Turmeric is the Best Spice of Life, Literally.

Spice up your skincare routine with this natural antiseptic

It’s day 248428724 of COVID-19 lockdown, I’ve not gone completely stir crazy (yet), and I’m still as obsessed with my skincare routine as I was before the entire world came to a screeching halt. All things considered… I’d say that I’m doing pretty well. Thanks for asking. Let’s face it, we are more inundated with news than we have ever been in the Digital Age. There’s a meme floating around that says the news doesn’t even update you with the weather anymore, reporters just say, “Good morning Coronavirus” and honestly, isn’t that the truth?! Well, if you want something a bit less… frightening, you’re in the right place!

If you’ve been paying attention to natural, holistic healthcare advocates, you may have heard them touting the benefits of turmeric as one of the ways that we can keep ourselves healthy during this very icky time. People who cook spicy foods have been using turmeric in their dishes for quite some time now, however, it turns out that it’s not just a great spice (and preservative) for food!

What is turmeric?

According to WebMd, turmeric is “a spice that comes from the turmeric plant. It has a warm, bitter taste… and contains yellow-colored curcumin, which is often used to color foods and cosmetics.” Yup, you read that right, the same stuff you use in food can also be used in your makeup!

Health benefits of turmeric 

Turmeric is a natural antiseptic that derives most of its health benefits from curcumin (by the way, cumin is another spice that people use in food). Curcumin is a bioactive component that has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. For these two benefits alone, this is probably why people recommend turmeric to help fight against the coronavirus. 

Apart from that, turmeric helps with pain and inflammation, depression, high cholesterol, itching, thinking and memory skills, inflammatory bowel disease, and stress. Side note: did you know that stress underlies most diseases? That's a topic for another day… but I just wanted to throw that out there!

So why is turmeric good for the skin?

1. A natural glow

Any skincare product that acts as an anti-inflammatory and has antioxidant properties promotes a natural glow to the skin. If you take a gander over to YouTube university, you will find many DIY turmeric face mask tutorials that demonstrate instant results! 

I found a good one that you can watch below. 

2. Turmeric can fight acne and its scarring 

It should be a no-brainer that an antiseptic, anti-inflammatory ingredient would be helpful in fighting off acne. After all, most acne is caused by bacteria. The turmeric mask that I recommended can get into your pores better than an OTC cleanser can by targeting bacteria directly. Perhaps it may help to mix a bit of turmeric powder with your face wash next time you have an acne breakout? It might be worth trying! 

3. The lightening product you didn’t know you needed 

I shouldn’t have to get into the drawbacks of using skin lightening products, especially when we promote skin brighteners like Masktini’s Metal Head Gold Brightening Mask. However, I understand the desire or need many of us have to lighten or brighten certain areas of our skin. When you suffer from hyperpigmentation, dark circles, and other things that create an uneven skin tone, it can be tempting to use a skin lightener.

Thankfully, turmeric is a natural skin lightener that won’t destroy your skin over time as hydroquinone-based products do, for example. In the case of dark circles, turmeric stimulates circulation and helps to reduce puffiness. Goodbye raccoon eyes! 

Before you rush to the pharmacy or Amazon to purchase turmeric powder or pills, here are a few things to consider: 

• Turmeric powder can stain the skin! This is temporary so try to not freak out when it leaves behind a yellow tint or residue.
• There will be shipping delays if you order this natural product online… even if you order with Amazon who was previously never really late!
• If you’re an avid tea drinker like me… it goes well in tea too! Just saying. 

So there you have it, everything you need to know about this spice of life! If you haven’t tried turmeric on your food or skin before but want to try it now, we would love to hear about your experience. In the meantime, follow us on Instagram and tag us in any of your fun DIY #quarantine home skincare routines.

Wash your hands, practice social distancing (even after this is over, really), and stay healthy!