Gram flour or besan is an integral part of the Indian Kitchen. Not only besan or gram flour is a vital ingredient for delicious recipes, but also traditionally used from ancient times as beauty treatments. The old grandma’s tips ( read nuskhe) to treat dull skin comprise primarily the trusted ingredient, which is gram flour ( also known as chickpea flour). Now, all these grandma’s secrets relating to gram flour for skin care lie wide open in front of you in this post! Read on-
Role of Gram Flour for Skin Care in India
Traditional skin care practices in India have one major ingredient, which is besan. From a young age, face packs ( also called ubtans) are applied on the faces of girls to keep their skin clean, fair, and bright. Gram flour has cleansing properties. Besides, due to its coarse texture, it deep cleanses the skin and removes tanning too. That’s why, it is among the top list of every mom’s and grandmom’s beauty care list. Moreover, brides in India are often advised besan face packs to get brighter skin tone not only for face but for body skin too.
In India for brides, the body is first massaged with sesame oil (til oil). Then gram flour mixed with curd and turmeric is used as a body scrub to deep cleanse and exfoliate the skin. After half an hour the scrub is washed off while bathing. This helps in removing the dead skin cells and makes the skin look bright and young.
Different Face Packs Using Gram Flour for Clean Skin
All-time Favorite Gram Flour Face Pack
Besan mixed with haldi (turmeric), milk and lemon juice has been considered as one of the grandma’s favorite skin treatments. Gram flour helps in the removal of dead skin cells and rejuvenates the skin.Onthe other hand, milk nourishes and moisturizes the skin. While turmeric has anti-inflammatory and healing properties, lemon helps to reduce pigmentation. You can use it for all types of skin.
Take two spoons of gram flour, a pinch of turmeric, few drops of lemon juice and a couple of spoons of milk and give them a nice stir. Ensure no lumps are there. Now, apply the face pack on the face gently and leave it till it dries. Wet your hands and slowly remove the face pack in circular motion, not aggressively at all. Use water as required to remove the face pack, pat dry to discover cleaner and clearer skin tone.
Face Mask for Dry Skin
You can prepare face mask for dry skin at your home by mixing gram flour with full cream milk, honey, and turmeric. Apply this face mask on your face. Let it dry and wash it with water. Ingredients in the face mask will heal, stimulate and maintain the moisture level of your skin. This face mask will avoid dryness.
For blemish-free skin in the above ingredients, you can mix lemon juice in place of honey to prepare the facemask. You would be surprised to know benefits of gram flour for skin care, continue to read…
Face Mask for Oily Skin
Gram flour helps to reduce the oiliness of the skin. Mix the gram flour with yogurt and a few drops of rose water, and apply it on your face. Let it dry and wash off gently after 20 minutes. Gram flour helps to absorb and remove the excess oil.
Alternatively, you may use honey with gram flour for oily skin face pack. Simply, add 1 spoon of honey to 2 spoons of gram flour, mix well and apply on the face and neck. Rise after 15-20 minutes when it completely dries. You may use this pack thrice a week maximum for best results.
Face Mask for Pimple Prone Skin
It is always advisable to use natural ingredients for sensitive and pimple prone skin. Gram flour has natural properties to deal with acne and pimples. It not only reduces excess sebum, soothes the inflamed skin but also counters infection on skin that may cause acne.
Mix gram flour with sandalwood powder ( 2 spoons each), turmeric, and milk and blend them properly to make a smooth paste. Apply the paste on the acne-prone area and wash it after half an hour. It will help in curbing the pimples.
This remedy also helps to reduce acne scars.
Face Mask for Skin Whitening and Removal of Tanning
Want to get rid of skin tan and achieve brighter skin? Read further!
Grind the almonds and make powder. Now, mix it with gram flour, milk, and lemon juice. Blend the ingredients properly to make a smooth paste. Now, apply the face mask and let it dry. Wash your face with lukewarm water after half an hour. It will have a bleaching effect on your skin and will help to remove tan and brighten the skin color.
Removal of Facial Hair
Gram flour face pack is popular but do you know you can use it for hair removal too? Mix gram flour with the fenugreek powder and water. Make the smooth paste and apply it on the area of facial hair. Let it dry and scrub it off when it completely dries. In due course of time, you will find that your facial hairs have removed or lessened.
Anti-Wrinkles Skin Pack
Tomatoes have anti-aging as well as anti-tanning properties. when combined with gram flour or chickpea flour, the skin packs works for smoother skin and reduces aging signs. Moreover, the pack also removes excess oil from skin and reduces dark spots.
Make a paste of one ripe tomato and mix well in 2 spoons of gram flour. Apply the pasty for 10 minutes or so and rinse off. You may use the pack twice a week for best results.
Frequently asked questions
Can we use gram flour for face pack daily?
If you have dry to normal skin, completely avoid gram flour face packs daily. In case, you have very oil skin, you may use once a day to get rid of excess oil. After this, remember to moisturize your skin with suitable products.
Is it okay to mix aloe vera with besan to create pack for face?
Yes, of course as aloe vera is a source of immense nutrients such as minerals, vitamins and antioxidants. It nourishes the skin and helps to soothe the skin issues. When combined with besan, the results of skin can be amazing!
Which one is better for sensitive skin- chickpea flour or rice flour?
Rice flour is gentle on skin while chickpea flour is coarse. It can be used for removing dirt and dead cells from skin effectively without irritating it.
References-
https://www.bebeautiful.in/
https://www.femina.in/
