The Golden Glow of Turmeric

One of the first beauty recipes my Mother ever taught to my sister and I was turmeric butter. It is exactly what it sounds like. We mixed our turmeric powder (and a small pinch of cayenne) with melted butter or ghee to produce a vividly coloured balm for our skin. We’d rub it into our limbs before a shower or bath, and end with soft, glowing skin. Turmeric has always had a place in my home and heart.

There are a variety of names for turmeric in South Asia; you’ll hear haldi, manjal, hardar, and in my dialect of Gujarati you’ll even hear “hambar”. We use it in nearly everything, and it’s with good reason.

I dislike the word superfood, and yet it’s applicable for turmeric. It’s a super root! It’s highly medicinal, and also commonly used in our meals. A common cold busting drink combines turmeric, ginger root, honey, and black pepper.

It’s also incorporated into our wedding ceremonies during the peethi. Both brides and grooms are rubbed in a paste that includes hardar and chick pea flour that is meant to make the skin glow - and glow it does! Turmeric dyes the skin and takes some time to fade. 

I love turmeric for its anti-inflammatory properties, spurred forward by its active compound curcumin. It’s a fantastic ingredient to work with in soap, and is also pH sensitive! That means we end up with a variety of shades caused by the same ingredient.

Turmeric. Haldi. Hardar. Hambhaar. Manjal.
By the Earth. By Bhumika.