GROWING up with a mother who applied all sorts of fresh herbs on her skin and hair has been a good thing for me. I learnt early in life not to splurge on expensive skincare products and to always fall back on natural herbs. So the need to invest in expensive products never emerged. There was only one time I succumbed to the power of advertising when I purchased a 75ml SKII Essense, and the catch phrase was 'Miracle Water'. The element of magic & water, along with the faithful testimonies of many who use it got me into trying it out myself. So I did and three months later, my skin's been the same. It maintained. No bad judgements and nothing against SKII Miracle Water, but I thought I should just stick to the herbs and plants I grew up with for maintenance. It's way cheaper and meddling with fresh ingredients can be fun, especially during slumber parties with your girlfriends!
One of the most commonly used kitchen spices that also frequently went onto my mother's face is turmeric. She mixed turmeric root powder or paste whenever she had a heat rash(panau). The combination, she says, helped to stop an infection and even out skin tone. As a kid, I enjoyed watching her make a paste out of the roots, but I never used to like it on my face. As much I loved the glorious yellow of the spice, I didn't like going to school with a yellow face as the natural colour stained the skin for at least up to a few washes. My mother only used it sparingly as not to get her face too yellow, and that too, only when she had a case of bad heat rash. But turmeric went into our cooking almost everyday in small dashes, and sometimes in tablespoonfuls.
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| Turmeric powder is good to even out skin tone |
Recently, my friend Mala, who is a big believer of natural remedies, convinced me into applying turmeric onto the skin. Her remedy is a mask, made using yoghurt and a dash of turmeric powder so you get to reap the goodness of both ingredients. While turmeric has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, yoghurt nourishes and hydrates the skin. The combo does not leave your face yellow, instead it results in a glowing and well-mosturised skin.
Just add a dash of turmeric to two tablespoonful of natural yoghurt(unflavoured), mix well using a spoon, and apply onto face, neck, and chest. You can mix more if you want to pamper the rest of your body. Leave about 10 to 15mins, wash off and dry with towel. Your skin should be feeling a little oily but that's natural. It should also feel smooth and soft. You don't have to follow up with any night creams or mosturisers after a treatment. Once a week appliaction is sufficient. I love the sweet smell of yoghurt (although this would only be sweet if you actually like the smell)when the mask is on my face and when it's off, I like it even more as the skin really feels and looks boosted.
Happy trying !
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| The mixture looks like baby food :) and it's not too yellow |
hmmm.... I have yoghurt in the fridge and turmeric in the cupboard. I think I'll try this tonight
ReplyDeletehope you like it and just go easy on the turmeric powder - not too much.
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