Turmeric can spice up your beauty regime but FEMAIL isn’t impressed

Since she shot to fame last year in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, you would imagine that Daisy Ridley could have her pick of the world’s most exclusive and expensive beauty treatments.

But the 24-year-old British actress has revealed a distinctly homespun attitude to her skincare routine.

In a short video posted on Instagram, Ridley appeared covered in a yellow turmeric face mask, explaining that she had discovered it while searching for homemade skin remedies online.

Annabel Cole gives a turmeric face mask a try. Turmeric is said to have natural anti-bacterial properties and those combined with its anti-inflammatory powers mean that it is seen to be particularly beneficial for skin conditions such as eczema and acne

‘I’m having a slight nightmare,’ she confessed to her 2.2 million followers on the social media website. ‘I may have been slightly over-liberal with the turmeric. My hands are dyed yellow and I have filming tomorrow.’

Ridley ended the post caked in thick yellow paste, leaving fans in suspense over how it would turn out. Later, she added: ‘I scrubbed my face and I am yellow!’

Why would anyone – especially a Hollywood star in the middle of filming – even contemplate a kitchen cupboard remedy such as a turmeric face mask? The vibrant yellow, fragrant spice is best known as a staple ingredient of Asian cookery, not as a beauty treatment: surely it has to be recipe for disaster?

But delve into spice world, and you’ll discover that cooking is only one of the myriad uses of turmeric. In Eastern culture it has long been hailed as a wonder spice and has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine to treat ailments from arthritis and heart disease to liver damage, irritable bowel syndrome and bowel cancer.

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More recently, it has even been suggested as a treatment for other cancers.

And the reason for this? The turmeric root contains a chemical called curcumin which has been shown to have powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

To date, there has been too little research to support the healing claims of turmeric, but that hasn’t stopped its reputation as a super spice spreading to the West, where it now has legions of fans.

Turmeric is said to have natural anti-bacterial properties and those combined with its anti-inflammatory powers mean that it is seen to be particularly beneficial for skin conditions such as eczema and acne. Hence its attraction to sufferers, including Ridley who in an Instagram post last month spoke about her long battle with acne, having been diagnosed with endometriosis and polycystic ovaries, conditions which disrupt the body’s hormone levels.

In a short video posted on Instagram, Daisy Ridley appeared covered in a yellow turmeric face mask, explaining that she had discovered it while searching for homemade skin remedies online

But Susan Mayou, consultant dermatologist at the Cadogan Clinic in London, is not convinced.

‘There are a lot of claims made for turmeric, but they need scientific back-up,’ she says. ‘In fact, I can’t imagine that turmeric would do anything at all to someone like Daisy Ridley who suffers from bad acne and underlying polycystic ovary syndrome.’

But the claims for turmeric are not only in relation to problem skin. With its antioxidant properties, turmeric is commonly used for skin rejuvenation.

Daisy Ridley is not the only actress to be aware of turmeric’s potential benefits. Thandie Newton has called turmeric her ‘secret weapon’ and mixes it with her tinted moisturiser to give her skin an extra sunkissed glow.

The recipe was simplicity itself: one teaspoon of turmeric, one teaspoon of yoghurt and one teaspoon of honey – but Annabel found that it stained her skin yellow

Beauty expert Jenny Pabila explains: ‘Traditionally, turmeric was combined with oils and herbs into a paste and applied to the skin of young brides and grooms in the run up to their big day to ensure that their skin was radiant for the wedding.

‘In the past few years, there’s been a definite move away from synthetic skin remedies. People are looking for alternatives and turmeric is centuries old.’

But how do you make a turmeric mask? I took the Daisy Ridley approach and looked online where I found innumerable face mask recipes, combining turmeric with everything from coconut and almond oil to chick pea flour and egg. I plumped for a basic mix.

The recipe was simplicity itself: one teaspoon of turmeric, one teaspoon of yoghurt and one teaspoon of honey. In addition to the skin-boosting properties of turmeric, the recipe explained, honey was antibacterial and would act as a moisturiser and the lactic acid in the yoghurt contained alpha hydroxy acid, a natural exfoliant.

I mixed the ingredients together and created a bowl of intensely coloured, yellow goo. Could this curry-coloured mess make me look radiant, or would I end up looking like a dodgy takeaway? I knew which side my money was on.

Unlike Daisy Ridley, I do not suffer from acne so concentrated on the mask’s youth-enhancing properties, applying it to the crow’s feet around my 44-year-old eyes and the puffy bags underneath.

On the plus side, the consistency was firmer than I had imagined and it covered my face thickly without dripping onto my clothes. And it was far less smelly than I had envisaged. By the time I had covered my face, my fingers were bright yellow. I gulped – what on earth was it going to do to my face?

Cooking is only one of the myriad uses of turmeric. In Eastern culture it has long been hailed as a wonder spice and has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine to treat ailments from arthritis and heart disease to liver damage, irritable bowel syndrome and bowel cancer

Resisting the urge to wipe it off immediately, I waited the full 20 minutes advised. It stayed supple as it dried and was more comfortable than masks I have used in the past.

Looks-wise though, it was out of this world: my puppy, usually a bundle of friendly energy, stared and then cautiously sniffed me before despondently padding away.

When the 20 minutes were up, I ran to the bathroom and started wiping the mask off with cotton wool and warm water. A few minutes of wiping and about ten cotton pads later, I was still a dead ringer for a Lego Minifigure.

Soap, water and some make-up wipes helped dilute my jaundiced hue, but after four rounds of washing, I still looked like I was recovering from a tropical disease.

And my skin? The good news was that it felt soft. As for glowing, well yes, if your aim was to look like a traffic light stuck on amber. A few more face washes later, my skin began to revert to its normal colour.

Turmeric may have centuries of ancient wisdom behind it, but as I scrubbed away at the deep yellow stains clinging to my hairline, I couldn’t help wondering if there might be less messy ways to spice up my beauty routine.