Gram Flour (Besan) for Glowing Skin

If you feel that the glow on your face seems to have diminished, it’s time to revive the romance with your skin and pamper it with the goodness of nature. You don’t have to go digging in your garden, though. Your saviour will probably already be in your kitchen. Besan, or Gram Flour, is perhaps the most convenient and effective ingredient for getting smooth, glowing skin. Packaged besan is easily available in the market at your local grocery. But if you want to get right to the source, it’s best to buy some Channa Dal (Bengal Gram) and get it ground at a local mill. You can even grind it at home in your food processor. Make sure you don’t make it too fine, or too grainy. It should have the consistency of wheat flour. Fresh ground besan can last for up to six months.

Uses of Besan

The use of besan for skincare has been around for decades. I’m sure your grandmother or mother would have some of their own tips to share. Traditionally, a pack of besan, turmeric, and milk was applied to brides-to-be to enhance their beauty. For baby girls soft dough made of besan and milk is rubbed on the body before a bath, for reducing body hair growth. Here’s a brief on why this ordinary kitchen essential works extraordinarily for your skin:

To Lighten Complexion

If you need to remove pigmentation from your skin and make it look lighter and brighter, an easy besan pack will help you achieve it. Make a paste of half a teaspoon of gram flour, 1/4 tsp of turmeric (haldi) and kachha or un-boiled milk. Apply on the face and neck area and leave on till it completely dries, and your skin feels stretched. Wash off with lukewarm water. You can also apply this pack to stubborn areas like the neck, elbows and knees to clean them without having to scrub too hard. It is also effective for lightening underarm skin and under eye skin.

To Reduce Acne

Besan, when mixed with egg whites, helps draw out oil from the pores of the skin and thus help in reducing and clearing acne. Mix two teaspoons of besan with one egg white to make a fluffy mixture. Leave on for 15 minutes and wash off with cold water. Cucumber juice mixed with some besan also helps reduce unsightly blemishes. You can apply these masks once every two days.

To Remove Dryness

Winters can be tough on the skin, often causing it to be dry and flaky. A face pack made of one teaspoon gram flour, one teaspoon milk cream, half a teaspoon of honey and a few drops of lemon juice can help reduce dryness. Simply apply liberally on the face, and wash off when it dries.

To Cleanse Face

If you feel over-the-counter face washes don’t work for your skin, you make a simple, natural cleanser using gram flour. Mix one teaspoon besan, one teaspoon turmeric, one teaspoon sandalwood, a few drops of rose water and one teaspoon fresh cream, to get a smooth paste. Gently massage on to your face in circular motion and wash off with cool water. For those with oily skin, you can replace the cream with milk. To make a scrub, you can skip the cream and add some curd. The benefits of gram flour are many, but the results will show only with persistent and regular use. This natural ingredient is cheap, easily available and causes no harm even if used daily. So when you can look good naturally, why go anywhere else?