Beauty and Personal Grooming

These masks are very tingly and drying and hence suitable only for greasy and oily skin . Avoid these on dry skins , though.  

Dull, lifeless hair can bounce back to life with a regular hair-care routine. Normally this happens with oily hair and to those tresses which have become unhealthy due to excessive exposure to the sun, chemicals and pollution.

The word ‘Pomegranate’ literally means “seeded apple”. Though peeling the skin of this fruit is a tedious job, relishing the juicy red sacs from inside the fruits will make you feel that it is worth the trouble taken. Pomegranates do not contain any fat, cholesterol, or sodium. Additionally, they provide an excellent source of vitamin C and fiber. 1 pomegranate contains nearly hundred calories.

Dear Readers, Wishing you all a very Happy Republic Day. Long Live the Indian Republic.

These masks are designed to remove the dead cells and stale oil from the surface of the skin leaving it soft and tender. While using a scrub, use your fingertips to apply with circular movements. However, don’t become too enthusiastic while scrubbing the skin. These can leave your face feeling sore because they have tiny abrasive bits in them. Don’t do this often.

Here is a collection of some easy-to-do facial exercises . These exercises are for specific areas of the face. Start by practicing in front of your mirror until you have all the movements firmly in mind. Do these exercises easily with concentration but without deliberate, intense movements. Don’t do these exercises for more than 5-10 minutes a day, more may stretch the skin.

Unlike yesteryears, the balance between physical labor and rest is not adequately maintained nowadays. We ruthlessly wreck our health and take notice only when adverse symptoms start disturbing our lives. Acidity is one such ailment. Burning sensation in the chest, lack of appetite, sour oral secretion/belching, vomiting, headache , frequent indigestion etc. are some of the symptoms.

Your hands speak volumes about you, literally. See to it that your hands are well-manicured and your arms hair-free. This will impart a feminine grace. Hands can easily spoil the grace if you are not careful with them. When you have nothing to do with them, let them do nothing. Don’t become conscious of them during a conversation and start waving them or attempt making unnatural gestures to drive your point home. 

Are your toes pretty and straight or lumpy and misshapen? The problem could be due to faulty footwear. See to it that there is ample room across the toes and firm arch support while choosing your footwear. Move about barefoot in your garden to exercise your feet and toes. Tip-toeing as you go about your household work is a marvelous exercise for toes and arches.

Do you shy away from wearing sleeveless outfits because of darkened armpits? You might have been maintaining scrupulous hygiene, removing superfluous hair from the underarms, bleaching the underarm skin, and trying out a host of herbal/home remedies to get rid of this hateful skin discoloration….however, nothing seems to be working for you. What could be the reasons for this?

You could use these two simple home made beauty aids to keep your face clean, and free from blemishes and grime.

Exercise, if not done in a proper way can cause more harm than benefit. Mistakes as well as over-exercising must be avoided. Always consult a doctor before you start any exercise regimen and also if you experience any discomfort when you are exercising.

Some tips for spectacle users: Do not leave your glasses in such a position where the lenses come into contact with a rough surface. The glasses must rest on the frame and not on the lens. Do not leave your spectacles on hot surfaces like kitchen counters and car dashboards. Use a stiff case or a spectacles box rather than a pouch. If you have to carry spectacles in your handbag, whenever there is some pressure on the bag the soft case might not protect the glasses from breakage. Clean the lenses with a soft cloth regularly. Keep spectacles dust free and free of scratches as much as possible.

Cinnamon (dalchini) is a common spice used in the Indian kitchen. Cinnamon aids digestion, blood circulation and stimulates all the vital functions of the body. Cinnamon essential oil is extensively used in aromatherapy . According to a study , cinnamon helps keep blood sugar level in diabetics as well as non-diabetics. It helps lower blood levels of fats and ‘bad’ cholesterol.

Hands: Keep your hands warm If you are going out in the cold, wear gloves to protect your hands and maintain your body heat. At night use a lot of hand lotion or petroleum jelly. Massage it in. Don’t forget your elbows, cream your hands, palm a little on your elbow and rub. Get rid of roughness A treatment for your rough elbows and red chapped hands is to place half teaspoon of sugar in the palm of your hand and cover with a squirt of olive oil. Massage hands and elbows briskly for a few minutes and wash with warm soapy water. Moisturize using a rich creamy moisturizer. Feet The dry cold winter months play havoc on the feet. Rub warm olive oil into calluses and dry spots on your feet. Massage the oil by pushing the toe knuckle back each time and working towards the arc of the feet in a rotating kneading motion, follow it up to the heels. The after effect of this massage should make you feel relaxed. Also read the post Pamper your feet . See also: Caring for t...

Dear Readers,

Winter i s very cruel on the skin . Dehydration, chapping and scaling are very common. Winter tends to tax the skin much more than any other season. The hot winter sun outdoors and the overuse of heaters and blowers, taking hot water showers – all these wreak havoc on the skin. So, plan a special skin care routine to suit the weather – be generous with your moisturizer and lubricants in it. Your night creams, hand and body lotion, cleanser and toner, all these should be rich and creamy. Creams containing Vaseline and liquid paraffin are most effective in keeping the skin moist. Aromatherapy products are also excellent for your skin. So, don’t hesitate to splurge in them.

