Directions:
Acclaim for Bindi Products
SASSY MAGAZINE
Introducing the first adjustable powder facial
cleanser. It's called Bindi Herbal Powder and it
contains all-natural stuff with names like elder
flower, calamus root, comfrey, etc. When water's
added, these and other far-flung ingredients turn
into a paste that cleans, exfoliates, and promotes
healing. The extra-oily days, add a couple of drops
of lemon juice to the water. And on days when your
skin is more sensitive or dry, mix the powder with
calming, soothing milk instead of water. To find
out where you can snag the stuff, call
MADAMOISELLE
Beauty clinic: The salon difference: custom-
tailored facials help put your best face forward
The Herbal Approach: Botanical ingredients are
often used for their gentle cleansing and pH-
balancing properties, as well as the blissful hint
of scent they send out. A key step Pratima Raichur
at Tej, NYC, uses in her all-herbal technique:
an "Ayurveda" (ancient Indian) facial massage with
essential oils targeted to your skin type. Dry
complexions might be treated to rose and sandalwood
oils; acne or oily skin might benefit from
lavender, geranium and rosemary.
ELLE MAGAZINE
NEW HAIR TREATS
Natures Way: Head Back to the Future for Beautiful
Hair
For Pratima Raichur, the use of botanicals goes
back a lot further than the sixties. At her Tej
Salon in New York City, Raichur uses the principles
of Ayurveda, the 5,000-year-old Indian science of
health and healing, to beautify hair and skin. Her
new shampoo, Bindi Herbal Hair Wash, contains "only
natural herbal powder-no chemicals, no
preservatives," she says. It's sold in specialty
and health food stores.
Raichur warns against being fooled by some so-
called natural shampoos that "have the same
ingredients as the others, but then they add 5
percent natural extracts." She firmly believes
that "we need more nourishing things in this
country, because of the harsh climate as well as
all the chemicals and blow dryers people use."
Made with Indian herbs such as ritha and neem, the
dry powder shampoo is mixed with warm water and
massaged into the scalp. There's no foamy white
lather, but Raichur insists that soapy lather has
nothing to do with clean, healthy hair. "Most
shampoos on the market right now contain sudsing
agents like sodium lauryl and ammonium sulfates
because we think we need lather to clean the hair,"
she explains. "The sudsing chemicals destroy hair's
natural protein coating and leave the scalp dry.
Then people use conditioner to counteract the
dryness, which leaves an oily residue that stays on
top of the hair and attracts dirt. So by the second
day, you have to start over again." To avoid the
vicious cycle of stripping hair, coating it with
oil, and then having to strip it again, Raichur
recommends using her Bindi Herbal Hair Wash; twice
a week is often enough for most hair types, she
says.
BODY MIND AND SPIRIT
Bindi Facial Skin Care products are based on the
principles of Ayurveda, the original healing
science of India, which uses curative herbs, roots,
flowers and minerals to encourage the body to
restore its natural vitality and beauty. The Bindi
skin care regimen consists of 3 synergistically
balanced herbal products applied in a specific
sequence: The Herbal Cleanser, The Essential Oil,
and the Moisturizing cream.