Our skin is our largest organ but we never show it that much love what it actually deserves. No matter how religiously you follow the regular CTM (cleansing, toning, and moisturizing) regime for your facial skin, you hardly take similar care of the skin in other parts of your body. Moreover, you choose to use commercial beauty products without even given it a second thought and expose the skin of your body to harmful chemicals every now and then. One such very common skin care product is bath soap, which we all use for cleansing our body if not for our face. But have you ever thought how a chemical-laden product that is not suitable for your face can be suitable for the rest of your skin? Well, the truth is that you can always replace a bar of soap with homemade herbal bath powder for the utmost care of your skin. Here comes the importance of the traditional Sunni Pindi. If you have no idea what it is and how it can help your skin, go through the entire article.
What Is Sunni Pindi?
Sunni Pindi or Nalugu Pindi is a fragrant all-natural, herbal bath powder with amazing skin benefits. No commercial skin cleansing or exfoliating product can beat it in terms of its benefits. It can easily be prepared at home to use as a chemical-free, harmless alternative to soap. The mixture is extensively used as a bath powder to ensure thorough cleansing of the skin. It is also used as a wonderful natural scrub to exfoliate the skin gently yet effectively. If you keep using this aromatic herbal powder, your skin will feel extremely smooth and soft to touch. It enables the skin to absorb the medicinal as well as healing properties of all the herbal ingredients used, thereby nourishing every skin cell and beautifying the overall appearance. The practice of using Sunni Pindi for bathing has been an age-old tradition across the southern part of India (mostly in the state of Andhra Pradesh). With the rising demand for the toxin-free skincare, it has also gained popularity throughout the country.
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What Is Sunni Pindi Made Of?
The magical powder of Sunni Pindi contains a large number of skin-friendly herbs. The main ingredient used in it is green gram flour, which is mixed with chickpea flour and rice flour to form the base of the powder. Many other powdered ingredients like turmeric, Multani mitti, Indian gooseberries, fenugreek leaves, neem leaves, basil leaves, almond, and rose petals are also added to this flour blend. They not only help in making the skin look healthier but also contributes to the aromatic properties of Sunni Pindi.
How To Prepare Sunni Pindi At Home?
The recipe of Sunni Pindi is pretty quick and simple. Moreover, you do not need to burn a hole in your pocket in order to grab all those required ingredients. So, let us check out the entire procedure below:
Ingredients Needed:
- Green grams – 100 gms.
- Chickpeas (besan / senaga pindi) – 100 gms.
- Rice – 1 tablespoon
- Fuller’s earth (Multani mitti) – 50 gms.
- Turmeric (haldi / manjal / pasupu) – 1 teaspoon
- White turmeric (Suganda kachuralu) – 1 teaspoon
- Indian gooseberry (amla /amalaki / usirika podi) – 1 tablespoon
- Fenugreek (methi) seeds – 2 teaspoons
- Indian lilac (neem / vepa) leaves – 1 tablespoon
- Holy Basil (Tulsi) leaves – 1 tablespoon
- Orange or lemon peels – 1 tablespoon
- Rose petals – 2 tablespoons
- Almonds – 9 to 10 nuts
Method Of Preparation:
If using fresh ingredients, start with sun-drying all of them. But you will have to sun-dry only green grams, rice, and chickpeas in case you are using other ingredients in already dried condition. The grains can also be roasted in a tablespoon of pure ghee for a more captivating aroma. Once you are done with the sun-drying procedure, grind each of them separately into smooth or slightly coarse powders. Now, take all powdered ingredients in a large mixing bowl and blend them together nicely. Just make sure that there is no lump in the mixture. Your very own aromatic herbal bath powder Sunni Pindi is ready!
Always dry out the ingredients completely before starting the recipe. If you are sun-drying the ingredients, do it for at least 2 days or longer. This will increase the shelf life of the bath powder mixture upon storage.
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How To Use Sunni Pindi?
Simples steps of using Sunni Pindi are given below:
- Mix the required amount of the bath powder with a little water or milk and form a paste of thick yet spreadable consistency. You can also choose yogurt or tomato juice or lemon juice or cucumber juice to mix with Sunni Pindi.
- Dampen your skin properly.
- Apply the paste generously all over your skin and scrub gently in a small circular motion by using your fingertips.
- Leave it on your skin for the next 10 minutes in order to allow it to absorb all essential nutrients and the beautiful aroma from the paste.
