People around globe spend billions of dollars for countless beautifying products every year. The media is full of new commercials each day promoting costly beauty products containing parabens, sulfates, dyes, preservatives, fragrances, stabilisers which are easily absorbed in your pores and make their way into the bloodstream.
These chemical-laden ingredients do more harm than good in the long run by creating numerous health complications.
While the packaging of a costly beauty product claims to offer a particular active ingredients like diamond, gold, natural oils, dry fruits but in reality, it might only contain a single drop of it. Beauty expert Shahnaz Husain will tell you about the secrets of ancient beauty.
India is known for its natural beauty secrets which have proved their usefulness over the ages and are still booming. All they do is give you more than what you want, faster than you would have ever expected with no side effects and false promises.
In the ancient times, people would depend on natural ingredients to beautify themselves. Women used colour to decorate themselves but such ingredients were also linked to their medicinal usage. For example, henna has its basis in ayurvedic healing, where henna was applied as a cooling paste, to bring down fevers, or cure heat rashes.
Gradually, it began to be used to colour the hair and paint intricate patterns on the hands and feet, a tradition that exists till today. Henna is so much in use today and has its basis in the ancient dyeing method, when chemical dyes were unknown.
Apart from imparting colour, henna is also an effective natural hair conditioner. Similarly, ingredients for lip colour were those that cured stomach ailments. The bark of the missee tree yielded a red colour that was used for the lips.
The Mughal queens were known to use the powder of emerald, turquoise and pearls as make-up for the eyes, the way we use eye-shadow. Such trends do not exist now but we still make “kajal” and “surma” the way it was done during the ancient times.
Plant and herbal extracts have shown a lack of harmful after-effects. In fact, many herbs help to soothe the skin and cure skin irritation. The use of plant ingredients is, therefore, a way of ensuring safety from harmful effects.
In some civilisations like India, herbal medicines flourished and became a part of our heritage. Systems like ayurveda are basically founded on the discoveries and the practical usage of the healing and beneficial properties of plant life. Natural substances like metals, minerals, shells, precious and semi precious stones, honey, yogurt and so on are still used in the ayurvedic healing system.
One of the most popular trees in India is neem. It has a history which goes back to thousands of years. Over centuries, neem has been highly valued in India for its healing and purifying properties and it is probably the most widely used among plant products.
One of the most common uses of neem in India is for cleaning and brushing the teeth, for which the tender twigs are used. Ayurvedic prescriptions record that neem is ideal for preserving and protecting the teeth and the gums from disease and decay.
Pastes, infusions and decoctions are made from the leaves for local applications on the skin and scalp. The oil obtained from the seeds has been applied as a dressing in chronic skin and scalp problems. Today, it is used in several skin and hair products, like hair oils, shampoos, rinses, conditioners, toners, creams and ointments.
Sandalwood is also one of the most popular cosmetic ingredients used in India. It has powerful germicidal and antiseptic properties. It soothes the skin and heals inflammatory conditions.
Sea salt is also a common beauty ingredient. It cleans dead skin cells and also treats acne and pimples effectively.
Applying beer on hair and exposing suds-drenched locks in direct sunlight for an hour or two give shinning
long lustrous hair and it has been practised by high rich class women centuries ago.
