Besan ( chick pea flour) is one of the most popular beauty secrets from India. It is a versatile, natural skin care product that can be used with milk, yogurt, honey, sugar, rose water and many more ingredients to help improve your skin. Many actresses and women all over swear by it !
It works great as a soft but effective exfoliator and softens the skin like no other product. Often I love using besan with just water as an all over body exfoliator. It gives me the softest, cleanest skin ever ! Its not just the regular women, even Bollywood beauties swear by it !
This is what beauty queen and Bollywood actress Sushmita Sen had to say, when asked about her beauty routine :
"As an actress, my skin is exposed for long hours to damage from heavy make-up, lights, pollution and UV rays which have a long-term detrimental effect on skin. My advice is to drink a lot of water, get enough sleep, use sun protection and wear products that enhance your looks but don't cover up your natural beauty.
Home Remedy: Use Besan Ka Aata(chick pea flour) with malai (milk creme) as a scrub to soften and cleanse the skin. And a concoction of neem and honey to drink; it's not as bad as it sounds!
In - Flight Ritual: I make sure I take off all my make-up. If I've been shooting outdoors in too much mud and dust, I oil my hair before boarding "
At Home DIY Face Mask / Scrub Recipe :
1. Take 2 tsps of besan in a bowl.
2. Add 1/4 tsp of turmeric. Turmeric is a well known antiseptic.
3. Add 3 tsp of milk.
4. Mix well
Keep the mixture thick so you can apply it all over the face without it falling off. The consistency should be like that of pancake batter. If it does become thin, just add a little more besan.
Apply all over your face, neck and wait until it begins drying up - 20 minutes. Later you can peel it out or wash it off with warm water. Don't wait too long because if it dries out completely, its a pain to take it off.
If you don't wanna use the mixture as a mask , you can use it as a scrub. Just rub it all over your face and neck and wash off with warm water. The same works for body as well. You can even use besan mixed with some water in place to your cleanser.
Few More Recipes :
- Besan + Rose water+ Turmeric (optional)
- Besan + Water
- Besan + Yogurt
- Besan + Honey
- Besan + lime/ lemon juice
- Besan + sugar + water
or Besan + all of the above. Like I said it works with many things !
Where can you find Besan ?
Besan is available in most Indian stores . It costs less than $6 for 2 lbs ! That is enough for a long long time !
Do you have any favorite recipe with Besan ? I would love to hear what you do with it for your skin !
Love,
Indian Girl
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24 comments
Indian Girl, this was a fantastic post! I really love home remedies like this. I know there are a ton of them out there but I never know how to use them :P
I use besan with red sandalwood powder and turmeric. It keeps hyperpigmentation at bay for me. Question: is there a special brand of besan to buy? My mixture looks more gritty and I know its not the turmeric or sandalwood powder since they are milled very fine.
Thanks for the post
Sunitha
I also buy those ready made face packs at Indian stores at times...multani mitti (fullers earth) with some rose water does wonders to my skin and smells really really nice. Another quick remedy for a nice quick but awesome glow is to use little turmeric powder (depending on your skin color, the lighter you are the less you use) with 2 teaspoons of pineapple juice (I’ve even used a little of my dole juice) and make a paste and apply it for about 5 minutes on your face and wash it off completely, it gives a great glow! Another anti-tan DIY is to make that besan paste you described and put it on face/arms with cut slices of tomato. Tomato has awesome anti-tanning properties...the only problem with most of the solutions is that it leaves the skin a little dry, especially if you already have dry skin- remedy for that, apply milk (I even use fat free milk) to the skin and let it sink in for about 5 minutes before applying any of these...and finish off with some light moisturizer!! In summer most parlors in India have a summer special cucumber mint facial or a green tea facial, they just grate cucumber on your face at the end of the facial and let it take out all the heat and then apply a thin mint face mask :-) I could go on and on….
Hi Nosh !
Aww..thanks girl ! I am right handed and holding those spoons and clicking pics was a pain. Now you why the milk pic is kinda blurry ;)
Hi Sunitha !
The brand I used is called "Supreme Quality " LOL ! ANy idea where I can get my hands on good Red Sandalwood you mentioned ? I remember when I was young, an older cousin of mine used sandalwood on her acne and in six months she was all glowy and acne free. I dont have acne issues but I sure would love some glow ;)
Mugdha darling ! Arnt you a store house of tips ! I've never heard of that pineapple juice trick ! I will try it out and put the verdict up on the blog ;)
That cucumber mint facial is what I want...it sounds *SO* good for the hotter months ...Ugh. I hate the sun
Hey, thanks hun. x
i love to use chickpea powder with more milk and less powder as a scrub..it works awesome,gets rid of oil of ur t-zone but doesnt dry out the rest of the face and dedicated use can make ur skin tone better and ur skin clearer!!!!!!!!
Hi there..
I was wondering since tumeric is an antiseptic, can we use aspirin instead? If not, what are the differences? :))
I like the idea of creating homemade face masks. My favorite face masks are those made by Face Masque Bar which you can find them at http://facemasquebar.com/
While it sounds innovative, raw food isn't refined or filtered in any way that lends itself for skin care use.
I completely had an allergic reaction to something in this mask! I only left it on for a few minutes and after I washed it off my face turned completely red and small bumps started to form. I had to place a cool cloth on my face and take an antihistamine in order for my face to calm down. I'm not sure if it was the basin or turmeric, but something didn't work!
I really like homemade face packs.
A nice article with good information. I hope these homemade ideas will definitely be helpful.
My mixture looks more gritty and I know its not the turmeric or sandalwood powder since they are milled very fine.
I love face masks made at home. Why spend the money on store bought face masks full of mystery ingredients? Instead, you can make your own homemade face mask customised for your skin type.
Hi
Amazing blog. I use besan everyday. but i mixed it with water and washed the face with normal water which is cold. many-many thanks for sharing such type of tips. I absolutely follow it.again thanks.
With regards
Aarav
Thanks for sharing - this is a true classic home remedy! I have oily skin and besan is just what the doctor ordered. In summers though, I switch to multani mitti (Fuller's Earth) to soothe my skin.
I'm constantly using chick pea flour :) so effective, you've got to love the indian home remedies.
love your blog. Please check out mine.
Nice blog post! thanks for these natural tips.. I also prefer using homemade recipes and natural products for my skincare.. Have you heard of parachute body lotion? It has coconut milk in it which is very good for the skin. Would love to see a review of it by you!
Indian girl... I love your blog. Excellent posting with gram flour. Thanks for sharing and keep writing.
@ anonymous may 26 2011 7:14am
I think u had allergic reaction to turmeric i had the same i started getting pimples on my forehead or bumps. This time i skipped the turmeric and it worked perfect without it.
great tips
This beauty recipe seems to be really great. I'll be trying this ingredients and let see how it goes on my part.
Wow this beauty recipe easy to make and make for natural products
I also use the same mask. but instead of milk i'm using Yoghurt. Is milk better?
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