Remove stains from nails and fingers with these simple aids from your kitchen

Massaging the hands with a good nourishing cream, removing superfluous hair for that smooth satiny look, manicure, nail care – all these should be an integral part of your beauty routine. Nails after all reveal your health and hence you need to carefully scrutinize them for any incongruity and pay ample attention towards their maintenance. A tendency towards nail-biting should be nipped in the bud. But in spite of all the pampering and attention, it’s quite possible for your nails and fingers to get stained. Here’s how you can try 

to remove some of the slight as well as stubborn stains from spoiling the beauty of your fingers and nails. 

Home remedies for leucorrhea

Here are some home remedies for leucorrhea:

* Mix 1 cup of water with a cup of milk and boil it. Add 1 tsp of dry ginger (adrak) to it. When this reduces to half add brown sugar to it. Have this for 5-6 weeks.

* Eat an overripe banana everyday

* Eating the insides of a ripe bael fruit also helps.

* Make a decoction of Fenugreek (methi) seeds have it twice daily.

* Ayurvedic medicine ‘Ashokarishta’ is found to be effective in such cases.

* One of the best remedies is to mix a tsp of the powder of dried amla (gooseberry) seeds and a ripe banana everyday for at least 40 days.

* Paste jamun (black plum) roots in water in which rice has been cooked and take it twice a day.

* Fry and powder cumin (jeera) seeds and take a tsp twice a day with honey.

* Methi powder mixed with curds is also helpful.

* Powder the dry seeds of amla and take a tsp of it with some honey and saunf (fennel) seeds twice daily.

* Consume tender baby lady’s finger (okra) in raw form. It’s highly effective.

* Avoid non-vegetarian diet like fish, chicken, eggs for some days. Instead fresh green vegetables should be included in your diet.

Sunflower toning lotion for dry skin

If you are one of those who would like to prepare your own beauty concoctions, I’m sure you must have tried the toning lotion with grapefruit, more suited for oily skin. Now try your hand at this toning lotion with sunflower oil for dry skin.

The recipe:

Ingredients:

Lanolin ((PURE LANOLIN, 100% Pure Australian Anhydrous Lanolin Pharmaceutical Grade 2 oz.)) – 1 cup
Sunflower oil – 1 cup
Wheat germ oil 1 tsp
Witch hazel extract – ½ cup
Sodium benzoate (or powder a Sodium Benzoate Tablet)– 1 tsp

Method:

Melt lanolin in a pan over a low flame and stir in sunflower oil. Remove from the heat and stir in wheat germ oil and witch-hazel with sodium benzoate. Bottle and refrigerate and then massage a little on the face and neck at bedtime. This delicate and mild lotion refreshes your dry sallow skin.
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Natural look for eyebrows is in

Some girls tweeze their eyebrows to death to give them a pencil-thin shape. It gives such a ridiculous, unnatural look to the face. Bushy, straggly eyebrows look much nicer in comparison. If nature has bestowed a near-perfect shape to your eyebrows, then flaunt the natural look proudly. Even fashion is on your side now. The current fashion trend is to go natural and not to sport perfectly tweezed eyebrows. Do trim a few stray hairs from here and there, but a pencil thin shape is a strict no-no. Too bushy eyebrows? Then go ahead and tweeze them to a decent shape but here again don’t go overboard and disfigure them.

Medicinal uses of drumstick leaves

Drumstick (Sahijan/Munga)is the most commonly used vegetable in Indian cuisine; it lends that typical flavor to the ever so famed South Indian curries. Drumstick and the leaves particularly, are loaded with nutrients and minerals. Read all about it and more in this post. Drumstick leaves are used as a first aid and for curing a number of common ailments in rural India. Here’s a collection of such remedies using drumstick leaves:

* When you are suffering from a headache, all you have to do is to grind a few leaves of drumstick with a few pepper corns and smear it on your aching forehead. 

* Cuts, gashes, sprains or swellings? No problem. Just grind a drumstick leaves with castor oil and apply the paste on the affected parts.

* Make a paste of equal quantities of drumstick leaves and radish leaves and apply it externally on bleeding piles.

* Suffering from whooping cough? Then mix 1 tbsp juice of drumstick leaves with a spoonful of honey and have it.

* Too lean? Find it hard to put on weight? Then mix pepper powder with 2 tbsp each of juice from drumstick leaves and lemon. Take it regularly for 48 days.

* Suffering from severe cold? Runny nose? Then put 1-2 drops of the juice of drumstick leaves in your nostrils.

* Take1 tsp of drumstick juice mixed with 2 tsp of pumpkin juice for urinary and bladder problems.

* As a beauty aid, apply the juice of drumstick leaves mixed with lemon juice to get a clear and glowing complexion.

* For mumps, pound the barks of drumstick and deodhar with buttermilk on a stone slab and apply the paste on the swelling.

