You’ll be surprised by all the ghee benefits for skin there are. Plus we’ll tell you how to make your own ghee mask!
With its high smoke point and pleasant flavor, we often focus on the health benefits gained from cooking with and eating ghee. However, the same aspects that contribute to ghee’s health-food fame, also play an important role when ghee is applied to the skin. As an anhydrous, healthy fat full of antioxidant vitamins, ghee benefits for skin abound! Read on to learn about how ghee can help nourish your skin, and for a recipe to make your own ghee mask at home!
Ghee benefits for skin: From moisturizing to protecting
Ayurveda, India’s 5,000-year-old natural system of medicine, has touted ghee as the finest of all fats and one of the best moisturizers for the skin. Ghee is rich in a blend of fatty acids including Conjugated Linoleic Acid, Omega 3, and Omega 9 essential fatty acids which help to rebuild dermal tissue and support healing skin from below the surface. Natural butyric acid in ghee helps deal with inflammatory skin conditions like psoriasis, acne and eczema.
Ghee can be used for chapped lips. Just apply a bit with your finger and leave on overnight. You’ll wake with baby-soft lips — plus you’ll get the added benefit of that lovely ghee flavor!
Ghee can reduce dark circles under your eyes. Vitamins A, D, E and K present in ghee help to brighten your skin and protect your skin from free-radicals. The fatty acid content in ghee also helps to reduce fine lines.
Ghee is an incredible all-over moisturizer. Ghee deeply penetrates into all seven layers of skin to heal it from within. It keeps skin silky, smooth, and wrinkle-free, and the anti-oxidant vitamins it contains protect against sun-damage.
The recipe for making your own ghee mask: Shata Dhauta Ghrita
So how does one access all these great ghee benefits for skin? Through Shata Dhauta Ghrita, of course! Described in Ayurveda’s classical text, Charaka Samhita, Shata Dhauta Ghrita is a cooling, anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, super-light, beautifying cream — and you can easily make it at home! Just follow these simple steps.
Ingredients:
10 oz Ghee
Plenty of Water
That’s it!
Instructions:
Moment of truth here. Shata Dhauta Ghrita means ghee washed with water 100 times (Shata = 100; Dhauta = washed with water; Ghrita = ghee), and it is true that the traditional preparation of Shata Dhauta Ghrita calls for mixing ghee with water, stirring for several minutes, pouring off water and repeating for 100 times. However, it’s also true that you will get the same benefits of ghee for skin if you repeat the steps only 20-30 times. Here’s exactly what to do:
- Add equal parts ghee and water in a bowl (copper pots were traditionally used, but feel free to use any vessel you have handy). Mix by hand or mixer for 3-5 minutes.
- Drain off water.
- Add fresh water to the ghee. Mix again for 3-5 minutes.
- Repeat steps three and four 98 more times, or 20-30 more times until the ghee is white in color. The final result will be a smoother, silkier ghee that is cool to the touch.
- Apply a small dollop to your face and massage into skin using a light, circular motion. Leave on for 10 minutes and then rinse with warm water, or massage into skin and leave on.
Shata Dhauta Ghrita can be used as a daily moisturizer — especially during these cold, dry winter months, or it can be used to treat mild skin irritations and soothe mild burns.
Check out our shop to get some Full Moon Ghee — traditionally made with integrity on the full moon with butter that comes from happy Jersey cows here in western Massachusetts.
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Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
