Nothing can substitute a restorative bath, especially during the pandemic with its endless sanitiser and soap routine. In Ritual Bath, wellness expert Deborah Hanekamp’s book that launched just before the lockdown, she teachers readers to use herbs and flowers to transform the bathroom into a healing space. Taking a bath is one way of bringing tranquility and self-care to your home, she tells Women’s Wear Daily . “Put some intention into it. Light candles, put on music that heals your soul… make it smell divine,’’ she continues. But even if you are not one for crystal and herb cleansing rituals (like Hanekamp’s celebrity clientele), here’s how you can run a bath at home that feels like a spa treatment.
Looking for mindfully-made products, free of chemicals, is key. Let’s start with cold-pressed oils. Juicy Chemistry in Coimbatore has rose and grapefruit variants, whereas Earthy Sapo in Hyderabad has a baby massage oil with kanyasara , gulab and manjistha . Next comes soap. “Handmade ones are better, since they don’t leave your hands excessively dry like ordinary soaps,” says Sufiya D of Bengaluru-based homegrown brand, Gloriously Handmade, known for products featuring rose clay and coffee. Then there are scrubs, body butters, deodorants, facial oils and masks. Gurgaon-based Harini Sivakumar of Soapworks India (re-branded as Earth Rhythm in 2018) has them all, free of synthetic fragrance. Look for simple ingredients you don’t have to travel the world for. Kokum and watermelon seeds or river bed clay are found in age-old self-care essentials like tooth powders and hair masks from Jalandhar-based Raw Beauty, operating out of a modest home. “Our raw materials are sourced directly from farmers in and around Punjab,” says the wellness brand’s founder, Sunayana Walia.
This new crop of homegrown wellness brands promise to deliver the ‘organic’ factor and are mindful of the demands of an aware customer. They use transparency about the ingredients used, simple language and modest packaging in paper and glass containers to counter claims of imported ingredients and fancy packaging from more established brands. “I rely on a check-your-label test: the layman needs to understand what the ingredients listed on the label are. If you don’t understand half of what it says, the product is not for you,” says Sivakumar of Soapworks India. So here are a few indie brands to help you go natural, transform your bath experience, and save small businesses this season:
Tame that mane
1. Chennai-based Krya’s ayurvedic low-foam hair wash powder — complete with 27 natural herbs such as bhringara , liquorice and shikakai — address almost every issue, from hairfall to dandruff. ₹300 onwards on krya.in
2. A great option to keep your locks clean is Bare Necessities’ aerosol-free Desert Dry Shampoo. Made from organic cocoa powder and cornstarch sourced from Auroville in Tamil Nadu, all you need to do is sprinkle some on your hair, lightly rub it in and comb through. ₹475 for 45 gm at barenecessities.in
3. Gloriously Handmade’s Ebony Shampoo Bar specifically tends to people with dark hair — whether natural or dyed. The shampoo bars are made from jeera , clove, cinnamon or coffee-infused solutions, among other herbs and spices. 7259729285
4. The hair care benefits of apple cider vinegar are much written about and New Delhi-based The Switch Fix incorporates it in its Natural ACV Hair Rinse Concentrate. Packed with lemon, lavender and spearmint oils, along with the product’s star ingredient, it also has enzymes that ensure a healthy scalp. ₹350 for 100 ml on theswitchfix.co
Bath salts that heal
1. Try Chennai-based Everwards India’s soak salt. It comes packed with Himalayan pink salt, epsom salt and lemongrass oil, among other detoxifying ingredients. ₹249 for 100 gm at everwards.co.in
2. No one said being woke needs to be basic! If you are in for a splurge, Bengaluru-based Tvam brings you two variants of bath salts: one with the relaxing effects of green tea and the other with the all-encompassing richness of neem. At ₹938 for 250 gm at tvamnaturals.com
- The bigger demon here is having to deal with the economics of managing a venture that uses all natural ingredients — which often cost more than synthetically-derived ones. According to Sivakumar of Soapworks India, a natural emulsifier is 50 times the cost of a synthetic one.
