Embrace beauty the natural way

Mumbai: The Indian kitchen is home to variety of natural ingredients that are associated with numerous benefits. The benefits of natural ingredients have been the backbone of ancient Ayurvedic manuscripts. Natural ingredients have Instead of opting for harsh and harmful chemicals; here are reasons why you should consider natural ingredients over chemically laden beauty products.

Dr Neena Chopra, Director- Beauty & Technical, Just Herbs shared, Aushadhi or healing plants and various other spices have had a significant effect on the skin for a long time. Humans and plants are made up of the same building blocks. The same forces/doshas work inside our body, which makes plants the best agents for carrying homeostasis in the human body and maintaining the internal stability sound nutrition and health.”

“This has made the multi-functional benefits of herbs in terms of antioxidant cellular protection, anti-inflammatory and anti-stress properties, so popular today. Nature is home to a variety of herbs with multiple benefits,” she further added. Herbs and spices have rejuvenating, anti-ageing and antioxidant properties, which helps in improving the health of the skin.

Dr Bharti Magoo, Aesthetician, Anti-Aging Physician, shared that Indian spices have lot of benefits associated with them. They help in fighting acne, clearing clogged pores, enhancing the skin texture, complexion and the list is endless.” Here are some of the few health benefits highlighted by Dr Magoo on the commonly used spices like clove, Cinnamon, black pepper and coriander seeds:

Cinnamon:

It has antibacterial properties and aids digestion, helps in losing weight, improves blood circulation, and also helps in easing discomfort caused by menstrual problems. It is also known to decreases blood sugar and cholesterol levels which is why it is considered essential for the heart health.

Coriander seeds:

It helps in boosting immunity and is well known for cooling and soothing the tired eyes by using it as an eye drop.

Black Pepper:

It is beneficial for treating cold, acidity, acne marks and blemishes and clears pimples. Black Pepper is used as an antibiotic in the Himalayan areas.

Clove:

It is a natural antibiotic agent and therefore, clove oil can be used as a painkiller.  Clove helps in tooth ache and also increases metabolism and various other stomach related issues like gas, diarrhoea, nausea and upset stomach. Clove also helps in blood circulation.

Dr Neena on the other hand avers the benefits of the most commonly used turmeric and coconut oil.

Turmeric:

It is revered as a ‘Rasayana’ and it has the ability to rejuvenate the entire body system. It is considered as a great complexion enhancer. With Ayurvedic attributes of being hot in potency, pungent in taste and aftertaste, turmeric has Vata-Pitta-Kapha pacifying properties. It is an effective ingredient to treat acne, wounds and to deeply detoxify your skin. The presence of ‘curcumin’ in the herb, adds to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal and anticancer properties too.

Coconut Oil:

The oil has been helping us with our skin health since time immemorial. Coconut oil can be used to improve complexion, suppleness and elasticity of the skin. Coconut oil is a great solution for skin problems like psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema, dry or flaky skin, scars and burns. The oil has pitta shaman/ pitta pacifying or cooling properties. It can also be used as massage oil owing to the healing properties that it possesses, which helps in soothing sore and tight muscles.