My last green beauty box from The Boxwalla had three products from artisanal brand Earthwise Beauty. There was a sunscreen powder called Farizad’s Veil, an antioxidant oil called Ruby’s Facial Oil, and an aloe-based hydrating serum called A Nap in the Meadow. All earthy-smelling, completely natural, handcrafted products. You had to mix a pinch of the sunscreen powder (uncoated zinc oxide and powdered aloe leaves) with eight drops of the face oil to wear it as a sunscreen. A nice little ritual for people who (like me) hate sunscreens. The finish was beautiful, albeit better suited for winter instead of monsoon, when the skin already is quite oily. For me it was another sign of the slow beauty movement — one where we take our time in our rituals.
In our fast-moving digital world we are now doing everything to carve out a still moment in time. First there was the slow food movement, then came slow fashion, and now in beauty too we are relishing time instead of hurrying through it. We’re mixing our own masks, massaging our hair with oil, and, of course, (thanks to the Koreans) taking time to wear more than a couple of layers of skincare. From products that promised instantaneous results, we now realise that beauty is the result of long-term practice work.
Purearth’s Mitti face mask contains bentonite clay, raw honey, yashti madhu (liquorice), manjistha (Indian madder), gotu kola (ayurvedic herb for skin health), along with several oils such as tamanu and rosehip seed, and is to be applied on your face for 40 minutes, or longer. The rosa damascena in the mask is steam distilled at the source, meaning that it was plucked and distilled at the same place to ensure maximum freshness. A well-thought mask, with the right ingredients, and the right processes, to be used worthily, by taking out some time.
May Lindstrom, who’s eponymous skincare is popular among celebrities around the world, also encourages you to take time with her bestsellers. The Clean Dirt is a cleansing powder with clays, spices and salts that gently unclogs pores and balances troubled complexions. Honey Mud, a cleanser/ masque, is another one of Lindstrom’s best-sellers, which, despite its nourishing and restorative properties, is not effective enough as a cleanser on its own. Still, women use a cleaning oil before they pat on Honey Mud because today it’s all about a slower, more ritualistic routine.
I started giving myself face massages last year, when I was a bit bloated because of medication. By massaging your face, you can activate the lymph nodes, which are responsible for detoxifying the body. Not surprisingly, the most-popular celebrity facial this year is a lymphatic drainage face massage.
From looking for multitasking products to save time, we’re now enjoying the rituals of slow beauty. One friend prepares her own cold pressed oil by sending a kilo of organic apricots to an old spice shop that has a traditional kolhu (or oil presser). Another has given up on store bought masks and creates her own concoctions with soothing ingredients such as aloe, rosewater, honey and yoghurt. I’ve started cooking my mother’s old hair oil recipe. Just boil half a litre of coconut oil with a fistful of curry and neem leaves, a few dried hibiscus flowers, plus some fenugreek seeds, camphor and amla powder. Without straining the oil, apply it to get dark, lush hair.
Be it food or beauty, we now look for the purest ingredients that haven’t been adulterated with pesticides or preservatives. Creating our own oils, mixing masks, using products that take time but promise purity, are more important than instantaneous results. In fact, as we now know, instant anything can be dangerous, be it love, success or a packet of noodles. There’s more merit in being slow. After all, creating a ritual is the ultimate luxury in a world that’s pressed for time.
A fortnightly column to remind you about all things skin deep.
