BACKGROUND: In south India it is a culture among ladies to use turmeric for beautiful white skin, to remove unwanted hair on the face, in this context I have encountered ladies coming with redness, itching, burning and vesiculation of skin after application of turmeric and also especially on forehead, hair parting after application of kumkum which is prepared from turmeric and which is traditionally followed by Hindu women. AIM: To evaluate incidence of allergic contact dermatitis due to turmeric in female by patch testing. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 50 clinical suspected cases of allergic contact dermatitis in females of all age groups who were using turmeric were taken and also 20 females who were not using turmeric were taken and patch testing was done with Indian standard series (ISS), kumkum, and prepared turmeric allergens (ethanol extract, sediment, raw turmeric) and commercial preparations. RESULTS: Out of 50 cases tested 44 cases were positive for different turmeric antigens (88%). The incidence of kumkum allergy is also high. All the 20 females who were not using turmeric were negative. Conclusion: Apart from immense beneficial effects of turmeric, allergic contact dermatitis due to turmeric has been demonstrated and confirmed through patch testing in the present study.