Anti Aging Skin Care » Natural Skin Care » Indegenous Natural Products

Indigenous Natural Products

• Most cosmetics are being used without the exact knowledge of the ingredients.
• Many are sold with a lot of adulteration.
• The old systems of medicine from which these cosmetics are derived are based on empiricism.
• The exact chemistry, toxicity, side effect profile and pharmacology are not available.

• Sandalwood (Santalum album): Is as popular today as it was during Vedic times. The heartwood of the tree as well as the oil distilled from it are used. The powdered wood is mixed with rose water, made into a paste and applied. It is used not only on the face but also for the entire body.
• Turmeric (Curcuma longa): This is one of the most popular indigenous substances used. The yellow powdered rhizome is mixed with a little milk or cream and applied to the entire skin. It is supposed to improve skin color as well as complexion. A few studies have shown that it has some degree of anti-inflammatory property.
• Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum): The leaves are made into a paste and applied on the skin purpotedly for skin rejuvenation.
• Neem (Azadirachta indica): Neem leaves are very popular not only as a cosmetic but also as a therapy for skin disease. The leaves as well as the oil extracted from the seeds are used. It has been shown to have mild antibacterial, anti-fungal and insect repellant properties.
• Masoor dal (Lens culinaris): The flour obtained from the seeds is made into a paste with water and applied on the face for a few minutes for its mild astringent effect.
• Gram dal (Cicer arietinum): It's flour is used similar to lens culinaris. Additionally, it is also used as a cleanser by rubbing the flour on wet skin.

Oils
The commonly used body oils are sesame (Seamum indicum) or 'til' oil, coconut oil (Cocos nucifera) and mustard oil. All three are used as bases for facial packs as well as for massaging. The importance given to using oil for the hair probably stems from our ancient beliefs and books such as the Charaka Samhita which is a treatise on medicine.

The most commonly used hair oil is coconut oil to which traditionally many herbs are added. Some of the commonly used herbs are: amla(Phyllanthus emblica), shikakai (Acacia concinna), bhangra (Eclipta alba), ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), bramhi (Cetella asiatica), bauchi (Psoralea corylifolia), babul (acacia arabica willd), kapoor(Hedychium spicatum), dudhi (Euphorbia hirta), henna (Lawsonia inermis), areetha (Sapindus mukorrossi), behra (Terminalia bellerica), cantharidine (derived from beetles), karpur karchura (Hedychium spicatum), satawad (asparagus racemosus), chitra (Berberis aristata), gulancha (Tinospora aordifolia willd), pitohri (Ipomoea turpethum) and gorakh-amli (Adansonia digitate linn).

Although these additives are said to have various properties - mainly stimulating hair growth and darkening hair color - they have not been adequately studied to prove this. These oils can give two kinds of skin problems - pimple-like eruptions as well as pigmentation or darkening of the skin on the back and forehead. Hence if you are using these oils, do be careful and keep a look out for these problems.