Beauty and Personal Grooming

Did you know that a relaxing footbath, a massage or a pedicure at a spa that seems like an exhilarating experience on the surface could also give you nasty infections?  In October of 2000, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention investigated the first known outbreak of Mycobacterium fortuitum cutaneous infections acquired from whirlpool footbaths. As a prominent cosmetic podiatrist in New York City, Dr. Oliver Zong has seen countless patients who have developed infections in their feet as a result of spa pedicures.  He says, “a pedicure is something I recommend to my patients who want to maintain both the health and look of their feet, but I warn them to ‘proceed with caution’ when choosing a nail salon to frequent.”

You barely have time to shower, much less wait for a hair conditioner to work while you're in there. If that's your problem, an overnight repair hair masque like LaCoupe Overnight Repair Deep Treatment is a godsend for you. As compared to other expensive over night hair treatments like Fredric Fekkai Overnight hair repair and Kronos Phyx Overnight Repair Masque 4 fl oz. ,, this one's quite affordable at $7.99 and works just as well. What's wonderful about this stuff is you don't have to apply it to wet hair and wait around in the shower to rinse out. Just finger-comb it from scalp to ends. It dries quickly with no messy lean dry pillow residue. Go to sleep and the  next morning all you do is wash your hair and shower as usual and of course, enjoy your new shiny locks!

Fact: This is true to some extent. When acne influenced skin is directly exposed to small amounts of sunlight, it can destroy bacteria that are responsible for acne. Also it may may give the pores a tighter appearance and a suntan can make acne blemishes much less visible  While you may end up thinking that sunlight is treating your acne, the  effect is only temporary and superficial. Even though mild sun exposure could prove helpful for certain stages of the pimple resolution process and dry out existing acne, it simply won't help prevent new ones!  In effect, such exposure can also be counter-productive. Sunlight directly stimulates the oil producing glands under the skin to secrete more sebum. Thus, your skin tends to get oilier which leads  to further clogging of skin pores, which result in new pimple formations.

Pomegranates are one of the most antioxidant rich fruits. According to a study conducted by researchers from Center for Human Nutrition at the University of California-Los Angeles' David Geffen School of Medicine and published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, it has been found  that this fruit's juice has more inflammation fighting antioxidants than red wine or green tea. Eat pomegranates on a regular basis for a smooth, youthful and glowing skin. Also use the below mentioned scrub once or twice a week to do away with dead skin cells.  

Lack of sleep can not only dull senses and leave us irritable for the rest of the day but can also wreak havoc on our skin, though there are far more grave consequences of long time sleep deprivation . When we do not get the required 7-8 hours of sleep our skin suffers and overtime leaves behind a dull, dehydrated and wrinkled complexion. This is especially noticeable in the fragile skin under the eyes in the form of  fine lines , dark circles or puffy bags . A good night's sleep is a must if you want to improve the texture and the luminosity of your skin. Sleep is one of the best beauty treatments in your arsenal and can do amazing things to your skin. That's why they call it "beauty sleep". If daytime is about protection from UV rays, night time is all about healing.  During the day, the skin is subjected to the onslaught of of UV rays, pollution, dirt and other harmful environmental factors and during sleep the skin repairs itself to reverse this damage. Cel...

TV actor Simone Singh is elegant, stylish, refined and chic. Her peaches-and-cream skin, gorgeous hair and twinkling eyes make hers an unforgettable beauty. Here she shares her beauty secrets.

For beautiful tresses, try these DIY hair-conditioners:

(Guest Post by Andrew Salmon) Hollywood is all about looking good. Billy Crystal (as Fernando on SNL) summed it up best by saying: “It’s better to look good than to feel good.” But does cosmetic surgery guarantee eternal beauty? Judge for yourself from this list of cosmetic surgery taken too far. 5. Cher The first real-life Terminator, Cher is something of a medical miracle. She has had so much surgery over the years that one has to question how much of her is still human tissue. An exercise and diet fanatic, Cher would have been better of sticking to these natural means to retain tone and vitality rather than putting herself under the knife more often than Jamie Lee Curtis in her early film career.

Do you have damaged, misbehaving hair that just won’t do what you want or get the healthy, shiny look? Try these simple, at-home techniques to have your hair looking and feeling its very best in no time. Having beautiful healthy hair is actually a question of hair care and maintenance then simple genetics or expensive hair salon visits. First to know what you need to do to fix your hair, you need to understand what is wrong with your hair.

Sometime back, on an impulse, I had picked up Sunsilk thick & long shampoo as well as conditioner. It was the older variant, not the new Sunsilk lusciously thick & long, specially formulated for Sunsilk by seven internationally renowned hair experts Rita Hazan, Yuko Yamashita, Jamal Hammadi, Dr. Francesca Fusco, Tom Taw, Ouidad, and Teddy Charles.

I  use a body wash instead of soap during winter . This winter, I used Dove NutriumMoisture Sensitive Skin Nourishing Body Wash & Deep Moisture Body wash ( am still using it ) and my skin feels wonderful after I step out of my bath - there isn't the slightest hint of dryness or stretchiness. But if you would rather use a soap instead of a moisturizing body wash or a shower gel, use it sparingly; don't just scrub it all over your body to work up a foamy lather as it could make your skin dry, flaky and itchy. It's great if you are using a mild soap that is specially formulated for winter skin but even then 'Less is more' holds true here, more so, if you have an extremely dry skin . Using a good moisturizer alone won't help. Read this wonderful tip from Dr Schultz on how to avoid winter soap itch .