How To Make Haldi Paste For Your Wedding

Raj Desai | 10/25/22

Writer, designer, and walking encyclopedia for South Asian weddings.

All products listed were in stock and priced as shown at the time this was written. Dulhan may be compensated for some of the following recommendations.

I have a recurring nightmare. I’m at the hotel getting ready for my wedding. I’m looking for my wedding clothes and jewelry. And they’re nowhere to be found. Tears and panic ensue. I ruined my wedding!

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Why am I still having this nightmare?! I’ve been married for nearly 7 years now.

I’m pretty sure it’s because I forgot a whole ass wedding event, and now I have to relive the anxiety of forgetting over and over again in my dreams. Yup. Haldi? Didn’t have it.

Keep in mind, I’m a hermit and have (by choice) limited social interaction online and with actual humans. And back in 2015 I was completely off social media, so I never saw pictures of other people’s haldi to prompt the planning of my own. It simply never registered on my radar, and my family didn’t bring it up until 11 pm the night before my 3 am wedding day wake-up call (great timing, guys!).

You’re already better than me, because just by being here it’s unlikely that you’ll follow in my forgetful footsteps. Now for the actual haldi paste. How do you make it?

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Recipes For All Skin Types

If you’re a gluttonous gorger of Indian food like myself, you know that haldi is great for staining and ruining just about everything. It’s *very important* that you patch test your from-scratch paste on your skin. Priority #1 is making sure it agrees with you and doesn’t leave a lingering yellow tinge, or lead to a wedding day breakout.

The Tamarind Tree wedding planning company in India has a handy list of recipes for each skin type, along with a how-to for identifying your skin type if you’re not sure what it is.

Vicco's Turmeric Cream

Wedding groups and boards across the internet have one resounding reply to their go-to for wedding haldi paste—Vicco’s! It’s an inexpensive, non-greasy, Indian-made turmeric skin cream. It’s easy to find too, just buy your bottle from Amazon.

Yellow Clay Masks

If from-scratch paste and Vicco’s are a no-go for your skin, consider using a yellow-tinted clay mask instead, just like this bride did (scroll down to see the link for the L’Oreal mask she used).

@rich_komie_quan
when regular haldi paste gives them a rash so you have to use a hypoallergenic clay mask ? #haldiceremony #desiweddings #lgbtqwedding #fyp
? original sound - Kajal Patel

Ultimately, the most important thing is making sure that whatever you use doesn’t lead to discoloration, acne outbreaks, or rashes. If that means using a store-bought clay mask, go for it! Here are some highly-reviewed masks worth testing out.