- “The reason fatty alcohol is used is because it is cheap. You can get approximately 1 kg for ₹20. But its equivalent of a natural oil will cost around ₹200,” she says, adding that once customers realise that natural alternatives are as effective as mainstream products (if not more), it is easier to convince them to switch.
Minty fresh: Oral care
1. Bare Necessities does away with those unrecyclable tubes (a mix of plastic and aluminium) that most toothpastes are packaged in. Their Peppermint Party Toothpaste comes in glass jars. Packed with food-grade baking soda, organic coconut oil and peppermint essential oil, it has a refill option as well. Starts at ₹115 for 30 gm at barenecessities.in.
2. Aitareya Living, Chennai, has their own recipe for tooth powder, which uses ingredients such as calcium bentonite clay (not to be confused with multani mitti ), activated charcoal, ground cloves and peppermint essential oil among others. What’s more, the makers claim to use ceramic bowls in the process, in order to preserve the properties particular to the clay, such as pulling out toxins. ₹100 onwards on their Facebook page @Aitareya.livin
3. Raw Beauty’s Chamkeela tooth powder comes in glass jars and contains Himalayan rock salt, clove, cinnamon, turmeric (from the fields of Punjab) and activated charcoal from Dehradun. ₹390 for 100 gm, on their Instagram handle @rawbeauty2018.
4. Bengaluru-based Grinding Stone’s Magical Mint Mouthwash — made with aloe vera juice, baking soda, tea tree oil and peppermint essential oil — is perfect for quick breath-fixes. Customers can send back the empty bottles to avail a discount on their next purchase. ₹250 for 120 ml at grindingstone.in
Best face forward
1. Think gentle when it comes to your face. Raw Beauty’s daily face wash powder comes in three variants: Gulaabo, Nee Moii and Cool Kid. Like other offerings from the brand, the cleanser is made from farm-sourced ingredients such as river bed clay from Pathankot and vetiver from Chennai. ₹600 for 75 gm on @rawbeauty2018 on Instagram.
2. Those with acne-prone skin, check out Hyderabad-based Ancient Living’s face wash with aloe vera, tea tree and vitamin E oil. ₹350 for a 100 ml pack on ancientliving.in
3. For sheer indulgence, try Gurgaon-based Nat Habit’s ubtans . Crafted in their kitchen, using age-old recipes, the brand’s Fresh 2 Minute Bath Ubtan is made from besan , a mix of grains, wild turmeric and neem. ₹49 per unit on nathabit.in
4. The Kumkumadi Face Wash Soap Bar (jasmine and rose) by Neev Herbal Handmade Soaps is cold-pressed and chemical-free. The award-winning brand from Jharkhand also has a range of face washes and sprays. ₹260 for a pack of two soap bars on karnival.com
5. Bon Organics’ tea tree variant comes in spray bottles. The Puducherry-based brand also ships travel-friendly bottles on request, which can be returned to avail a discount code. ₹470 for 200 gm on bonorganics.com
- It goes without saying that none of these brands bubble wrap. Bare Necessities ships a bulk of their orders in one go in order to minimise overall waste proportion. “Even though it costs more, we use paper tape instead of the sticky one,” says Tim de Ridder, sustainability consultant and education officer.
- Even when using biodegradable material is challenging, many of these brands don’t compromise. “Packing our ‘good bacteria’ toilet cleaners in biodegradable material reduce their shelf life [it needs a material that the bacteria is unable to degrade],” says Uttam Banerjee, co-founder of Ekam Eco Solutions, known for its natural sanitation solutions such as toilet cleaners and home fresheners.
Scrub safe
Plastic loofahs have often stayed under the radar, but they add to our environmental impact. Go guilt-free with Bengaluru’s Astu Eco’s bamboo and coir variant. ₹199 on karnival.com
Lather up: soaps and scrubs
1. Santhosh Farms in Pollachi offers homemade vetiver, sandalwood, aloe vera, papaya and lemongrass soaps made with farm-fresh coconut oil. Packed in areca nut leaf boxes, they start from ₹60 onwards. Details: 9842493273.
