SEA Beauty Secret : Rice Turmeric Scrub

Exfoliation

Exfoliation is an essential process to get a smooth and healthy looking skin. I found the exfoliating process has become more famous in the past few years. It has become a weekly beauty ritual for some women. There are lots of ready made beauty products for exfoliating dead skin cells in the stores, as well as homemade scrub recipes which we can make at home. 

I also like doing it. Exfoliating dead cells from my skin makes me feel refreshed and clean. I usually make my own body scrub using available ingredients I have in the kitchen. I have tried tea leaves scrub, coffee scrub and some other types of scrubs. 

Rice Turmeric Scrub

But lately I have been using this rice-turmeric scrub once a week and I like the result. Rice and turmeric are well known ingredients in health and beauty industry. The benefits of rice to the skin and hair is widely known. The same goes for turmeric which is believed can brighten the skin and promote better blood flow. 

I learned about this rice-turmeric scrub after searching for a natural remedy to brighten the skin. It was because in that time I worked under the sun, and my skin became like, two tones darker. And it does not went back to the original tone. So I decided to find a natural solution to it. And I found about turmeric and its whitening properties.

Then I tried applying turmeric powder we always use for cooking as a face mask and body scrub. I read about mixing it with other ingredients like yogurt or milk but at that time I decided to use only turmeric powder. There was result after a week. Yes my skin became brighter, and some other skin problems* which occurred on my face reduced.

*(I forgot the name of the skin problem). I searched about it in the internet before but I forgot its name, when I searched again I did not found it. I looks like freckle but it is not flat, and it does not disappear for a long time. I read before that it is caused by clogged glands in the skin. I will update later when I find about it). 

The cons are my skin became yellow after washing it with only water, and I have to use soap to clean the yellow color on my skin. Otherwise, people will think that I am a DIGI mascot. Other problem is I have to clean the bathroom as well. It also may give a dry feeling to the skin. When applied everyday my skin became drier. 

Then this year I tried rice turmeric scrub. I just add ground rice to the turmeric powder. It is called lulur. It works, for me, and the result is satisfying. I soaked the rice for 1 to 2 hours before drying it by frying it without using oil in a pan. Then I mix the rice with turmeric powder and grind them to make a fine scrub powder. The finer the ground particles the better the scrub will be. 

Failed Scrub 

Talking about drying the rice, last month I tried to make a large batch of it to be used for about two months but I failed miserably. It is because the rice did not dried well. I soaked the rice in the water for 1 hour, then I strained it and straightly ground the rice with mortar and pestle. After mixing it with turmeric powder I left it in a container near a window. I thought it will dry slowly beside the window. And I will spread it on a wide tray on the next day under the sun as it was already afternoon that time. Then I fell sick for two days, and totally forgot about the scrub. When I came back to it it has smelled like a toxic waste, because the rice was not well dried. The large batch of the scrub then went into the rubbish bin. =(

I then took a lesson from that incident. Always make sure all ingredients dried well before leaving it and do not procrastinate. I then remembered that this is why the recipes of this rice-turmeric scrub always ask us to dry fry the rice (without using oil). Maybe it is to make sure the scrub does last long.  

Exfoliating Frequency

I have set myself to apply the body scrub once a week. Setting a routine does helps me to remember things better. Sometimes I do it twice a week. But I read that applying scrub too often may result to dry skin as the exfoliating process and ingredients may remove lots of sebum which is needed in the skin. For me exfoliating once or twice a week is enough. 

I once had acne problem on my face. It is not severe, but it was hard to treat, or I just did not have enough knowledge on the problem before. One small acne always appear after another disappear. I then changed from using facial cleanser to facial scrub everyday. The acne problem did reduced ans my skin was not dry. From that I made a conclusion that the frequency of applying scrub depends on the skin type and the  problem it face. 

The acne problem of mine then reduced and cured by a simple method; I have to wash my face with water thoroughly after applying the facial cleanser on my face. Maybe that time I just always imitating the models in the TV ads splashing water after applying the cleanser, then dry it with towel. =) Now I rub my face thoroughly while cleaning it with water. It is to make sure the face is really clean from the residual facial foam and dirt etc. 

The Recipe of Rice Turmeric Scrub

And back to our scrub topic. Below is the recipe of Rice Turmeric Scrub.  

Ingredients

• About 3/4 cup of rice
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• Water

Some of the steps in making the rice turmeric scrub. Picture one shows the soaked rice. Picture 2 shows rice fried or grilled in the pan. Picture 3 actually shows the rice mixed with turmeric powder, but it emphasize the texture of the rice granular after being soaked and dried. There are fractures and cracks in the rice particles. Lastly the picture of the rice and turmeric powder being cooled before being ground. 

Methods

• Take 1/2 cup of rice and soak in the water for at least one hour. 
• Rinse the rice and dry it. Make sure it is well dried.  
• Add in turmeric powder. 
• Grind it into a fine paste.

How to use

Take some rice turmeric powder scrub. Mix with water or turmeric juice until it form a paste. I use 1 teaspoon of tamarind paste for 1 scrub mix. Tamarind juice helps to remove excessive oil on the skin. If you don't have tamarind juice it is okay. Just add water. Apply the scrub to the skin and leave it for 5 to 15 minutes. Then with some water scrub the almost dried paste. Rinse your skin with water.  Your skin might become a bit yellow. Wash with soap or bath gel and rinse well.