Let's talk about one ingredient of the Indian people that you may be familiar with as a super spice.
Turmeric (or Latin: Curcuma longa) - a component essential not only in spicing up your fantastic curry dishes, but also in adding powerful antioxidant as well as anti-inflammatory functions to any diet.
Research on the West has gone so far that nowadays we are familiar with everything from its dark yellow color (given by curcumin) to its treating potential.
Though, the easterners have long been using turmeric only in medicine.
This "powerful" perennial shrub has probably originated from south/southeastern Asia, west of India.
What is more, in last one it had essentially functioned as a dye and later became a spice.
Both Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine have used the plant before to treat inflammatory process, digestive diseases.
Skincare advantages Let's try to enumerate some skincare advantages of turmeric.
Among them we see:
- its treatment potential (acne blemishes, dark spots, blackheads, hyper pigmentation, skin irritations as psoriasis and eczema);
- its healing abilities (no dry skin, anti-aging effect, improves elasticity of the skin).
In fact, curcuma longa is a good facial cleanser and exfoliant.
Turmeric - big surprise for any type of skin Honestly speaking, regular turmeric may leave stains at your skin, while pure kasturi turmeric (Latin: Curcuma aromatica) being non-staining cleans acne, acts against unwanted hair growth and brightens the tone of the face.
My advice is that you shouldn't use it for cooking, but only externally.
Difficult to find in the USA, it is almost always sold at Indian stores.
Let's mix face exfoliating and cleansing care agent right at home! Such scrub consists of turmeric and gram flour (also chickpea or garbanzo flour), but if you want to improve the texture of your skin, moisturize and rejuvenate it you will also add milk with its lactic acid (people prone to allergy on wheat flour substitute it with rice flour).
We have the following brilliant ideas for your skin:
- To reduce wrinkles and brighten the skin.
Here let's take milk and turmeric mixed up together for wrinkles, fine lines.
You take turmeric powder, rice powder, raw milk and tomato juice form a homogeneous mass and smear it on face (neck) for half an hour. - To glow your face.
Take milk plus kasturi turmeric.
Turmeric as antiseptic can also treat eczema, psoriasis, poison ivy. - To exfoliate/brighten up face.
Chickpea (rice) flour, turmeric powder are taken and stored into hermetic bottle.
Than soy/raw milk (may be yogurt) is added to the mixture and the paste is made.
Ready mixture is smeared on the face nearly for 10-15 minutes. - To struggle with unwanted face hair.
Chickpea flour plus kasturi turmeric or any scrub for face mixed with it will make your face smooth (10-15 minutes will be enough).
Use it regularly and the results may be seen in a month. - As a night cream.
Make homogeneous mass from turmeric, milk and smear it on the face.
The mask is dried you leave it on (may be for full night).
When you want not so messy night agent, you add a moisturizer with a little of turmeric in it (use old bed linen because there might be stains). - To treat acnes.
Turmeric is antiseptic agent, it removes irritation and redness, reduces skin inflammation and discoloration.
We for example, can make tea with turmeric and help ourselves to prevent acnes.
If you are not tea lover or turmeric in tea isn't a good idea for you, than use water, sesame or coconut oil, apply it to your skin defects or acne scars.
One more thing you can do is to mix a pinch of turmeric and lemon (may be cucumber) and smear the mixture on your face for about 10-15 minutes.