Can a DIY scrub made with masoor dal help you detan?

How to make it?

Ingredients

3tbsp – Red masoor dal, finely ground
2tbsp – Blended, rice purée
2tbsp – Tomato purée
3tbsp – Milk

Here’s how masoor dal helps (Source: Pexels)

Method

*Mix and apply to your body. Massage for a few minutes, focus on your elbows and knees.
*Wash off with water, no soap is needed after! “If you’d like to use soap, that’s also fine,” Goyal shared.

“Don’t store this scrub as it’s fresh and without any preservatives, it will spoil quite fast. Make it and use it instantly!” shared Goyal.

Skin exfoliation is done for rejuvenation and improvement of skin colour which encourages cell turnover and helps to remove tan, said Dr Vandana Punjabi, dermatologist and trichologist at Khar, and Nanavati Max Superspeciality Hospital. This can be done in 2 ways – chemical or physical.

Chemical exfoliation involves using products containing glycolic acid, lactic acid acid, urea, retinol, etc whereas physical exfoliation is scrubbing the skin with OTC scrubs or homemade scrubs.

According to Dr Punjabi’s expertise, many people use homemade scrubs which are coarse and granular and cause many side effects on the skin, especially in the colour of the skin. “This is because the coarse particles in the scrub along with the action of rubbing and scrubbing cause damage to melanocytes causing increased skin pigmentation,” Dr Punjabi told indianexpress.com.

This is called ‘Friction melanosis’ which presents as small brownish patches with a rippled pattern, which coalesces to form hyperpigmented areas, she described.

The most common sites of occurrence are upper back and extremities (shins and forearms).
Sometimes this can also be seen on collarbones and neck, added Dr Punjabi.

What more to note?

*You need about 3 tbsp for 1 use.
*You can store the rest in a jar for the future.

 

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A post shared by Sejal Goyal (@skinsideout.in)

According to her, this is more commonly seen in people with dry skin, sensitive skin, people with thyroid or diabetes mellitus. “It is most commonly seen in sun-exposed areas like back and forearms. Hence any scrub should be used with caution and only after a patch test,” Dr Punjabi said.

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