Monsoon Skincare Tips from Dr Snehal

Dr Snehal Sriram (MD), Kaya Skin Clinic shares a few tips on taking care of your skin this monsoon:

Summer is the season for growth - our skin cell turnover increases; this leads to piling up of dead layers of skin by the time monsoon begins. Also, the UV rays that harm the skin are invisible but do penetrate the clouds and harm the skin. Without right skin care, our skin starts looking dull and lifeless in the monsoon. Acidic water adds to our woes and hair tends to get rough and frizzy.

Skincare:
- Cleanse your skin daily using a soap free cleanser. Also make use of a gentle scrub (with uniform mild beads) once a day to get rid of dead cells.
- Cleansing should be followed by toning using an alcohol free toner, since increased humidity could open up your pores
- Use a sunscreen even on a cloudy day since the harmful UV radiations are capable of penetrating the clouds
- Use a light lotion based moisturizer or serum with a lightening agent as well as lactic acid – this will gently rehydrate your skin and also brighten it up
- Avoid heavy makeup and use waterproof make up when necessary
- Remember to nourish your skin - eat salads blanched in boiling water to disinfect them. Vegetable soup, consumed regularly, will also keep you warm and healthy.
- Just because it is raining, don’t reduce consumption of water. Drink your usual 8-10 glasses of water. Your skin is always thirstier than you are!

Care of Feet

- Effective cleansing of feet is very important as they would be exposed to lot of grime and muck
- Do not forget to completely dry your feet so as to prevent fungal infections
- Avoid wearing boots as these would hold water for longer duration sogging your feet
- Effective cleansing of the inside of your nails using orange stick dipped in hydrogen-peroxide would help prevent nail infections
- Home pedicure should be done once a week. It would consist of soaking feet in warm water to which you can add 3-4 drops of Savlon, for 15-20 minutes, followed by cleansing the inside of the nails with orange stick dipped in hydrogen peroxide and scrubbing the feet with foot scrapper. Complete the pedicure by applying light glycerine based moisturizer.
- When you go for pedicure to a beautician, ensure that the instruments used are sterilized/ cleansed with disinfectants. If possible use your personal instruments. Also instruct your beautician to avoid pushing of the cuticles as toe nail fungal infections are very common in monsoons.
(Guest Post)

Highly Effective Indian Home remedies For Delayed Periods

Delayed periods or Irregular menstrual periods have become very common these days for a lot of women in their reproductive age and they suffer great agonies when their period does not come on time. A delay of 4-5 days may be fine but if it exceeds 8 days, then it's certainly a cause for concern. In this post, I'll be sharing highly effective Indian home remedies for your delayed periods . I'd been a long sufferer of irregular periods during my teenage to early twenties. I've tried most of the recipes here, along with Kapalabhati pranayama, yoga poses, mudras and other lifestyle habits. Now my periods are extremely regular like clockwork; not a day less or more than 28. When I look back, I'm surprised how I managed those years of anxiety and fear about my late periods.

The ache of acne (pimples)

Acne is often the bane of a pretty face. It is painful more emotionally than physically, for the scar that it leaves behind can last for a lifetime, adding to one’s miserable look & feeling. No doubt many expensive skin care clinics have mushroomed in ever nook & corner, offering to clear all the scars & blemishes on the face, but they are very expensive & charge exorbitant price for each sitting; not everyone can afford them. So why not try out this simple skin care regimen to minimize the damage caused by acne & as far as possible prevent its eruption.

Aspirin for acne-prone skin

Aspirin has been around for a long time and its health benefits are wide and varied. Aspirin , or acetylsalicylic acid is a salicylate drug, often used as an analgesic to relieve minor aches and pains , as an antipyretic to reduce fever , and as an anti-inflammatory medication. Aspirin's greatest benefit is reducing cardiovascular events including heart attacks and strokes. According to the American Heart Assoc. virtually all women are at risk of heart disease and doctors should more strongly consider prescribing a daily aspirin for their female patients. There is growing evidence to suggest regular aspirin use may reduce cancer and dementia as well. Investigators from the Women's Health Study have reported important new findings demonstrating that aspirin reduces the risk of a first stroke in women. When given to someone immediately after a heart attack, aspirin decreases death by 25%.