How-to
Saffron for skin
The classic preparations, the right quantities, and an honest account of what saffron can and cannot do.
What saffron does for skin, honestly
Crocin and safranal are antioxidants, and there is early research suggesting saffron extract has anti-inflammatory activity and some effect on tyrosinase, the enzyme involved in melanin production. That is the scientific basis for saffron's long use in Indian skincare.
What it is not: a skin-lightening agent. The centuries-old association between kesar and fairness is cultural, and no topical spice preparation changes your genetically determined skin tone. Saffron may help with dullness, with post-inflammatory marks and with general irritation. It will not make you a different colour, and anyone selling it on that promise is selling you something else.
The classic preparation
- Soak two or three threads in one tablespoon of raw milk or rose water for twenty minutes, until the liquid turns pale gold.
- Mix in a teaspoon of sandalwood powder, or honey for dry skin, or gram flour for oily skin.
- Apply to clean skin, avoiding the eye area. Leave fifteen minutes.
- Rinse with lukewarm water. Twice a week is plenty.
Patch test on your inner forearm first and wait twenty-four hours. Saffron allergy is uncommon but real, and the face is a poor place to discover it.
Saffron in oil, for overnight use
Steep three or four threads in two tablespoons of almond or coconut oil for two to three days in a sealed jar, out of the light. The oil takes on a faint gold. A few drops massaged in at night is the gentler version of the face pack, and better suited to dry or mature skin.
Which grade to use
Mongra. You are using two or three threads at a time, so a gram lasts months and cost per gram is irrelevant. Concentration is what you want.
A word about what you are putting on your face
Adulterated saffron in a face pack means industrial dye on your skin, held there for fifteen minutes, on freshly cleansed and therefore more permeable skin. If you take nothing else from this page: test whatever you are about to use. The water test takes fifteen minutes and it is the whole safeguard.