an Indian woman's bath kit

icetea

Was wondering if anyone more knowledgeable than me might care to decribe a bit what regular Indian women use for their baths and beauty needs and how exactly they use all those oils and plant powders, perhaps north/south differences in usage, etc.

Just to start: there are the oils (mustard, coconut, gingili, almond), the gram powder used as a body scrub and the shikakai powder used for hair washing, and the henna powder.

What is a typical Indian woman's ritual for these? I thought it might be interesting to write down all this, I don't know if there already is such a thread.

shilpaks

cream for moisturising before a shower,
potato,honey,papaya(i think its any fruit) for face masks,
pumice stone as a scrubber,
salt(theres one mroe thing like oatmeal or soemthing like that) which is used as a face scrub,
will add more as i remember wht friends have used over the years :P:P

jyotirmoy

Cucumber juice has anti-wrinkle properties. Keeping a thin slice of cucumber over the eyes has a soothing effect & removes marks. Sandal wood paste has cooling properties and makes skin glow.

Nick-H

As far as I know (she doesn't let me in the bathroom) Mrs N just uses soap! The collection of different bottles in the bathroom is pretty-much mine!

Apart from the mixture of oils (she has a mysterious bottle) that she puts on her hair.

Depending on what part of India, the oil is left in, or washed out after a soak. Mrs N washes it out.

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Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

CliveG

What I cannot understand is why I'm allowed a small corner of the bathroom cabinet for my oothbrush, shaving gear etc. while my wife has three and a half shelves plus another cupboard stacked with things that if mixed in the right proportions could produce the ultimate weapon of mass destruction and is adamant that they are all essential!

greenchutney

there is powdered turmeric made into paste or fresh turmeric root pods..as well. and this is mainly a deep southern thing.

i think some of its properties are that it 'retards' or regresses hair growth on the skin...and also gives a glow to darker skin tones...

and there are traditions, or specific days when everyone takes coconut oil baths...like before a diwali day....

you really have to get into the older generation...the younger its all all these packaged products predominantly...

icetea

hmm...I actually wasn't thinking of creams, fruit face masks or cucumber juice or anything that westerners might also use, but of typical Indian ingredients. And I was thinking of the regular Indian woman out there, not the modern kind.

I don't think it is necessarily true that it's mainly the older generations who use all these things. Or do I dare say again that is it that Chennai is a bit "conservative"? I have lived for 4 months in 2 girl hostels, with girls in their 20s from various places, some attending college or some courses, some working in BPOs, and I dare say that they all had their bottles of oil and big jars filled with powder, mainly gram. They were using soap also, true, but the jars seemed to be essential too. It looked like a healthy mix of old and new, in the sense that they were indeed using packaged beauty items, but at the same time the old customs were still very much a priority. They would sit for half an hour in the bathroom for their "special" bath ritual.

Unfortunately I wasn't "ripe" enough then to ask too many details about it, and not at all talkative either; I still had no clue what "gram" meant, not to mention shikakai and all that.

I slowly started to use the oils myself, trying them out, one by one: coconut, gingily, almond. I still haven't figured out how to wash out the coconut oil from my hair without using half a bottle of shampoo, but that's ok, I'll keep trying and learning on my own

greenchutney

thats because with the way the madras tap drips water, it takes half an hour to fill a bucket.

you dont...you leave the oil (whats left after the shampoo if at all..) to braid your hair...i would think...


just thought will post a article here that i was reading today...a bit off topic but related to self maintance....


India's Metrosexuals Splurge on Toiletries, Cued by Bollywood
By Vivek Shankar
Nov. 16 (Bloomberg), 2006
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aR33FbHc SAZ8&refer=news

icetea

pray what is the use of washing the hair if it still looks oily and dirty after it!?

greenchutney

joke aside, on a serious note,
you might think hair is not good if its oily...and is dirty. think its a cultural thing... lot of south indian households take pride in well coconut oiled braided hair (women and men in certain cases with that neatly parted oiled hair)...while in other parts of the world, they think its greasy and ugh.....i have been told that ...and i dont leave the oils in anymore...

i think its also the climate. if you leave it, it gets dry, unmalleable and starts flaking...the oils keep that in control...i guess... and specially with long hair, its a big headache.

icetea

Yes I'm sure it has good reasons behind. Even "naturally" oily hair tends to get very dry in this climate and sunshine, so oiling it can help. It probably also keeps the head cool somehow. Not to mention that it prevents scalp problems, hair-fall and all that.

Apart from that, for me oily hair still looks dirty and unkempt. And it's a big no if you don't tie your hair, as it looks very messy. However, some ladies over here have wonderfully shining hair, and I'm sure oil has a big part in that. But they probably wash it off properly.

greenchutney

i dont think women oil their hair and then leave it untied. its always braided..either one or two or in other myriad forms. in many traditional households, its a custom not to have hair open....and the older generations used to frown upon it...but times have changed..

there is also dabur amla oil and keo karpins...i think those two are also found in a lot of households everywhere..

oh i love indian women with long shiny oily braids especially when its jet black... ....

icetea

I realise now that this website is male-dominated and there is no way that I'm going to get a woman's input on this topic here

capt_mahajan

Hey, you were the one who called the thread 'an indian woman's bath kit'.. are you then surprised men are flocking here?

icetea

Yes but I was expecting you people to flock to your wifes' bath kits first..and then report over here!!