Neem Powder for Skin and Scalp

For Skin

Helps cleanse excess surface oil and everyday build-up, leaving the face feeling fresh and clean, and looking less dull once the residue has gone. Best suited to oily and combination skin, and it can be used on the T-zone alone. Neem can feel drying, so if your skin is dry or sensitive, keep the contact short or choose something gentler.

For Hair and Scalp

Used as a pre-wash scalp mask it lifts the everyday build-up and surface oil that leave roots feeling heavy, so hair feels lighter after rinsing and the scalp feels fresh. Neem clarifies rather than conditions, so keep the paste on the scalp rather than working it through dry, curly, bleached or fragile lengths, and use conditioner afterwards if the lengths need it.

Where It Works Best

Oily roots, ordinary product build-up, and oily or combination skin that suits an occasional clarifying mask. Once a week for the face and up to twice a week for the scalp is the rhythm.

Blends With

• Spierb Aloe Vera Powder, for a softer paste: face, 1 teaspoon of each with 3 to 4 teaspoons of warm water, rested 5 minutes; scalp, 2 tablespoons of Neem with 1 tablespoon of Aloe Vera Powder, rested 10 minutes.
• Spierb Fuller's Earth (Multani Mitti), where the aim is surface oil on oilier skin: 1 teaspoon of each with 3 to 4 teaspoons of warm water, in a non-metallic bowl.
• Spierb Amla, Bhringraj or Brahmi, as a hair and scalp mask: 1 tablespoon of Neem with 2 tablespoons of the other powder.

Neem is not added to a hair wash. Use it as a scalp mask first, rinse, then wash.

Face Mask

1. Put approximately 1 to 2 tablespoons of powder in a clean bowl.
2. Add warm water gradually and mix to a smooth, spreadable paste.
3. Apply a thin, even layer to clean skin, avoiding the eyes, the immediate eye area, the lips and any irritated area.
4. Leave for approximately 10 to 15 minutes, or less if your skin feels uncomfortable or overly dry. Use once a week.
5. Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water before the mask becomes excessively dry or cracked.
6. Pat dry rather than rubbing, and moisturise if your skin feels tight or normally needs it.

Hair and Scalp Mask

1. Use approximately 1 to 2 tablespoons, or enough for the coverage you need.
2. Add warm water gradually to a smooth paste. A slightly looser texture is easier to distribute between partings.
3. Apply to the scalp and hair as appropriate, concentrating on the scalp and roots where clarification is the point.
4. Leave for approximately 15 to 30 minutes. Use up to twice a week, and a shorter contact time if the scalp or hair feels dry.
5. Rinse very thoroughly with water. Follow with your normal conditioner if the lengths need it.

Neem Is Not Added to a Wash

It does not go into a Shikakai, Aritha or multi-powder wash. Use Neem as a scalp mask first, rinse it out, then wash.

Blends

• Face, with Aloe Vera Powder: 1 teaspoon of each with 3 to 4 teaspoons of warm water, rested 5 minutes, 5 to 10 minutes on the skin.
• Face, with Multani Mitti: 1 teaspoon of each with 3 to 4 teaspoons of warm water, 5 to 10 minutes, in a non-metallic bowl with a non-metallic spoon.
• Face, all three: 1 teaspoon of each with 4 to 5 teaspoons of warm water, rested 5 minutes, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Scalp, with Aloe Vera Powder: 2 tablespoons of Neem with 1 tablespoon of Aloe Vera Powder, warm water to a runny-yoghurt consistency, rested 10 minutes, 15 to 20 minutes on the scalp.
• Hair and scalp, with Amla, Bhringraj or Brahmi: 1 tablespoon of Neem with 2 tablespoons of the other powder, warm water to a soft paste, 15 to 20 minutes.

Note that the Aloe Vera Powder scalp ratio runs the other way from the rest: 2 parts Neem to 1 part Aloe Vera Powder. Both are correct; they are different recipes.

How Often, and Where

• Face: once a week.
• Scalp and hair: up to twice a week.
• First time: patch test, then keep the mask to the shorter end of the range with nothing mixed in.
• Not on broken, damaged, sunburned, weeping or significantly irritated skin or scalp, at any frequency.

Mix fresh each time and discard what is left. The full method, including what to mix in and who should skip it, is in how to use Neem Powder on your face.

Ingredients: Azadirachta Indica Leaf Powder (100%).

Patch Test First

Patch test 24 to 48 hours before first use, using the mixture you intend to use, and again whenever you change what goes in it. Tolerating plain Neem tells you nothing about Neem mixed with Aloe Vera Powder, Multani Mitti, yoghurt or a floral water. Apply a little of the mixed paste to the inside of your forearm, leave it for the intended contact time and rinse. If anything appears, do not use it.

Using It Safely

For external cosmetic use only. Do not ingest: neem is sold in edible and supplement forms elsewhere, and this is not one of them. Avoid the eyes and the area immediately around them, and rinse thoroughly with plenty of clean water if it gets in. Do not apply to broken, cut, sunburned, weeping or significantly irritated skin or scalp. Do not allow the mask to become excessively dry or cracked, and rinse rather than scrub. Use comfortably warm water; boiling water adds a burn risk and no benefit. Neem may feel drying on some skin and hair types, so if yours is dry or sensitive, use more water, a thinner layer, a shorter contact time, targeted placement or the Aloe Vera Powder blend rather than using it more often. Measure the powder gently and close to the bowl: fine powder becomes airborne easily. Stop using it if you get irritation, burning, redness, excessive dryness or discomfort; facial or eye swelling and difficulty breathing need urgent medical help. Anything you mix in brings its own safety considerations. Keep out of reach of children.

Storing It

Store the pouch tightly resealed in a cool, dry place, protected from moisture, steam and direct light, and use a clean, dry spoon. The dry powder keeps for 2 years from the date of packaging. Once water is added, that no longer applies: make a small batch, use it and discard the rest, and do not rely on refrigeration to make a wet preparation keep. Natural variation in colour, aroma and texture between batches is normal, and individual cosmetic results vary.