The word 'NEEM' has been derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nimba', which means 'bestowed of good health'. Neem is a fast growing, long-lived tree with broad leaves and it has an unpleasant smell. Almost every part of the neem tree is used, either for making plant medicine to treat fever, malaria, fungal infection etc or for making skin free from rashes, pimples, acne etc. Like, the barks of the tree are used to treat fever; the leaves are good for eye infection and skin ulcer; flower is used to eliminate intestinal worms; fruit is helpful for urinary disorder and diabetes; during cough and asthma, twig (stem) is used to cure; gum is used to heal skin disease; seeds and oil (extracted from seeds/berries) are good for leprosy and intestinal worms. Neem leaves (although bitter in taste) are quite helpful in balancing the blood sugar. Traditionally, leaves of neem are crushed as pastes to apply directly on the wounds, ulcers and skin diseases. So, from the early days, neem was an active ingredient of Ayurvedic medicine.
Let's discuss the effectiveness of neem more vividly. Neem is a blessing to those people who are having diabetics, as it reduce insulin requirements by up to fifty percent, without altering glucose levels in blood. It even works well for those having high cholesterol levels. Neem works very effectively as insects repellent and it is not even toxic for human and pets. Neem works good on the treatment of mouth infections, like tooth decay, sore gums and even bleeding. If bark, root, fruit, flower and leaves of the neem are blended, then it can be used to cure blood diseases, wounds, skin diseases and even itching.
There are number of ways to make use of neem as beauty aid to reduce skin problems. Due to its antibacterial properties, neem is highly helpful to cure acne and eczema. It is also helpful to kill bacteria that causes spots and pimples and reduces the redness and inflammation. To reduce acne scars, neem oil is very helpful, as it contains moisturizing properties. It also works well on irritated, itchy and sensitive skin. Neem leaves cure skin burn. A paste of neem leaf, almond, turmeric and saffron oil is good for clean, youthful and healthier skin. The pure neem oil is very powerful and it is never recommended to use the oil internally. To enhance the effect on skin, neem oil should be diluted either with other oils or creams or lotion. But in some cases, it can be used directly; like in case of severe hot spots, fungal infection or eczema. If neem oil is mixed with sweet almond or grape seed oil, it becomes very effective for skin treatment. Neem is quite helpful to promote flawless and healthy skin. Neem works wonder to protect from premature ageing and makes it free from blemish, if the leaves are blended with tea tree oil, kokum butter, aloe vera and bergamot oil. If neem oil is blended with tea tree oil, grape seed oil and eucalyptus oil, it protects, rejuvenates and promotes the healthy skin. This mixture is quite helpful in regaining natural glow and texture.
So, it can be said that neem holds a huge complement about curing almost every kind of problem, whether internal or external, without any side effect. One of the amazing neem facts is that the tree is known to cure more than one hundred diseases. Now-a-days, many pharmaceutical companies as well as beauty product companies use neem as one of the key ingredients in their products.