Umm Salamah reported that the Prophet ﷺ would apply noorah starting with his private parts and then his family would apply noorah to the rest of his body.
Sunan ibn Majah, 3751
There are also reports of the sahaba, radhi Allahu anhum, using it.
عن علي بن أبي عائشة قال كان عمر رجلا أهلب فكان يحلق عنه الشعر وذكرت له النورة فقالالنورة من النعيم
Ali bin Abi Ai’shah said “Umar was a bald man, so he would shave his hair. I told him about noorah and he said “Noorah is a blessing.”
al Musanaf by Abi ibn Shayba, 1/135
عن مسكين بن عبد العزيز ، عن أبيه قال : دخلت على عبد الله بن عمر وجاريته تحلق عنه الشعر ، فقال : إن النورة ترق الجلد .
Miskin bin Abdul Aziz reported that his father said: I entered upon Abdullah ibn Umar, and his female slave was shaving him. He said “Surely noorah softens the skin.”
al Haawi lil-Fatawa, 1/407
According to some traditions, Noorah was used by Queen Bilqis, who had a lot of body hair, and was brought to her by jinn.
What is noorah?
Noorah powder is a mixture of lime, arsenic, and a number of other chemicals. It occurs in a natural mineral form, and can be ground down into a fine powder.
What are the benefits of noorah?
Noorah is chemically alkaline, so it breaks down hair and can remove hair entirely by chemical means. It can soften the hair and make it easier to remove, or break down the hair entirely sometimes.
It also is a strong disinfectant, so when used on the underarms it kills bacteria which cause bad odor without irritating the skin.
Applying noorah before plucking underarm hair or shaving can reduce the risk of inflamation or infection after hair removal.
Applying noorah before shaving can also reduce the itching that sometimes occurs after shaving.
How do you use noorah?
One of the traditional ways of using noorah is to mix it with water to form a paste. This paste is then spread on the skin and left to absorb into the hair. Then leave it on for 5 to 10 minutes, and then wash it off.
Alternately, you can just spread the dry powder on the skin or rub it under your arms to soften the hair and reduce bad odors, but this is slightly less effective.