Identification of the right kind of flowers, their availability, cleanliness and care in the home-based preparation are the essential factors to be noted during the flower based cosmetic preparations. Here is a collection of some of the easy-to-make beauty recipes based on some flowers to treat your skin in a natural way. Jasmine cream: Take the fresh petals of jasmine and grind into a fine paste with few drops of rose water. It is a good face pack for a dry skin . It leaves the skin soft, smooth and improves the complexion. Since it contains rich oil, it can be applied once a month for a dry skin and once in two months for an oily or normal skin . Lavender Lotion: Take handful of flowers and boil it in two cups of water. After sometime, strain and mix the decoction with warm olive oil. This body lotion smoothens and leaves the skin soft and silky. Lavender as astringent and for bath: For a good perfumed bath , one can use fresh lavenders in the bathing water. ...

Don’t despair, if you are not happy with the shape of your lips. You can use lipstick cleverly, to camouflage mouth defects. Thin lips: Too thin lips - Increase the thickness by covering a little of the area outside the lips in a gradual, curving line, on the upper and lower lips. See to it that you follow the natural curve of the lips while applying. Use lighter shades. Thin upper lip: Extend the lipstick in a gradual curve on the upper lip only, and to the extent of which it gets balanced with the lower lip. Very full mouth with tight corners: Increase the width of the upper and lower sides in a gradual, natural curve. Use lighter shades. Thin lower lip: Increase the thickness of the lower lip by extending the lipstick beyond the lower lip in a natural curve. Sharp bow mouth with narrow corners: Round up the sharp arch of the bow, and widen along the sides of the upper and lower lip to avoid a sharp curve. Large, full lips: Keep lipstick inside the lip...

Often poor quality of speech makes people lose their ability to express themselves with confidence. As voice plays a key role in deciding how people react to you, the first step to improve the quality of speech is to cultivate voice impact. The pitch should be neither too high nor too low. It should sound calm and natural. When people are relaxed and comfortable their voice has a lower pitch and they sound normal. So, to tackle the root of the pitch problem, you should aim at maintaining a relaxed calm attitude. Many do not inhale properly before talking. Some exhale half their breath before talking. This takes out the strength from their voice. Practice proper breathing by sitting down comfortably with a straight back.  Breathing exercises, if done regularly will not only enhance your lung power but also improves your thinking ability by increased oxygen supply to the brain. Practise speaking at a lower pitch and at a slower pace, consciously breathing deep ...

Plucking with tweezers is almost exclusively reserved for the eyebrows , but it is a good way to remove stray hair on any part – on the chin and above the lips. As plucking can be a rather painful process, the skin should be held tight and the hair should be plucked in the direction of the growth. Then pat on an astringent. Plucking against the direction of the hair growth can cause the hair to break at the skin surface and so would reappear sooner. Plucking in the wrong direction can distort the follicle or root. This may result in the hair growing at a different angle. However the hairs which emerge from the moles and warts should not be plucked. If they are unsightly, simply, cut them short against the skin. del.icio.us tags: Hair pic source:amazon.com

Cardamom (Elaichi) seeds are one of the spices which are widely used in Indian cuisine. It is also used as a stimulant, aphrodisiac and a breath freshener. It is believed to aid digestion and it is also used to cure colds , bronchitis, fevers and various other ailments. Here is a collection of a few cardamom based home-remedies : Cardamom to cure giddiness Take a few whole pods of cardamom and crush them – husk and seeds. Add jaggery to make a decoction. One ounce of this decoction taken thrice a day can prevent giddiness. Cardamom for stomach aches Take cardamom seeds and the root of long pepper. Grind this together to make a fine powder and mix well with ghee. This mixture, taken orally, is sure to bring relief in most cases of stomach aches. Cardamom for diarrhea Make a decoction out of the root and leaves of the cardamom plant and boiling water. An oral intake of this decoction, after it has cooled down, will help. Cardamom for vomiting * ...

Though you can no longer rely on nature to keep your skin crease free and soft, all the care and pampering, that you had splurged in, during your earlier years will make you feel that beauty grows with age. You face will have a matured, contented and serene look. However menopause, falling oestrogen levels, slowing down of body’s metabolism takes its toll on the skin – there is a loss of tone on the skin and it begins to sag, which leads to further loss of color on the face and lips. So this is the time when a pro-active skin-care routine can make a big difference to a woman. There are no quick fixes at this stage of your life as at this age beauty comes from taking care of yourself, eating healthy food, drinking lots of water, and regular exercise. Now using the best skin-care products and a good moisturizer to maintain the moisture of your skin is most important. The failure to moisturize skin properly during menopause makes the skin even drier. A sunscreen based moisturizer during...

What are Nourishing and Moisturizing Masks?

People notice your lips when you talk, as they listen to your words. You can improve the natural shape and color of your lips with lipstick, lip gloss, and lip pencil. Lipstick adds so much cheer to the face. It has to be used most carefully and neatly to get the best results. You cannot afford to use it in a casual manner. The outline should be neat and well-defined. Do not give anyone the impression that you have dressed in a hurry, or that you do not know how to apply a lipstick. Do not apply it just for the sake of applying as a mere formality. Always work with patience when applying it on. You need a very good brush, and a few lipsticks covering the basic colors, like soft reds, pinks, hues of orange, etc. General rules * For thin lips, use lighter shades. * For full lips, use darker shades. * For the day, use lighter shades. * For the night, use darker shades. * For complexions which are not fair, avoid using very light shades completely.

The teeth and the gums, like other parts of the body, require exercise for maintaining them in healthy condition. This can be achieved by eating hard and fibrous foods.

Dear Readers,