Sindoor | سندور

Ayurvedic medicine

There are various forms of Sindhoor mentioned in Ayurveda. Traditional sindhoor is made from natural ingredients used for facial makeup (cosmetics). Most widely used traditional Sindhoor is made from turmeric and lime juice. Other ingredients include Ghee, and slaked lime. This is also called Kumkum. Sindhoor is also made from red sandal powder, saffron etc. The coloured powders sold as substitutes are traditionally not considered sindhoor.

Toxicity concerns

Traditional sindoor was made with turmeric and alum or lime, or from other herbal ingredients. Unlike red lead and vermilion, these are not poisonous. Modern material being sold as sindhoor mainly uses vermilion, an orange-red pigment, the purified and powdered form of cinnabar, which is the chief form in which mercury sulfide naturally occurs. As with other compounds of mercury, sindoor is toxic and must be handled carefully. Sometimes, red lead (lead tetroxide, also known as minium) is added to sindoor. Red lead is toxic. In early 2008, allegations of high lead content led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to recall batches of sindoor from several manufacturers.