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Article: The Secret to Healthier Skin

The Secret to Healthier Skin

Remember the term ‘grandma’s remedy’? If you’re young, you probably haven’t heard that; but for those who go back some, it was a commonly used term referring to remedies and cures concocted at home, from ingredients generally found in the kitchen.

One popular grandma’s remedy of old is besan – chickpea in English. Once ground into a flour, it becomes the basis for a host of skin remedies. That’s because it’s blessed with a range of properties – from controlling excess oil and combating acne, to de-tanning, skin brightening, eliminating dark spots… and more.

Packed with Nature’s Goodness
Chickpea is popularly used in cooking – it’s an excellent source of carbohydrates, dietary fibre and some level of protein. But what truly enhances its nutritional and medicinal value alike, is its rich mineral content. Replete with Potassium, Phosphorous, Magnesium, Sodium and Calcium, it also possesses trace values of Iron, Zinc, Selenium and Manganese. And Vitamins, especially from the B group.

Between them, they give chickpeas anti-oxidant properties, and help in weight management, bowel function, lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, possibly even diabetes. However, from the context of this blog, let’s keep the focus on its skin-care abilities.

Fight Acne
The zinc in chickpea flour enhances its exfoliating and alkaline properties, thus making it an excellent remedy against acne and related skin break-outs. This home remedy helps clear out impurities and cleans the pores, thus preventing pimple formation and even heals infected skin.

Whisk Away Skin Oil
The excellent absorbent properties of besan are very useful in reducing oil in oily skin types. It also helps unclog and open up the pores. Thus it can be used as a facepack or scrub, to give you oil-controlled skin over an extended period of time.

Dirt Buster
Over the course of a normal day, dirt, grime and impurities accumulate on the skin – mostly invisible to the naked eye. But make no mistake about it. They’re there and gradually clogging the pores – which makes the skin a breeding ground for acne and other issues. Besan’s superb cleansing properties makes it a good scrub, clearing away all those impurities and even dead skin cells.

Skin Lightener/Brightener
Depending on your exposure to the sun and other elements, your skin colour gradually changes over a lifetime. Especially in a tropical country like ours, constant exposure to the sun results in tanning. But besan can rectify that to some extent. It’s de-tanning properties help restore the skin’s natural tone. Further, as a natural exfoliating agent and deep cleanser, it can add a soft brightness to the skin.

Fight Blemishes
Blemishes like dark spots, blackheads and whiteheads can give the face a perception of disfigurement. It’s the zinc in chickpea flour that helps fight dark spots and other blemishes. Used as a scrub, it can also eliminate, or at least reduce, the incidence of pesky blackheads and whiteheads, by unclogging pores and controlling excess oil from sebaceous glands.

Control Dry, Flaky Skin
Surprisingly, besan can work well even for the opposite type of skin – dry and flaky. While it whisks away excess oil, it does not completely strip away the skin’s natural good oils. Thus, it has a moisturising effect that can prevent skin from going too dry. Use besan as a natural moisturiser on its own or blended with compatible ingredients.

Facial Hair Remover
Perhaps this is down to its exfoliating and alkaline properties. As a scrub, besan can act as a remover of fine facial hair. Another trick is to use it along with turmeric, which will help lighten whatever fine hair gets left over – thus adding to the skin’s brightness.

Elixir of Youth
No, we don’t mean some magic formula that will help you grow younger. However, chickpea flour is an excellent stabilising agent, which works hard to iron out the fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes and the mouth. Maybe it’s the inbuilt anti-oxidant properties that help improve skin elasticity, repair damage and boost collagen. Whatever the reason, it helps fight ageing, making your skin appear young and radiant.

When it comes to skin care, especially, it’s prudent to avoid commercial products that promise immediate results – and may well deliver, though rarely without side effects. When in doubt, always go with natural and organic. We Herbal is a brand that comes with the promise of 100% organic ingredients in all its products. No artificial chemicals, colouring or flavours.

We Herbal has a range of wellness and beauty products that you can procure online, at your convenience, from here.

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