Saturday, March 24, 2012

something for the tan and dry skin...

I am so sorry to be away from this blog of mine for about two and a half years. No less.

My apologies to my subscribers and followers who expect posts on how we apply a knowledge of Ayurveda to keep a few common ailments at bay, or to improve our health through simple home remedies.

The lost time has been quite eventful, life changes a lot in a couple of years and it has certainly been so for me. I hope you all are in good health and high spirits. We shall keep meeting frequently now.

This post is intended to do some exfoliation that was quite essential for a tanned-aged blog :-)
Jokes apart, re-energising this blog would be an achievement of the weekend for me.

Here is a recipe to re-energise your skin and body as well. 

Have you heard about 'Ubtans' or freshly made scrubs used not so long ago by grandmothers to keep their skin glowing? Those were the days when no fancy skin care products were flooded on the shelves and people used to depend on the good old wisdom of eating healthy and using natural remedies for skin and hair.

You must have seen many grandmothers with glowing skin. Botox be doomed.

We earn our wrinkles, the skin can be kept perfectly supple using some readily available goodness in the herbs and seeds.

For exfoliation, tan removal and to improve circulation in the skin, this Ubtan I am suggesting, works like a charm. Massaging the ubtan on the whole body just before bath improves the circulation of the whole body as you rub and scrub the skin on your limbs, back, face and all over the body.

Here are the ingredients...

a large flower of marigold (can be sustituted with Calendula or even Rose if you like)
1/4 cup of yellow mustard
1/4 cup of chironji (also called Chirauli nut)
1/4 inch piece of fresh turmeric root or 2 pinches or powdered turmeric
6-7 almonds
yogurt, milk, fresh cream or lemon juice (see notes*)


Mustrad seeds are natural circulation boosters and both the nuts are great for skin.


Boil the yellow mustard seeds first with just enough water to soak them completely. I cooked them in Microwave for 2 minutes, covered. let them cool.


In the meanwhile pluck the bunch of florets from the marigold, separating the green stalk from all the yellow petals. Then chop off the black colored needle shaped bases of the petals, retaining only the yellow parts.


Now liquidise everything together to make a paste.

* Notes :
For very oily skin you can use lemon juice (1 tbsp) and a little water to make the paste in mixie.
For combination skin yogurt is very good.
If you have a dry skin, milk or even fresh cream will be great.

The paste looks like this and refrigerates well for 2 weeks.


To apply this Ubtan , take spoonfuls into your fingers and rub all over your body, on the face, arms and legs  one by one. Massage well into the skin, it dries when rubbed into the skin and then comes off like husky flakes along with the dead skin. Leaving your skin refreshed and exfoliated gently.


Wash or bathe yourself with warm water after this.

If not during a bath, all the open parts or arms and legs and face can be exfoliated using this Ubtan as these parts are exposed more to sun and pollution.

I am sure it would work well for you.... let me know if you like it.

Hope to see you soon with a new post.

Stay tuned.

15 comments:

  1. thanks for this. I really need this after all the suntan I had on my last vacation.

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    1. Do it daily Sayantani. You would be glad as going through the whole ritual is so therapeutic. Tan or no tan :-)

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  2. Oh yes, I remember this ubtan so well.... It used to be common during winters and was a must on holika dahan day.... The husky flakes were collected and burnt in the fire of holika... Dunno the significance or trivia behind that.... I completely agree with what you have said about grandmas, my granny had such smooth hands and feet till 1-2 years before she passed away and she must have been in her late 80s and I still remember the amount of cleaning she used to do in our village.... If I do that, my hands/feet will go for a toss ;-) Thanks a ton for posting this ubtan :).

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Anonymous. But why your hands and feet would go for a toss?
      They would love you back :-)

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  3. Welcome back.a beautiful exfoliator.looking forward for more tips from you.

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    1. Oh Thank you Ms. Chitchat.
      I would try and be regular from now.

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  4. Thanks for reviving this blog. The knowledge that you share though this blog becomes even more acceptable when the age old wisdom is weighed, evaluated and sifted by a scientific mind like yours. So we are not practicing these things just because Grandma told us to. We are doing this because this makes perfect sense to us besides the fact that these have been tried and tested by generations before us.
    This is a very good ubtan that you have suggested here. I have used all these ingredients eccept marigold in facepacks earlier but mostly seperately. all of these together would make a wonderful combination.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Amrita.
      Such words keep me motivated to work on my blogs believe me :-)

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  5. How interesting! I don't have a microwave oven, can I do this on the stove?
    And thank you for visiting my blog, I will follow you back :-).

    Ciao
    Alessandra

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Alessandra,
      You can boil the mustard seeds in a pan as well.

      I have two food blogs as well.. Hope you like them too.

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  6. I am a grandmother myself, and I follow all sorts of natural home made products all through my life.
    Loved your suggestion, and I am going to spread the word around, for my extended family ladies.:-)

    Loved your other blog too.
    Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Thanks for the lovely recipe. Loved your other blogs, too.

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  8. Came across your blogged, love it. I hope you will continue posting more ayurvedic wisdom.
    I had a question for this Ubtan recipe, I am allergic to almonds and dairy, what can be a good substitute? Can dairy be substituted with coconut cream/milk?

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    1. Thanks for the sweet words Ranjeeta. In case you are allergic to these tings, just skip almonds and use coconut cream as you suggested. Or a dash or orange juice will be good too.

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  9. Am going to try this! Thanks so much for sharing :)

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