Guest Post: An Unfortunately Named Product which Really Works

Bedak sejuk (in bowl), gamat water and Kelantan luhur

That favourite grandmother remedy, "Bedak Sejuk" (i.e. dried rice powder) is no stranger to most of us Malaysians. 


When the Gaudy Goddess told me the name of this particular traditional bedak sejuk, I burst into loud laughter. 


"You have got to be kidding me," I laughed.


"No no no. I am serious. Really. That's the name."

Read on to find out what it is.

I battled acne and oily skin throughout my late teens up to my twenties. Fortunately, I have outgrown this and enjoy better skin barring the occasional pimple. I guess that having oilier skin during "that time" of the month coupled with our humid weather is a recipe for this.

"Try this, it will make your skin look fresh," my friend urged.

I stared at the grey disc. It didn’t seem like much.

Now, this particular friend of mine happens to be a former top model who is renowned for her youthful looks. Maybe it is a combination of her having struck the genetic jackpot and having grown into her looks but I think that she looks better now than before.

And no, my eagle eye didn’t spot any evidence of Botox, fillers or other signs of having gone under the knife.

Years ago, my friend had a bad breakout of pimples when she was pregnant with her first child. Being pregnant, she couldn’t take oral medications or even some topical medications for her acne. Her mother-in-law then introduced her to a traditional Kelantanese remedy called “Bedak Sejuk Muntah Belut”.

Baldly translated, it means “Dried rice powder with eel vomit”.

Yeah, that’s a really unfortunate name.

“Just break off a bit of the disc and add some water. Apply it to your face and then sleep with it,” my friend instructed.

I tried it that night. When I woke up the next morning, my skin felt incredibly smooth and soft. I even found that some blackheads had popped out of my nose. It felt as though the powder sucked out the coagulated oils and left my skin feeling scrubbed clean.

The next time I had a pimple threatening to pop out, I took my friend’s advice and made a thicker paste with less water. Sure enough, the pimple was less inflamed the next day.

Other users have also reported having the same results.

According to my friend, the powder works even better if “gamat water” is used instead of ordinary water. “Gamat” is sea cucumber extract which purportedly has healing properties.

They are also good for skin boils and for keeping the skin cool.

These little gems are made by hand and dried under the sun before being packed and sold in Kelantan and Terengganu markets. My friend has snapped these up from the manufacturers and is now selling them all over Malaysia. She has trouble keeping up with orders and with the monsoon season coming up in the East Coast, these bedak sejuk are going to be a bit more difficult to procure.

You can check it out here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=155493327795129&ref=ts My friend is selling them at RM3 for three discs (each disc is about 20% larger than a 50 sen coin). Each disc can last about 7-10 days.

Edit update (16/10/10): The price is actually RM 5 for 3 discs.

I have no regrets trying this and in my opinion, this really is a value for money remedy.

Unfortunate name aside, that is.

"But seriously," I asked the Gaudy Goddess, "is it really made out of eel vomit?"

"Weeeell... I don't know. My friend says it is but admitted that it is based on hearsay. But it really works!"

Hmm, I don't know about you lovely readers, but I am willing to give this one a go. If the Gaudy Goddess says that it works, I am willing to take her word for it.