2. If you’re up for some DIY, try Delhi-based Blend It Raw Apothecary’s Ayurvedic Bath Powder. A collection of six ayurvedic powders — including kaolin clay, avarampoo , wild turmeric, lemon balm, gotu kala and tulsi — it is ₹1,490 for a unit, on blenditrawapothecary.in
3. The market is saturated with handmade soaps and natural body scrubs, but Lucknow-based Mitti Se’s green tea walnut soap blends the two. Crafted with plant-based oils, glycerine, green tea and lime, one of its surfaces is layered with walnut scrub. ₹190 for 100 gm on mittise.com
4. Vajraayu in Bengaluru also has a DIY option with amla , besan , neem and methi that comes in a zip-locked paper bag. ₹192 for 100 gm on vajraayu.com
5. You could also try the paraben and sulphate-free soap bars at Ghar Soaps. Made from neem, activated charcoal and the like, these carved variants are perfect if you like some colour and quirk. ₹600 onwards on gharsoaps.com
Shave easy
1. Your shaving gels and creams may be a storehouse of harmful chemicals. A healthier alternative is the unisex Shaving Soap from Hyderabad-based Earth Sapo with the goodness of aloe vera, shea butter and multani mitti. ₹100 for 50 gm on earthysapo.com.
2. Satara-based Rustic Art offers shaving bars — claimed to suit shaving requirements of men — in three variants: tea tree, orange turmeric and lavender charcoal, ₹260 for 60 gm on rusticart.in
Skin therapy: body oils
Locking in moisture is one of the best ways to keep your skin supple. Coimbatore-based Juicy Chemistry’s Tamanu Carrier Oil is known to soothe, repair and diminish redness, scars, stretch marks and irritation. Ideal for the skin and hair, it has a luxurious and conditioning viscosity. ₹925 for 30 ml on juicychemistry.com
Colour me natural
1. Experts have long spoken about the harm chemical hair dyes can do to your hair and, by extension, to the grey water in your washrooms. Choose right with Ancient Living’s Organic Indigo Powder. With the indigo leaf as its star ingredient, this hair colour targets premature greying and dandruff. ₹545 for 100 gm on ancientliving.in
2. Earthy Sapo in Hyderabad offers a variant with the benefits of henna , along with herbs like bhringraj , brahmi and amla . From ₹275 onwards on earthysapo.com
- An organic product need not always be certified. For example, some may use a single organic ingredient and label their entire product so; others may make things in vessels used to make non-organic products. This is where certifying agencies like Ecocert come in.
- With a checklist for grading products across segments — from manufacturing to packaging and labelling — they also prohibit the use of ingredients such as nanomaterial, genetically-modified organisms and those of petrochemical origin.
Clean up
1. Ever wondered why your bathroom smells funky even after you’ve cleaned it? It is because your synthetic cleaners merely ‘mask’ the odour and don’t get rid of the root cause. Delhi-based Ekam Eco Solutions’ latest line of CARE organic bathroom cleaners claim to come packed with good bacteria that are activated when they come in contact with stains. ₹199 onwards on ekameco.com .
2. Offering a similar fix is Earthy Sapo with their citrus-peel bioenzyme floor cleaner. ₹50 for 450 ml at earthysapo.com
3. Bengaluru-based Native Circle has a homemade variant that can be used to clean various surfaces. Paraben and sulphate-free, the citrus bio-enzyme with soapnut powder and jaggery comes in a reusable glass bottle. ₹250 on amazon.in .
4. BubbleNut Wash has a similar cleaner with soap nut, priced at ₹129 for 500 ml on bubblenutwash.com
5. For sparkling tiles, try Bengaluru-based PraanaPoorna’s child and pet-friendly natural cleansers. A combo pack of their citrus enzyme-based floor and toilet cleaner is available for ₹325 on karnival.com .
