Is sindoor dangerous?

Question

My mother doesn't put sindoor as she has allergic reaction and hair loss problems due to it. After marriage I put about an inch of sindoor in my hair parting. But my Bihari mother-in-law insists that I draw a longer line. Somehow I feel a little cautious about it.. But there are a lot of women out there putting lots of sindoor too. So far I didnt have any reaction to it though. Do you know any person who has/had some reactions with sindoor?

Answer 1

sindoor has lead and lead can cauase some reacitons to skin depending on person to person.  use the liquid sindoor manufactured and sold by Lakme. with this u should not have any problems

Answer 2

Traditional sindoor (also known as kumkum) was made with turmeric and alum or lime, or from other herbal ingredients. Many commercially available powders are usually mercury or lead compounds (e.g., powdered red lead); these are toxic and can cause lead poisoning. However, Mangalore Kunkuma, traditionally prepared by mixing powdered and burnt betel nut with turmeric is available in some shops in South India.

In early 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordered several US retail stores and malls to remove bindi and sindoor from their shelves due to concerns over high lead and other harmful chemical contents.

Dermatologists have concluded that the internal effects of lead are dangerous and can cause possible side effects. The emergence of synthetic dye industry has led to a variety of lower cost chemical dyes and salts in India.

Answer 3

Sindoor is made with turmeric in Tamil nadu alone with other natural ingredients to have different colours, normally in red. It is out and out a natural item and is good for health and skin as it does not contain any man made chemicals. Probably your mother must have used ready made chemical sindoor and hence the problem.

Sindoor can be made in home.

Answer 4

Traditionally, the red Sindoor was made at home from turmeric and alum. The turmeric powder, which becomes red when mixed with lime juice or lime powder, moistened in water, or with alum, iodine and camphor, or with oil and sea shell powder (calcium salts). It can also be made of sandalwood mixed with musk, or from a mixture of saffron ground with kusumbha flower.

However, these traditional preparations have long been forgotten after the emergence of synthetic dye industry, which offered a variety of brilliant and fast red dyes at a cheaper price. Now-a-days, Sindoor is produced from chemical dyes, synthetic materials and lead salts. Some of the manufactures produce it by powdering crude red lead (Pb3O4). Commonly Sindoor prepared at large scale mostly contains very toxic, low grade commercial red lead oxide as such or along with other synthetic or natural bulking materials. In general, manufacturers, aim is to produce a fast blood red powder at lowcost using any brilliant red dye without considering the hazards and after-effects of the product. It is not surprising that red colour might be obtained by using Rhodamine B dye, which can induce hereditary disorders. Red colour may also be derived from mercury sulphite, which can cause skin cancer. All these toxic substances can cause hair loss, oedema and erythema. The market is flooded with unbranded products, which generally cause toxicity problems.

It is better you stick to some reputed brands like Lakme. I have used the Lakme liquid sindoor for quite some time without any problems. I would say avoid using those cheap powdery sindoors.  

Answer 5

i think it depends from person to person as we all have different types of skins like you yourself wrote that your mom is allergic but you are not....so i think there would be no problem to you if you put it a little bit big ...

hope this helps...

$$** LIVE LIFE KING SIZE **$$

Answer 6

generally speaking sindoor should not be an issue unless one is specifically allergic to it.  if u have been using it and have not had an issue, then it should not make a difference if it is 1 inch or more.

the bigger issue is to deal with your interfering mohter in law who needs to understand that you have your independence and that a shorter sindoor doesnt mean u dont respect / love her son any less. get your husband on your side and get him to talk to his mother to back off.

AM