Ayurvedic kajal commonly called Kohl or the black eyeliner that is used to line the lower eyelid has been used for many centuries in Indian, Egyptian and many other cultures throughout the world. Apart from making the eyes look brighter, they are considered to have many healing properties, cool the eyes, and remove any excess dirt or impurities from the eyes. There is also an old vedic recipe for how to prepare kohl which is listed below. In Egypt, women burnt home-made muslin cloth in castor oil to obtain what they call sirma/surma and this was used extensively.
[expert_opinion expertname=’ToddCaldecott’ opinion=”Kajal or anjana is an ancient preparation of Ayurveda that is applied along the margin of the eyelids to prevent eye diseases. An easy way to make kajal is set alight a cotton wick burning in an equal mixture of ghee, sesame oil, and castor oil. Hold a clean plate over the top of the flame to collect the soot.”]
Ayurvedic Kohl/ Kajal Preparation
Preparation Of Natural Kajal Using Castor Oil At Home
What you will need:
- A copper plate with upward edges
- A silver box
- Pure castor oil
- Cotton threads made out of cotton (commonly used to light clay lamps)
- Ghee (clarified butter)
- Spoon
- A bronze deepam
- Camphor
Preparation:
1. Fill pure castor oil in the bronze deepam to 1/4th capacity. Sock 1 or 2 cotton threads in the oil and light it.
2. By using two tumblers, support the copper plate on top of the deepam. The plate should be high enough to not completely put off the lamp light and close enough for the lamp fire to deposit the black ink.
3. If you lie down and observe you can see the fire lapping at the copper plate making it black. Wait until the entire oil is exhausted.
4. The black ash collected is your kohl. Collect using a spatula in to the silver box.
5. Take a small amount ghee and mix it into the collected ash.
6. Add a few small beads of camphor and mix well and store in a cool place
Preparation Of Natural Kajal Using Almonds At Home
Things You Need:
- Insulator stands
- A thin metallic plate
- Lighter
- A long needle
- Almonds and Almond Oil
- A non conductor needle handle
Preparation:
1. Place two stands in a 180 degree line leaving 15 cm distance between them. Gently place the thin plate on the top of these two stands. There should be enough space inside to hold the burning almond.
2. Gently insert the needle into an almond and hold the needle’s end with a non conductor. This prevents heat transferring and thus your fingers will be safe. Be careful, you shouldn’t break the almond by over powering.
3. Now using a lighter or a candle, light the almond and take it under the plate, allowing the smoke touching the base of the plate. After the almond stops burning, throw it out and follow the same procedure with few other almond nuts. Let the dark soot be collected on the base of the plate. Remember, the more almonds you burn, the more soot you get.
4. Finally, scrap all the black soot in a small old jar with the help of a cake knife or some other scrapper. Add a drop of almond oil and mix well with a spoon’s end. Add the oil drop by drop until you get the thick and creamy consistency you expect. Two drops of oil is enough for 6 almonds.
5. Your homemade natural kajal is ready for use now. Store this in a clean and dry place. Make sure to wash and dry your hands before every use to prevent it being unhygienic.
6. Homemade kajals usually have a good shelf life even though no preservatives are used, but it is better to prepare it fresh at least once every 4 months.
7. Leaving this kajal overnight on your eyes, cleanses and clarifies your eyes.
Benefits Of The Castor Oil Kohl
1. Rich in Vitamin E:
Pure castor oil is the richest form of vitamin E. It helps heal the eyes, makes your eye lashes thick and blacker and known to relieve stress.
2. Anti-Bacterial:
Copper is well-known for its healing properties and is considered a purifier. You will get a very minute amount of copper in the kohl because of the heated copper plate where your ash gets collected. Copper helps keep your eyes free from external and any makeup infections. It also helps in lens and eye muscle strength and relaxing.
3. Relaxes Irritated Eyes:
Bronze and silver are known for their regenerating properties. They also help in healing allergies, relaxing irritated and swollen blood vessels because of over rubbing.
4. Provides Coolness To Eyes:
Camphor helps for providing coolness and gives stress relief. It helps subside minor eruptions in the eyes.
6. Keeps Dark Circles Away:
Ghee keeps dark circles away by relaxing them. It cleans your eye of salt deposits from tears and removes minute makeup residue trapped under the upper and lower eye lids.
This ayurvedic kajal is used to treat eye cataract, which used to occur only in the elderly is also commonly seen in young people today. Regular use of this kohl can prevent eye cataract. Medicinally this is supposed to be applied at night, so that it makes the eyes water and removes the impurities.
You must remember that this kohl is not smudge-free. If you’re concerned about smudging, dust powder after application to help prevent smudging. But if you’re using it mainly for the medicinal properties, then you can wear it at night and wash it off in the morning. The kohl can be easily removed by using baby oil.
Another version of home-made ayurvedic kajal is made using almonds. Almonds have natural oils that are very beneficial for the eye and is also known to improve eyesight.
Today, kohl is commercialized and has many chemicals like any other cosmetic product. For instance, Lead sulphate, commonly known as Galena, is widely used in the preparation of Kohl eyeliners. Even globally reputed brands have found themselves caught in controversy for using dangerously high levels of lead in their eye and lip cosmetics.
The good news is that you can easily make your own kohl at home which is completely natural.
