What is sindoor made of?

The primary ingredient of traditional sindoor is often turmeric, lime, and cinnabar or mercury sulfide, which is a type of toxic mineral. There are commercial sindoor products with synthetic ingredients, a few of which are not made according to correct standards and may also contain lead.

Is kumkum same as sindoor?

Unlike what many people seem to think, sindoor and kumkum are actually not the same.

What is the difference between kumkum and sindoor?

Kumkum is a type of natural material that is made from 5% limestone and 95% turmeric. Meanwhile, sindoor is a poisonous chemical that is made from burnt lead and mercury that are both dangerous to health. This is why people only apply and use kumkum. What women are using is not really sindoor but is only called as such. Kumkum is reddish or is red colored while sindoor’s color is shining orange.

Sindoor is found to have hazardous amounts of lead, an extremely toxic poison linked with delays in children’s growth delays, behavioral issues, and lower IQ based on some studies.

Does vinegar remove vermillion stains?

Set-in vermillion stains can be saturated in vinegar. Just rub the stained area using a paste made from equal parts baking soda and vinegar. You can also add two tablespoons each of laundry detergent and vinegar to one bucket of water. Soak the fabric overnight if the sindoor stain persists. Rinse and wash.

Traditional sindoor was made using lime or alum and turmeric. It can also be made using other herbal ingredients. These are not considered poisonous unlike vermilion and red lead. Modern material advertised as sindoor primarily uses the orange-red pigment vermilion, the powdered and purified form of cinnabar, the primary form where mercury sulfide occurs naturally. Just like other mercury compounds, sindoor is toxic and you need to handle it with care. Red lead or also called minium or lead tetroxide is also added sometimes to sindoor. This red lead is found to be toxic.

How to Remove Sindoor Stain from Clothes [11 STEPS]

Have you noticed that red dye that Indian women put on their forehead on their wedding day? Just so you know, that red dye is called sindoor. If you happen to be using this dye, it is important to know how to remove sindoor stain from your favorite clothes.

Table of Contents

What is sindoor

Sindoor is the traditional vermilion orange-red or red colored cosmetic powder that comes from the subcontinent of India. Married women usually wear sindoor along the part of their hair. Sindoor is considered a visual indicator in Hindu communities that a woman is already married and stopping its use indicates widowhood.

How to remove sindoor stain from clothes

History and origin of sindoor

The history of sindoor could be traced as far back as 5,000 years ago at around the same time that Hinduism started to sow its seeds into the traditional and cultural outlook in India and other nearby countries.

Historians also found out that during the time of Harappan civilization, sindoor was applied along the partition of the hair of a woman and was also the most prominent mark of her marriage.

Aside from this, there are also legends revolving around Hindu mythology claiming that Radha, the wife of Lord Krishna, turned this into a shape that that looked like a flame on her forehead.

There are also other scriptures such as the Puranas that mentioned sindoor as well as its value for married women.

What is the chemical formula of sindoor

Lead tetroxide is sindoor’s chemical name and from this, you can deduce that Pb3O4 is its chemical formula.

What is the purpose of sindoor in Ayurvedic medicine

There are several forms of sindoor that were mentioned in Ayurvedic medicine. The traditional sindoor is prepared using natural ingredients that were used for cosmetics or facial makeup.

The most popularly used type of traditional sindoor is made from lime juice and turmeric. Some ingredients include slaked lime and ghee. Sindoor can also be made from saffron, red sandal powder, and others. The colored powders that are sold as alternatives are not traditionally considered sindoor.

Do sindoor stain clothes

Due to its bright red or orange-red coloring, it might be safe to assume that sindoor can leave stains on clothes.

Are sindoor stains permanent

Being a type of dye, sindoor stains might not really become permanent, especially if you treat the stains right away.

Will sindoor stain damage clothes

Just like most other kinds of stains, a sindoor stain will probably not cause any serious damage on your clothes if you make sure that you get rid of the mark as soon as it occurs.

Will sindoor stain come out of clothes

Once again, since sindoor is a dye, you can pretty much expect it to come out of your clothes when treated properly and quickly.

What can remove sindoor stain from clothes

Some possible products that you can use for removing sindoor stains from your clothes include detergent, color remover, white vinegar, and ammonia.

How to remove sindoor stain from white clothes

Here are some of the steps you can follow to remove sindoor stains that might have ended up on your white clothes:

Soak the white garment in a solution made up of half teaspoon of liquid laundry or dishwashing detergent, a tablespoon of ammonia, and a quart of warm water for half an hour.
Rinse the garment well afterwards.
If the stain lingers, soak the garment in a solution of one tablespoon of white vinegar and one quart of warm water for one hour. Be careful when using white vinegar on linen and cotton.
Rinse it well again with water and let it dry.
If the stain has set, you can apply rubbing alcohol on the area and bring a brush down on the stained durable materials or fabrics using light strokes.
Once the stain loosens, use an absorbent pad to blot the stain and liquid.
Moisten the pad and stain with alcohol then get a new pad every time it picks up the stain.
Let it dry.
As your last resort for other remaining stains, mix a color remover based on the package direction. Apply this on the stain.
Test it first on an inconspicuous spot and flush the color remover through the sindoor stain.
Use clear water to rinse it well and let dry completely.

Sindoor stains FAQs

Below are other common FAQs about sindoor stains:

What is sindoor made of?

The primary ingredient of traditional sindoor is often turmeric, lime, and cinnabar or mercury sulfide, which is a type of toxic mineral. There are commercial sindoor products with synthetic ingredients, a few of which are not made according to correct standards and may also contain lead.
Is kumkum same as sindoor?

Unlike what many people seem to think, sindoor and kumkum are actually not the same.
What is the difference between kumkum and sindoor?

Kumkum is a type of natural material that is made from 5% limestone and 95% turmeric. Meanwhile, sindoor is a poisonous chemical that is made from burnt lead and mercury that are both dangerous to health.

This is why people only apply and use kumkum. What women are using is not really sindoor but is only called as such. Kumkum is reddish or is red colored while sindoor’s color is shining orange.
Is sindoor harmful?

Sindoor is found to have hazardous amounts of lead, an extremely toxic poison linked with delays in children’s growth delays, behavioral issues, and lower IQ based on some studies.
Does vinegar remove vermillion stains?

Set-in vermillion stains can be saturated in vinegar. Just rub the stained area using a paste made from equal parts baking soda and vinegar. You can also add two tablespoons each of laundry detergent and vinegar to one bucket of water. Soak the fabric overnight if the sindoor stain persists. Rinse and wash.
Is sindoor toxic?

Traditional sindoor was made using lime or alum and turmeric. It can also be made using other herbal ingredients. These are not considered poisonous unlike vermilion and red lead. Modern material advertised as sindoor primarily uses the orange-red pigment vermilion, the powdered and purified form of cinnabar, the primary form where mercury sulfide occurs naturally.

Just like other mercury compounds, sindoor is toxic and you need to handle it with care. Red lead or also called minium or lead tetroxide is also added sometimes to sindoor. This red lead is found to be toxic.