Areca nut to give an extra edge to lipsticks

MANGALORE: Chew it, spit it and forget it attitude towards areca nut is all set for a change. The red stain that chewing areca nut with lime and beetle leaf, leaves on one's lips could become a regular colour on lips of fashion conscious women six months down the line. At least this is the timeframe that agriculturist and researcher Badanaje Shankar Bhat of Vittla thinks would be needed for him to come out with a lipstick made out of areca nut fruit extract.
Giving new dimension to value addition to areca nut, the primary horticultural crop grown in this part of the nation, Shankar Bhat to his credit has eight value-added products made using areca nut.This includes herbal mouth wash, writing ink, heel ointment, cola-type soft drink and the latest product in his research on areca nut spanning 20-years is the herbal lipstick. Clinical and laboratory test for this lipstick in pencil format is presently on.
At present, nearly 30 people are using this herbal lipstick made by me, Bhat told TOI. Since the rules prescribed under Indian Drugs and Cosmetic Act is stringent, and ISI standards for such cosmetic products have to be met, the commercial launch of this product could happen by end of this year, he says. This lipstick has a 100% herbal base, he says adding that efforts are also simultaneously on to market it on commercial lines.
The advantage of this herbal lipstick, Bhat avers would be that user is rest assured that they are not ingesting chemicals used to manufacture lipstick. Besides, this herbal lipstick would bring to user anti-bacterial properties inherent in arecanut. There is no better natural protection to lips which form entry point for food while eating and the place where all bacterial infections start, he says.
SECRET FROM THE ANCIENT TEXTS
Interestingly, it was Vasco da Gama, the explorer who first noticed the penchant of the locals to chew areca nut with beetle leaf and the blood red colour that the stain left on their lips. Herbal lipstick takes this fact from history a step forward in that it now gives a whole new dimension on how arecanut can be used apart from its dominant use of chewing it, Shankar Bhat says, adding his research is based on knowledge contained in ancient ayurvedic texts.
Shankar Bhat feels the herbal lipstick is the best among his innovations using areca fruit. Exploiting this crop commercially also gives a lifeline to growers who would otherwise have to battle uncertainties of market, especially with rates. Such value added products create demand for arecanut crop, he adds.