DIY Herbal Bath Powder – Traditional Homemade Bath Powder for Glowing Skin!

I am going to show you how I make my herbal bath powder in our house. There are 100s of different recipes to make this. In India every household has got a slightly different recipe. I religiously follow my Grandmum’s recipe, whenever I visit her in India, she always makes a big batch and packs it for me. But usually I run out of it in a few months and make my own smaller batch.

How to make the bath powder last longer?

While making this herbal bath powder at home, my Grandmum uses a trick to make the powder last longer, to basically increase the shelf life. I will explain you her secret, trust me, it’s worth doing it. You can use this fragrant powder as a regular bath powder and also as a face pack.

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Why go natural and herbal?

I use herbal ingredients that are wonderful for our skin, they do not affect the pH balance and keep our skin moisturized. You will find the herbal ingredients in Ayurvedic shops, but I find it easy to buy them online.

I will give you the links for all the ingredients at the end of this post.

Avaram Senna flower/ Tangedi/ Tanner’s cassia/ Avarampoo:

Avaram senna is used in this bath powder to improve your completion, its got a sweet fragrance, and gives a glow to the skin when used on a regular basis. And a very important benefit of senna flower is, it removes body odor. It also helps to reduce pigmentation related issues. And reduces dark spots and blemishes.

Wild turmeric/ Amba haldi/ kasturi manjal

This is not the usual cooking turmeric, which is called yellow turmeric. There are actually 3 types of turmerics. One of them is used for cooking and the other 2 are used for beauty purposes. This is wild turmeric. This has anti-bacterial and anti–inflammatory properties that keeps infections away and restores the glow to our skin. And it also removes unwanted facial hair. It will thin the hair and will eventually get rid of facial hair.

White turmeric/ Kachur/ Poolan kilangu/ Kachoram:

White turmeric is a very good scrub so it removes dead skin cells. It naturally improves your complexion and gives you an even skin tone. It is also an antioxidant, and antiseptic. This is ground and applied externally to heal cuts and wounds.

Nut grass root/ Nagarmotha/ Korai kilangu:

Nut grass root powder adds moisture to your skin to reduce dryness and flaking. It is anti-bacterial and good for any skin related problems. It also helps to lighten the skin tone by preventing the formation of skin pigmentation.

Vetiver/ Khus roots/ Ramacham:

The most exciting benefit of vetiver, is its ability to reduce the appearance of dark spots, and other marks on the skin, helping to create a more even skin tone. Up to a certain age our skin is blemish free, and we have fantastic skin tone. But once we hit 25, all those dark spots, brown spots start to creep in slowly and we get sort of an uneven skin tone. This khus root is an excellent remedy for it. But the benefits don’t stop there. It also moisturizes and helps skin appear firmer and more youthful. Its a great natural anti-aging formula.

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Nigella Seeds/ Kalonji seeds/ Sampangi seeds:

Kalonji seeds are known as the seed of blessing. It is treated to be the best herb of all the times with regards to medication purpose. Skin infections, particularly psoriasis and eczema, are treated by applying this nigella seeds powder or nigella oil on your skin. This is because it has got anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, and it will also soothe irritation on the skin, leaving it soft and moisturized.

Spanish cherry/ Maulsari / Bakul/ magilam poo:

These wonderful star shaped flowers are great on your skin, it keeps your skin soft and supple. It’s used in Ayurveda for treating itching and rashes.

Neem powder:

Neem is an excellent anti-microbial and anti-septic. It clears acne, pimples and protects your skin from any infections.

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Preparation

You need to dry all these ingredients in the sun and grind them into a fine powder using a powerful mixer/blender, you can also use small quantities in a coffee grinder. You can even filter this powder to make it really fine if you are going to use it as a face mask, that really helps to make a smooth paste.

Making It Last Longer

I told you that my Grandmum makes this herbal bath powder last longer. She segregates the herbal ingredients into 2 categories. The herbal powder what we have just made is the first category, these are the herbs which have a very long shelf life and will not be infested with bugs. Usually this stays well even for 1 or 1.5 yrs. So you can very well make a big batch of this and store it.

Ingredients you need for the 2nd category

You need Moong beans/green gram, Fenugreek seeds/methi, Rose petals and Orange peels. These items have a shorter shelf life, they might get infested with flour bugs if you store them for a long time, so you need to make it often, every few months. So its always good to make this category in small batches. I usually grind these ingredients and mix these 2 in a small jar and keep it in the bathroom, its convenient that way. You will run out of it in a few days and then you can refill it by mixing both the powders.

Moong beans / Green gram

Moong dal helps you exfoliate your skin and remove the layer of dead cells, giving you brighter, lighter and softer skin. Its a great remedy for dry skin, this actually moisturizes you skin and cleanses it. You can also use split moong dals but my Grandmother always uses the whole beans with the skin. I follow the same thing, later I realized you get more vitamins A and C to your skin that way. And also moong beans powder is used to bath new born babies.

Methi / fenugreek seeds

The presence of vitamin C in fenugreek seeds lightens the skin complexion and gives a beautiful glow. It also deep cleanses your skin, and acts as a toner. Another important benefit of fenugreek is it reduces dark circles.

Dried Rose petals

You need to make sure that roses are organic. Rose petals remove discoloration from your skin and brightens your face. It also hydrates and cleanses your skin. You only need the red rose petals for this. If you have red roses at home, then simply dry it in shade. I will also give the link at the end of this post where you can buy quality organic rose petals.

Orange peels

I dry orange peels at home. Orange peel powder is an excellent exfoliant. It helps you get the flawless skin and it also gives a wonderful glow to your skin. It will make you look fresh, it works the same way as the effect of orange face mask. It also protects your skin from sun damages and lightens skin complexion.

You can preserve the bath powder for a long time

Grind these 4 ingredients separately and store it in a different jar. You can mix these 2 powders whenever you want to use it. The proportion of these powders is entirely up to you. For my kids I normally use for every 1 tbsp of mung bean powder, I add 1/2 tsp of the herbal powder because their skin is too delicate. If it is for me, I will be using in equal portions. Its entirely up to you. By storing the herbs and the moong bean powder separately, you can preserve it for a longer time. You can make make a big batch of the herbal powder and store it for more than a year. And the mung dal base you can make every 1 or 2 months. That’s how I do it.

Herbal bath powder that smells divine

Vetiver/khus roots give a sort of pleasant earthy fragrance, I love it. You carry that natural fragrance even hours after taking bath. I am a strong believer in homemade, natural, holistic and organic skin care products. It makes a lot of difference in your health. If you have any questions, please write them here, I will be glad to answer them.

How do we use this herbal bath powder

Whenever you want to use it, take the amount that you require in a small bowl and mix it with water. If you leave this for 15 minutes before you use it, it makes it very smooth and easy to use. Rub it all over your body and leave it for 5 minutes for the herbs to work on your skin and then rinse it with water.

How to use it as a Face Mask?

If you want to use it as a Face Mask, then add a little bit of yogurt or tomato juice and make a paste. If you have an oily skin then use fat free yogurt. Leave this pack on your face for 15 minutes or until it is dry and wash it with water. It makes your face very soft and gives a glow. It works really well to remove blackheads, acne and pimples too.

Note

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Thank you!

Links to Buy Ingredients Used In this Recipe