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