smartskin101

Hello everyone!  Here is the long awaited blog post from the wonderful Aditi:

I was planning on writing about sandalwood, but then Susie sensibly pointed out that, regardless of its skin care benefits, pure sandalwood is notoriously difficult to find. For that reason, I decided to write about the spice commonly used in Indian cooking – turmeric powder (haldi).

Turmeric is a plant of the ginger family, the roots of which are boiled, dried and ground down into powder form. The primary agent in turmeric is curcumin, which has been shown to be an anti-inflammatory ingredient. It is known to be incredibly healthy when ingested, and there is even some evidence that frequent consumption of turmeric can help prevent the onset of breast, colon and prostate cancer. But on to its skin-care uses, where turmeric is an all-round star. Dubbed the ‘anti-aging spice’, turmeric is a detoxifier and an antiseptic; this is why it is sometimes used for acne treatments. Indian brides also apply turmeric on their faces in order to achieve glowing skin.

Well, I am not a bride, but I decided to try out this treatment anyway. To apply turmeric powder on my face, I created a paste by mixing some turmeric with a few drops of milk, and then just used my fingers to slather it all over my face and neck. I had expected it to drip off my face and make an unholy mess, but the paste dried right on. I left it on for about 10 minutes and then washed it off with water. By the way, turmeric stains, so avoid grotty, yellow towels by using a paper towel to wipe your face.

I was worried that the turmeric would stain my skin yellow (…uh no offense?), but after washing and wiping fairly vigorously, there was no staining at all. The paste felt tight on my skin, but I didn’t notice too much difference, at least on the first day. By the end of the week though, I noticed that although I hadn’t used any face wash or soap on my face, my skin didn’t break out at all; in fact it felt more cleansed than it had before. I think my skin tone was a little bit more even especially around my mouth, although I certainly don’t think I was glowing. At the very least this may obviate the need for face wash. Perhaps Steve (the colleague who doesn’t ever wash his face) was right all along…

*I love my yellow skin, thanks. ;-P  Thank you for the great post, Aditi!  ~ Susie