Traditional beauty treatments
1]BESAN
This is gram flour & is used to wash face and body. It is also used as a face mask along with other ingredients like turmeric powder, milk..
It is useful in removing oil and also in scrubbing out dirt and dead scales. Leaves the skin smooth and clean.
2]Greengram Flour
This flour & is used as a face pack along with milk / curd / turmeric / honey.
It leaves the skin smooth and soft.
3]Shikakai
Shikakai is a nut from a tree. The powder is used to wash hair. It is very effective in removing oil and dirt from hair. The normal practice is to apply oil to hair and scalp and allow it soak for sometime. This will keep the body cool, reducing body heat & also prevent the scalp from getting dry. The powdered shikakai is used as a shampoo to wash off the oil.
Various other items like amla, fenugreek (vendayam), green gram (payaru), curry leaves (karuvaepilai), hibiscus flowers are dried along with the nut and powdered. Amla, vendayam, hibiscus have a cooling effect. and aid in hair growth. Karuvaepilai and amla aid in darkening of hair colour
4]Chandanam
This is sandalwood available in stick, powder or paste form. This is used mostly for its cooling properties. It is used today in various commercial cosmetics, for its cooling and healing properties as well as for its wonderful fragrance.
During festival and wedding gatherings, it is customary to offer chandanam in a chandana pela to visitors. Further sandalwood powder filled in bags is also used to add fragrance to storage cupboards.
5]Sambraani
Sambraani is a resin obtained from a tree. The dried sambraani (small pieces or powder) is sprinkled on pieces of burning coal. The resulting fragrant smoke is allowed to pass through washed hair.
There are various useful effects apart from the fragrance it imparts to hair. It aids in drying hair faster. Also, it tends to draw the excess water in the head & face, being a good treatment for those with a heavy head from cold and sinusitis.
Sambraani smoke is also applied to new born babies, after each bath, to assure that the child does not catch a cold.
Special holders in various patterns are available for burning the coal. When sambraani powder is sprinkled on the burning coal, the smoke drifts out through the nozzles on the cover of the holder. Thus it is safe to hold it near head and face.
6]Mehndi
Henna or Maruthani as it is known in Tamil is derived from a plant. The leaves of the plant have been used in India traditionally during auspicious occasions. The leaves from the tree were plucked and ground into a thick paste, which was applied in geometric designs on the palm & sole, before retiring for the night & is allowed to dry overnight. The following morning when the dried portion is washed off, a red pigmentation is left behind on the applied area. This style was mostly prevalent in South India, where more often a circular patch is applied in the centre of the palm & a cap is formed over the fingers. This style of decoration is also followed by dancers.
In the North, the habit of creating exquisite & intricate designs on the palm as well as the forearm has been in practice. In this case a dry powder form of henna is used. Mehndi is so popular & auspicious in the North, that during weddings a special function is celebrated exclusively for applying henna to the bride.
The mehndi powder has to be made into a fine paste with a few drops of fresh lime juice. A cone or thin stick is used to apply the intricate designs. Syrup of fresh lime juice mixed with sugar is periodically applied in the semi dry stages, to prevent flaking. When the surface is wiped clean after 5-6 hours, a red pigmentation is left behind. Henna is a proven coolant for the system & is used for medicinal purposes too. It is also used to dye the hair.
7]Castor Oil
This oil which is thick & sticky is crushed from the seeds of the Aamanakku plant. It is extremely cooling and is applied to the eyes, on the head & soles of the feet, soaked and washed off. It effectively brings down the excessive body heat.
Application of castor oil to insect bites & rashes has been found to have a curative effect. A small volume of very pure castor oil taken with hot water once a month, helps in clearing the stomach.
Castor Oil is also used in preparing pure kajal (eye liner).
8]Coconut Oil
This oil is obtained from seasoned coconuts. The oil is used in cooking.
It is applied regularly to the scalp and hair, by both men & women. Aids in luxuriant hair growth and also prevents the scalp from getting dry. It is also customary to apply the oil (also along with other oils - coconut oil, sesame oil, castor oil) and allow it to soak for sometime before a hair bath.
Other items like hibiscus flowers, karuvaepilai(curry leaves) are dried and added to the oil, to further aid in hair growth and colour.
The women in Kerala have wonderful long, thick hair. Apart from external application, coconut & coconut oil form a major item in their daily diet.
9]Kumkumam
Kumkumam is a powder, usually deep red (other colours, shades of red are also available), which is applied on the forehead. Men also apply kumkum on the forehead, but this mark has a special significance on a woman. Kumkumam applied in the hair parting is an indication that she is married.
Kumkuman is a mixture of slaked lime and turmeric. Turmeric is an antiseptic. It is believed that applying kumkumam in the forehead (where the eyebrows meet)is effective, for this is a spot where nerve ends meet. Also, it is believed that kumkumam in the forehead drives away evil spirits and forces.
10]Kajal
Kajal is an eye darkener - a liner, which is applied on the inner eyelids. It is a thick black paste. It has a base of castor oil and hence is cooling to the eyes, apart from enhancing the looks.
This is applied to the new born child too. In order to ensure purity, it is also made at home. The soot from an oil lamp is collected on an inverted basin. This soot is mixed in pure castor oil & pure kajal is ready.
This is applied as a round dot on the chin of a babies, for the black dot is considered to ward off evil.
11]Turmeric
Turmeric is the root of a plant. The dried root is ground to form the turmeric powder. Turmeric is used by Indian women during every wash - an age old beauty treatment. Regular application of turmeric from a very young age is considered to reduce hair growth in women, so that they have smooth skin. It serves as a disinfectant. Turmeric acts as an antiseptic and anticoagulent for wounds
