Every woman yearns for fair, soft and glowing skin. For the want of looking beautiful, women spend a lot of money in beauty salon to get that vibrant skin. But ever thought of giving into the gentle caress of nature for getting that silky skin without burning a hole in your pocket?
Nature has a wonderful ingredient in her kitty, which is sandalwood or chandan. Sandalwood, or chandan as it is known in India, is a very common product that is often mentioned in beauty products. Sandalwood benefits for skin are multiple which gives it a very special place in skin care. With sandalwood in their products, manufacturers aim at establishing the efficiency of their product along with playing the ‘natural ingredient’ card.
Here are the top benefits of chandan- the skincare expert and ways you can use it:
- Chandan or sandalwood powder is a wonderful remedy that can treat skin problems, has an amazing fragrance, is used for medicinal purposes and also provides a soothing effect in summers.
- If glowing skin is what you are looking for, apply a mixture of chandan and raw milk on your face and leave it for 20 minutes. Now wash it off with water. It will add a glow, tone your skin and also moisturise it. If you suffer from dry skin, this is an excellent pack for you.
- Get clear looking skin by mixing chandan with finely powdered almonds (badam) and adding raw milk to the mixture. This pack can be applied daily on the face, arms and legs.
- Make a chandan face scrub to get rid of dead skin cells and other impurities like dirt, oil which are hard to get rid of with face packs. Mix chandan with rice powder, besan, milk and rose water. Remember, not to add too much milk or water as scrubs are thick in consistency. Apply this once in two weeks for the desired results.
- Sandalwood is a virtual ware house of goodness and has antiseptic, astringent, anti inflammatory and disinfectant properties. The antiseptic quality of sandalwood benefits to treat rashes, acne, blackheads and other skin eruptions. Its germicidal quality inhibits the growth of bacteria. It is also a natural astringent, especially for oily skin and also helps in toning up the skin.
- The cooling and anti microbial property of sandalwood helps to soothe the skin and heals small abrasions.
- Sandalwood powder mixed with a teaspoon of lime juice relieves skin irritation and allergies.
- Suffer from excessive sweating? Apply a paste of sandalwood and Rose water on areas of profuse sweating for quick relief.
- An excellent suntan remedy would be to make a paste of 1 tablespoon each of cucumber, lemon juice, curd, honey and sandalwood powder and mixing it with the juice of either one tomato or potato and applying evenly on the affected parts. Wash off after an hour.
- The onset of summer brings with it the annoying problem of prickly heat which is caused due to excessive sweating. Most prickly heat powders use sandalwood as their base ingredient as it has a cooling effect on the skin. A do it yourself skin pack would be even more effective. Make a paste of sandalwood powder with a little distilled water and apply where there is an eruption of prickly heat rashes. It would be a good idea to smear children with this paste to protect them from the terrible summer heat. It is safe to use on infants too.
- Sandalwood oil is a sedative and helps in soothing nerves. Used in aromatherapy, this oil provides relief from stress and also has a soothing effect on the mucous membranes.
Apart from being used to benefit mankind, the sad part is that this tree has also faced a lot of abuse from poachers who indiscriminately hack down even small trees and smuggle it out of the country where they fetch a handsome price. The infamous sandalwood smuggler, Veerappan, who operated out of the forests on the Karnataka Tamilnadu border, was one such example. Although this has caused inflation in the cost of sandalwood and its products, it nevertheless continues to be a very important part in the life of every Indian!