Turmeric is not just a spice. It is a very powerful antioxidant. Turmeric has been used as a medicinal plant for thousands of years. The therapeutic plant compounds it contains are still valued in the Ayurvedic tradition. In Western countries, turmeric has been used not only as a spice, but also as a food supplement. Due to the great popularity of turmeric in Western countries, it has started to be used more and more for skin care as well. In this article, I will tell you why and how turmeric is suitable for skin care and in which products it should be used.
What is turmeric?
Turmeric (Curcuma longa) belongs to the same family as ginger. Only the root of the plant is used for turmeric. The root is dried and ground into a powder. Turmeric is a particularly popular spice and medicinal plant in India. It has reportedly been cultivated there for 4,000 years. Turmeric contains a huge amount of different plant compounds such as antioxidants, vitamins and fatty acids. However, the great popularity of turmeric is based on a substance called curcumin. Curcumin is the yellow pigment in turmeric. In Asia, the effects of curcumin have been known for a long time, but Western researchers only discovered it in 1815. In 1910, researchers Milobedzka and Lampe reported that the chemical structure of curcumin is diferuloylmethane. In 1913, the same group of researchers found a method to synthesize curcumin.
In Western countries, curcumin and turmeric have been used mainly in the food industry as a spice and colouring agent. Although the therapeutic benefits of curcumin are widely recognized, the compound has not been widely used in the production of modern medicines. Curcumin is hardly able to be absorbed from the mucous membranes into the bloodstream, so its benefits are really minimal.
Turmeric in cosmetics
The Western cosmetics industry has only recently discovered turmeric. Its benefits in skin care have been noticed and products containing turmeric have been launched in many countries. Skin care products containing turmeric and curcumin can protect the skin from oxidative stress, help improve skin tone and affect the skin’s moisture balance.
The problem with turmeric is its strong colour. Turmeric cannot be used in large quantities, precisely because of its colouring effect. Turmeric is relatively easy to wash away from the moisturized skin, but it may stain the nails orange. All parts of the skin where there are dead skin cells absorb the colour of turmeric. That’s why you should always exfoliate the skin well before applying the turmeric mask.
There is also white turmeric, which has almost as good properties as orange turmeric. It does not stain the skin at all. If you manage to find white turmeric somewhere, it’s worth a try.
Turmeric can be used very versatile in skin care. Turmeric and products containing Curcumin have three main functions in skin care.
Turmeric brightens skin colour
Turmeric has a phenomenal ability to brighten the skin. If your skin looks dull, a turmeric mask is the best way to brighten the skin. Uneven skin tone can be caused by many different reasons. Red areas on the skin are caused by skin stress. The skin may be irritated because of getting too much sun or wind. This is when the bloodstream is very strong in the damaged area of the skin to heal the irritated area. Turmeric soothes skin irritation from the outside. In this way, the blood returns to its place again and the skin becomes whiter.
Sometimes the skin can have dark spots and so-called age points. The mechanism of their occurrence is completely different from that of redness. Dark spots on the skin are a discoloration caused by melanocytes, which is related to age (+50 years) and strong sunlight. Lightening dark age spots is not easy at all. Melanocytes develop deep in the skin. Hardly any substances are able to be absorbed so deeply into the skin. Turmeric and curcumin have the ability to prevent melanocytes from attaching to the surface of the skin and thus prevent the formation of age spots.
Turmeric moisturizes the skin
Turmeric’s skin-moisturizing property is based on its effect on regenerating skin cells. Turmeric works on the skin, accelerating the removal of dead skin cells. New, healthy cells effectively protect the skin from moisture loss. The rapid renewal of skin cells also makes the skin feel brighter and at the same time removes wrinkles and fine lines.
Turmeric treats impure skin
If your skin has a lot of ringworm or inflamed pores, you will definitely benefit from turmeric treatment. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory turmeric deeply cleanse the skin and calms inflammation. Turmeric masks are indeed one of the most popular natural acne treatments.
Turmeric also promotes the natural healing of the skin. The scars left by the pimples heal quickly and the skin remains smooth and even after the turmeric treatment.
How can turmeric be used in cosmetics?
Curcumin is an oil-soluble substance, so all products containing turmeric should also contain lipids such as vegetable oils or vegetable butter. Various emulsions and water-free creams are suitable as a base for turmeric products.
Turmeric face masks
Turmeric is especially suitable for masks. Ground turmeric is suitable for masks. It is the same product that is also used as a spice. Turmeric can be used more liberally in masks, as the mask with a deep orange shade is easy to wash away. In fresh masks, turmeric can be combined with solid yogurt, banana or avocado. In addition to turmeric, easily absorbed oils such as grape seed oil or safflower oil can be used in the mask. Honey gives the mask moisture. Honey is also an anti-inflammatory ingredient.
It is highly recommended to exfoliate and moisturize the face before applying the mask. If the skin of the face has a lot of dead cells and the skin is dry and lifeless, the colour of turmeric can stick too hard.
Many people are afraid of turmeric precisely because of its strong colour. However, turmeric is not very colouring for the face. Instead, nails and hands may become unpleasantly stained. So always wear gloves when working with turmeric. Plastic containers are also easily stained. I recommend using glass or steel containers when making turmeric masks.
Clean the mask off from your skin with a gentle cleanser. If a slight orange tint remains on the face, you can clean it away with oil cleansing.
Cucumber masks are especially good for impure and acne-prone skin. Aged skin also benefits from turmeric because it brightens the skin tone and reduces fine lines.
Turmeric in face creams
Turmeric is also suitable as an ingredient in night cream. You shouldn’t use a lot of turmeric then. A good concentration is 0.2%. Turmeric gives the cream a beautiful colour. Turmeric should be added to face creams as herbal oil like as macerated oil. Sometimes you can buy fresh organic turmeric at the store. It is best raw material for making turmeric oil. If you have not prepared herbal oils before, you can read the instructions here.
You can add turmeric to the oil phase. It tolerates well heating and actually works better when heated first.
Turmeric exfoliants
Turmeric renews the skin and deep cleans the pores. That’s why turmeric is especially suitable for exfoliating agents. You can use either ground turmeric or turmeric oil extract for exfoliating agents. You can use turmeric to make a body scrub or a face scrub. You should add a little oil to both scrubs, as turmeric is an oil-soluble ingredient.