Discover the wondrous powers of natural ingredients in My Essential Series. Each month I will highlight a particular plant used in health and/or beauty, highlighting the benefits and sharing tips on how it is used in modern medicine and/or skincare.
For February, we give thanks and praise to turmeric. One of my all-time favourite plants, a solid staple in the Olive & Joyce skincare range and a root of remedy whose powers have been harnessed for generations and across the world.
What Is Turmeric Used For?
Turmeric is a root and part of the ginger family. It has long been used as a spice, particularly in Asian cuisine and especially Indian curries. Its rich golden yellow colour makes it highly distinctive, vibrant and gives it the power to change the tone of a meal in appearance as well as flavour. Furthermore, turmeric has been found to have multiple health benefits.
A digestion aid, turmeric is an antioxidant and has protective qualities. Like its sister root, ginger, it is an anti-inflammatory so can reduce pain and swelling and help to regulate and calm the body.
Since ancient times though, turmeric has also been used in medicine, as well as various beauty rituals and for skincare.
What Makes Turmeric Such a Special Skincare Ingredient?
Did you know that turmeric contains antioxidants five to eight times more powerful than vitamin C? If you read my article on Skincare Wisdom From Around The World, you can find out more about ancient beauty rituals and the ingredients used, including turmeric, that are still being used today.
Turmeric has been used for centuries, especially in Ayurvedic practices as a purification ritual. Today it is in many skincare and haircare products.
I use turmeric in many of my collections, including The Balance, The Established, The Eternal, The Lustrous and The Radiance. As an anti-inflammatory, it can relieve acne, eczema and psoriasis and also reduces the appearance of scars. Its antioxidant properties help protect against sun damage and evens out skin tone and complexion.
Why I Call Turmeric Nature’s Root Of Remedy
With its rich yellow hue and relationship with power-plant ginger, turmeric aids vibrancy and illumination in the skin. Yet, it’s turmeric’s ability to improve complexion and even skin tone that makes it truly magical and a must-have in most of my skincare products.
Olive & Joyce products don’t contain chemicals that take over from the skin and send our skin cells into retreat. Instead, our gentle all-natural face creams and face oils focus on calming and nurturing the skin, encouraging it to heal and balance itself - with a little assistance from Mother Nature. Turmeric is essential to this approach and there’s no doubt that our products wouldn’t achieve such amazing results without it.
We wouldn’t be without carrot seed oil either - find out how we harness the purifying power of carrot seed oil in the first in January’s instalment of My Essentials.