Is Turmeric Soap Good For Skin?
I recently stumbled across several articles about turmeric when I was researching vitamins and supplements. I found out that not only does turmeric have health benefits, it also has benefits for our skin as well.
In this article, I’ll explain the benefits of turmeric soap and discuss whether or not active ingredients in soap can be beneficial for our skin. We’ll also look at some effective turmeric skincare products.
What is Turmeric Soap?
Turmeric is a plant, called Curcuma Longa, that is native to Asia. It is used to produce an orange spice that gives curry its bright color and is widely used in Indian cooking.
The active compound within turmeric is called curcumin. Turmeric powder is used in cooking, in supplement form for health as well as in the beauty and cosmetic industry. It’s one of those versatile ingredients that’s been used for thousands of years and has stood the test of time.
Benefits of Turmeric Soap for Skin
Turmeric soap has several benefits for skin:
- Anti-Inflammatory
- Antioxidant
- Brightening
- Antibacterial
- Increase Collagen Production
Let’s take a deeper look at each.
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Anti-Inflammatory
This study details the anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric. Skin inflammation can really impact your skin’s health and appearance. It not only makes you look puffy and red, but it speeds up collagen breakdown and marks breakouts worse. Turmeric is a great natural anti-inflammatory that will help calm skin, reduce redness and reduce the appearance of acne breakouts.
Antioxidant Properties
Turmeric is an antioxidant, which makes it a great choice for skin health and overall appearance. Antioxidants work by neutralizing free radicals. Free radicals are unstable molecules with an unpaired electron. They have a variety of causes including UV rays from the sun, smoking, and pollution.
The free radicals try to “steal” an electron from a healthy molecule in order to stabilize themselves.
The healthy molecule that the electron was stolen from then becomes unstable and tries to ‘steal’ an electron from another healthy molecule. It starts a chain of unstable molecules that cause damage to our skin.
Here’s where antioxidants come into play. They have spare electrons that they ‘donate’ to free radicals and stabilize them without becoming unstable themselves. This stops the free radicals from causing damage like dark spots, collagen loss, and wrinkles in our skin.
✅ Anti-Aging Tip: Antioxidants are one of the best weapons against aging skin. Check out my article here about green tea, one of the most powerful antioxidants in skincare.
Brightening
If you’re into skincare, you may have noticed that many antioxidants are brightening for skin, and turmeric is no exception. Dull skin and uneven skin tone is something that becomes a problem as we age. Our skin cells turn over slower and these dead skin cells build up over time on the outer layer of our skin. Exfoliation is important, but turmeric can give your skin a natural glow.
Antibacterial Properties
This study shows that solutions of only 1% and 2% turmeric extract had an anti-microbial effect. That means that turmeric can help heal small wounds and shows promise for acne. If you have acne-prone skin I wouldn’t trade in proven acne treatments for turmeric just yet, but it could be a helpful addition to your routine. In addition to acne, turmeric soap should be helpful for healing small cuts and scrapes.
Increase Collagen Production
Collagen serves as one of the main building blocks of our skin. Sadly, collagen production starts to decrease in our 30’s and our skin slowly loses the scaffolding of those building blocks. The end result is sagging skin and increased wrinkles as we age.
Turmeric has been shown in studies to increase collagen production, which is one of the ways it helps heal skin wounds. Increasing collagen levels in the skin is probably the best way to prevent and reduce fine lines, wrinkles, and drooping skin.
Should You Use Turmeric Soap On Your Face?
Turmeric is a proven skincare ingredient that is fine for all skin types, from oily to dry skin. What you need to be careful of is the other ingredients in the soap. Make sure there is nothing that is going to clog your pores or cause irritation.
Many natural soaps use plant oils, such as castor oil, coconut oil, olive oil, or shea butter, which are very hydrating. However, you want to check the comedogenic rating of these ingredients. By googling the name of the ingredient plus the words “comedogenic rating” you’ll pull up the rating on a 0 to 5 scale. If you have acne-prone skin, I’d avoid any ingredient over a 3.
Also, watch for essential oils or artificial fragrances that may be irritating to sensitive skin.
Even if a turmeric soap is marketed for your body, it most likely is fine to use on your face. Often, products that are marketed for the face are identical to those made for the body. By marketing them for the face manufacturers not only give you less product, but they often charge more. Sunscreen manufacturers tend to do this a lot. I’m always comparing labels and finding many body and face sunscreens are identical.
Will you get benefits from a product you wash off?
I believe we can still benefit from the active ingredients in facial cleansers and soaps even though they aren’t on our skin for a long time. However, we won’t benefit as much as we do from leave on products since much of the active ingredient goes down the drain.
In the case of turmeric, the anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties can take effect quickly. Think about how we use antibacterial soaps on our hands and wash them for only about a minute.
It’s the same with turmeric soap. If you keep it on for about a minute you should be able to benefit from a reduction in redness and inflammation.
However, I don’t think we can get the full benefits of turmeric antioxidant power and collagen production from a soap, since it’s washed off. Free radicals develop throughout the day, and antioxidants are best applied under sunscreen and left on the skin for the full day.
On the whole, I think turmeric soap is worth using, but to get the full benefits of turmeric for the skin, you need to use skin care products that you are going to leave on your skin for longer periods.
Recommended Turmeric Soap
Aspen Kay Naturals Turmeric Soap is made with all-natural ingredients and has 3 types of turmeric. In addition, it has chamomile, which is soothing to skin, and shea butter, which is hydrating. You can buy just one soap bar to try it out, but they also sell packs of 3 or 4.
Alternatives to Turmeric Soap
If you’re intrigued by turmeric and want to get more benefits, I’d recommend a leave-on product. A turmeric face mask is a good choice because the bright yellow color doesn’t matter and you can leave it on your skin long enough to absorb the ingredients effectively.
Kiehl’s Turmeric Cranberry Seed Energizing Radiance Masque is specifically designed for brightening. It will gently exfoliate and cranberry provides additional antioxidant protection.
ANAIRUI Turmeric Clay Mask has Vitamin C for additional brightening power, Vitamin E for additional antioxidant protection, and the clay is great for drawing out impurities.
There are some serums as well which are great because you can leave them on your face all day (under sunscreen of course) for antioxidant protection.
Andalou Naturals Turmeric + C Enlighten Serum is a great choice for antioxidant protection. It has the Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate form of Vitamin C, which is brightening, along with a ton of other great ingredients.
Final Thoughts on Turmeric Soap Benefits
Turmeric is an amazing natural product that humans have been using for thousands of years. Since we are going to be using cleansers and soaps anyway, why not add something that can give you an added benefit? Even though it’s washed off pretty quickly, I see no harm in turmeric soap, and it could have some impressive benefits.
