Vatnas for a radiant wedding skin

Ubtans, vatnas and natural leps have been used since time immemorial. Whether traditions are followed in the south or the north, natural vatnas during weddings have been used everywhere — only the ingredients vary according to custom, ritual, or accessibility.

What are vatnas and how it helps to attain beautiful wedding-ready skin?

For Mughal queens, the beautifying experience during a wedding was followed like a prayer; it was an offering to the body and the soul. Dry fruits, flowers, saffron, myrrh, powdered pearls, semi-precious jewels, sandalwood, gold and silver bhasms, and the purest honey and clays were used in their beauty routines.

In recent times, however, the vatna ceremony has been reduced to a bare minimum of gram flour, turmeric, and fresh cream… very boring and basic.

To rediscover the care of the body, I have researched and recreated the magic of traditional wedding vatnas and have turned them into an accessible luxury that can be used and enjoyed at every wedding whether for the bride or the groom.

The use of the vatna should ideally start well before the wedding — at least a month in advance — after which no soap should be used.

The entire body should be regularly massaged with a combination of different oils — sesame and sandalwood or almond and rose. These combinations are not only calming and warming but also excellent for giving the skin a natural glow.

Traditionally different combinations of flower pastes, pounded with herbs and oils were used as a lep on the body. These were then washed off with milk and honey to leave the skin smooth and soft with a natural sheen.

People at that time were far more conscientious about how they looked; skincare was a discipline followed like a daily ritual.

Unlike today, many brides and grooms party till the early hours of the morning and run to salons and spas hoping to create overnight magic—which never really happens!

Today, you can order a vatna and get yourself wedding-ready, whether it is made with pistachios, dry figs, and gold dust, or hand-ground flower petals mixed with rare oils and herbs to create the perfect radiance for your special day. Whatever you decide, remember you only get married once, and it has to be perfect — so put in your best!

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