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Those six magic letters

Herbal remedies have stepped gracefully out of grandma's old cupboard but it's good to take a close look to ensure they're the real thing

Everything but everything has simply gone herbal. Herbal teas, medicines, cosmetics, spas, extracts, slimming pills, dietary supplements... The general belief is that if it is herbal, it's got to be safe; and unlike their synthetic, lab-born counterparts, they don't have side effects. Of course, herbal remedies have been around forever. But they've stepped gracefully out of grandma's old cupboard now. And every enterprising manufacturer who affixes the six magic letters on his stable of products is rewarded with zooming sales for his little trouble!

Herbal alternatives

Then again, it's simple logic really — given a choice, I would prefer an acne cream with soothing sandalwood paste to any chemical ingredient.

Oats porridge may be diminishing in popularity, but oatmeal makes up by featuring prominently in every hot-selling face scrub! And isn't it true that cocoa butter, honey and milk cream are undoubtedly pampering alternatives to smooth dry skin over a waxy petroleum by-product?

Ethyl and butyl something, this acid and that alkali ... even a common bar of soap has a list of ingredients that reads like a chemist store inventory. Moreover, chemical products have their own additional risky baggage and the attendant small print that sounds completely ominous — "rinse with plenty of water if the product gets into eyes"; "consult a doctor if irritation persists". Whereas if it were simply cucumber paste or tomato juice, one need not worry too much about it if it wasn't well out of Junior's reach.

But what's this big deal about herbal really? Turmeric-stained complexions and egg-and-yoghurt-masked (and smelly!) tresses have since time immemorial graced our land, while herbal concoctions have effectively fought catarrh and colic. Only it wasn't exactly glamorous, until recently, to admit that you preferred to apply the contents of your kitchen cabinet on your face. "Imported" and "foreign" lotions and potions were always considered infinitely superior... Wasn't every glitzy model and actor buying her toiletries in London anyway?

Imagine the shock then, when one fine day the West embraced turmeric as the skin's best friend! Of course, ever since they endorsed it, it suddenly became terribly fashionable. And if one actually ate or used something that wasn't organic, handmade and herbal, one was a traitor to the cause.

While it's all very well to espouse a popular cause, there are a few cases when the "herbal" stunt is carried too far. Recently, a beauty parlour assistant told a very surprised me that they only used a completely safe "herbal" bleach.

Puzzled, I sought an explanation as to what went into it. Pat came the reply: "We mix it with rosewater." And was I shocked! Rosewater is refreshing yes; it may even mask the awful chemical bleachy pong, but is it powerful enough to make hydrogen peroxide "herbal"? "Herbal supplements" are, of course, a great grey area (especially the "increase your stamina", "turn the body clock back a few decades" variety).

While most faithfully swallow the bitter pill, apparently spending billions at the altar of the promised "herbal cure", a few dismiss it as nothing but well-packaged witchcraft.

It's here to stay

But perish the thought if you dreamt of wishing the herbal blitz away for, the herbal alternative is quite definitely here to stay. And if you choose to become a convert, there's plenty to gain from it — you may achieve that oh-so-desirable translucent, peachy complexion; then again, you may not; in which case, you might discover that you're actually blessed with "sensitive" or "delicate" skin, which deserves nothing but the most expensive, exotic "herbal" gels and creams. Lucky you!

Slowly but surely you'll start sounding like a top-notch botanist, who has moreover mastered several "herbally" sound languages. (Well, to figure out the list of ingredients, written largely using botanical names or some ancient language, you've got little choice really!)

You can still comfortably use the same old brand you've grown up with, for it too has turned herbal (obviously!), what with all its treatment lines now containing strands of saffron, seaweed or strawberry extracts.

It's bottled convenience — squeeze the tube, and out comes sandalwood paste! No mess, no fuss, no grinding!

You get to use products that do not mutilate nor mutate (the genome).

And finally, the products have been tested on humans (over several centuries) not on those poor rats, rabbits or monkeys. Doesn't this delight the animal lover in you?

A.K.

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