- Finally, wash it off with lukewarm water.
How Is Sunni Pindi Beneficial For Skin?
The list of ingredients used in Sunni Pindi itself is very impressive. All those herbs and other natural ingredients can benefit your skin in multiple ways. Here is how the homemade bath powder can take the best care of your skin (1):
1. Sloughs Off Dead Cells
Green gram flour, chickpea flour, and rice flour have excellent exfoliating properties, which keep the skin clean and healthy by getting rid of dead cells, dirt, dust, and all other gunk.
2. Reduces Excess Oil
Both chickpea flour and Fuller’s earth can control the production of sebum on the skin. They also help in removing excess oil from the skin, thereby keeping it fresh and lively.
3. Fades Marks And Scars
Orange or lemon peels, rose petals, and neem leaves are highly effective in reducing marks or scars. Fenugreek seeds, which are mostly used for binding the ingredients together in the mixture by creating stickiness, can also help in the same.
4. Nourishes Skin Deeply
Almond contains extremely nourishing oil rich in vitamin E, which provides intense nourishment to the skin and keeps it adequately moisturized as well.
5. Makes Skin Baby Soft
Fenugreek has amazing skin softening properties that can turn your skin as soft and supple as that of a baby. It also enhances the texture of the skin by making it smoother.
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6. Keeps Aging At Bay
Turmeric and wild turmeric present in Sunni Pindi come packed with antioxidant qualities. They fight against harmful free radicals to save your skin from the oxidative damage and prevent the signs of premature aging.
7. Protects From Tan
Citrus fruits are known to provide the skin with wonderful sun protection and the orange or lemon peels used in this bath powder do exactly so. Your suntans get lightened over time and your skin tone becomes even.
8. Brightens Skin Tone
While shielding your skin from the damaging UV rays of the sun, orange or lemon peels also lighten and brighten it to a great extent. All thanks to their high levels of vitamin C content.
9. Brings Out Natural Glow
The all-natural mixture is capable of improving the circulation of blood throughout the skin, which gives the complexion a natural boost and brings out the radiance of the skin effectively.
10. Keeps Infections Away
The combination of turmeric, neem, and basil contributes to the anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antimicrobial, and anti-fungal properties of the bath powder. These help in combating issues like irritations, inflammations, infections, allergies, etc.
11. Prevents Hair Growth
Turmeric and chickpea flour cumulatively helps in reducing the growth of unwanted body hair. Your skin also becomes free from pesky body hair eventually.
12. Makes Bathing Refreshing
Rose petals make the bathing an absolutely reviving experience with the divine aroma, which invigorates the skin too.
Sunni Pindi is a bathing essential for babies all over Andhra Pradesh. It takes the best care of their delicate skin by cleansing impurities as well as removing hair from the roots.
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How Frequently Should You Use It?
Sunni Pindi is an all-natural skincare solution that is absolutely great for your skin. Hence, you can use it every day while taking your shower. Otherwise, you can use it on a weekly basis to pamper your skin. For this, you can massage your whole body with pure and organic olive oil (coconut oil / sesame oil / mustard oil / gingelly oil will also do) and let your skin soak it up before applying the Sunni Pindi paste liberally on it. Let it dry and then, wipe it off with lukewarm water. This will not only cleanse but also rejuvenate each of your skin cells.
How To Store Sunni Pindi?
You can easily prepare Sunni Pindi in large batches and store it for long time use. All you need to do is pour the prepared mixture into a glass bottle and close the lid tightly so that it remains airtight. This will also help the bath powder retain its heavenly aroma. However, make sure that you keep it away from moisture.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Where Can I Buy The Ingredients?
All the aforementioned ingredients are easily available at good Ayurvedic or herbal stores. Interested people can also opt for online shopping. You can find some items in your local grocery stores too.
Should I Buy Fresh Or Dried Herbs?
Fresh herbs are always a better choice than the dried ones. You can buy fresh raw ingredients, dry them out in the sun, and grind them yourself at home. But if it is not possible for you, go for dried ones from well-known brands.
Should I Buy Whole Or Powdered Herbs?
Freshly ground ingredients offer the maximum benefits for the skin. So, purchasing whole herbs is obviously more effective. But if time is a constraint for you, go for powdered herbs from a reputed and reliable brand.
Can I use Almond Meal?
Almond meal or almond flour may not be accessible to everyone. But when accessible, it can certainly be a replacement for raw almonds.
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