Homemade eye cream for dark circles

Dark circles around the eyes make them look lifeless and give you a sickly look and an expressionless face. Though these can be concealed to a certain extent by the deft use of makeup, it is possible to prevent their formation by proper and regular habits. Late nights, irregular food habits, wrong reading habits, heredity, stress and anxiety – all these could be the culprits in giving you those panda-like patchy eyes spoiling your otherwise pretty face. So analyze and work on these and try your best to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

Skin under the eyes is extremely thin and the only part of the human body that has no moisture or oil glands and hence prone to get wrinkles quickly. This lack of natural protection should be compensated for by paying special attention to the skin care around the eyes. Massaging the eyes with warm vegetable oil helps in getting a smoother look. A good almond lanolin cream must be applied every night around the eyes to nourish the skin around the eyes. Almond is a natural bleach and an excellent skin food. Here’s the recipe for a home made eye cream to nourish and lighten the skin around your eyes.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon lanolin (PURE LANOLIN, 100% Pure Australian Anhydrous Lanolin Pharmaceutical Grade 2 oz.)
1½ tablespoon almond oil
1 teaspoon soybean flour (Soy Powder)
2 teaspoons cold water

Method:

Melt lanolin on medium heat. Add almond oil to it. Remove the ensuing thick paste from heat. Add soybean powder and cold water and stir it for ten minutes.

Application:

Apply gently on the skin around the eyes every night. You should start from the inner sides of the eyes moving towards the pulse point. Use delicate gentle movements with your ring finger, without tugging. Wipe off gently after 15- 20 minutes using a wet cotton wool. Also remember that cream application for dark circles must be wiped off before going to bed to avoid puffy swollen eyes.

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You might also be interested in these eye firming products ( from serums to creams to gels) that had the most uplifting effects for Total Beauty readersSee products

Home remedies for fatigue

It’s quite natural for us to suffer from tiredness and fatigue after a hard day’s work. Sometimes this tired all-gone feeling persists even on arising after a night’s sleep and one feels so haggard and drained of energy that one finds it difficult to even get on with day-to-day work. Fatigue could be mental, due to a tired mind or physical due to tired muscles. Mental strain, frustration, over-exercising, little or no zest for life– all these could be some of the reasons for your fatigue. Your energy level is also at its lowest after a bout of illness like fever or diarrhea, and hence you feel weary all the time.

When you are suffering from fatigue, don’t just brush it off casually and go on with your work. Pay heed to this call which almost says, “Take it easy. It’s time to recharge your mental battery and renew your physical energy.” If it’s mental- exercise. If it’s physical -rest. So, identify the exact cause of your tiredness and act upon it accordingly. To regain that pep and spark off your spirits and boost your sagging energy levels, try out some of these tips and home remedies.

* Fruit juices are fairly helpful in this condition. Grape juice is specially useful as you regain your stamina in no time.

* Dates (Khajur) are great sources of instant energy. These should be taken regularly along with a glass of milk.

* Add a pinch of cardamom powder to a cup of tea. This relieves physical strain and trounces tiredness.

* Soak 5-6 almond kernels in water overnight. Next morning, drain water and collect the kernels. Remove the husk by rubbing. Grind all the kernels into a fine paste. Mix it with equal quantities of powdered sugar candy and fresh butter. Take this recipe early in the morning along with a cup of milk. It tones up the brain and cures chronic cold, cough, headache etc, provided the recipe is taken continuously over a long period. Also, it acts as a general tonic and relieves physical and mental strain.

* Those endless cups of coffee and tea, and cola drinks can only temporarily cover the symptoms of tiredness. Eventually, you will be much more fatigued. So don’t seek refuge in them.

* Sleep is one great rejuvenator. It can renew your strength, wipe out mental fog, and set you on your way to solving new problems with ease.

* Improvement of blood circulation is also necessary to combat fatigue. This can be achieved by daily exercise routines like brisk walks, taking up a sport, or swimming. Give your brain a bounce with some fresh air, a bit of gardening.

* Take time for a little fun and frolic each day, and your tired feeling will disappear. Never let a day go by that you do not enjoy life. Put a little bit of vacation in every day not just into every year.

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Lose weight by reading sensational novels

Can you lose weight by reading sensational novels? Apparently you can! Here's the deal!

In fact, reading this piece of news will make you sit up, that is, when you get to know that reading racy novels can be actually good for you.

After shampoo hair rinses with rosemary and chamomile

You should rinse your hair really well after shampooing so that there isn’t the slightest trace of any residue left in the hair. After that, you shouldn’t forget to use some of these after shampoo herbal rinses. They give the hair a better shine and body coupled with a glossy, satiny look.

Rosemary Chamomile Hair Rinse

Ingredients:

Chamomile flower (powder) 2 handful

Rosemary tops (powder) 1 handful

Water 500 ml

Method:

Take chamomile flowers and rosemary tops, place these in a saucepan. Pour boiling water over them. Use this as the final rinse after shampooing. It will give the hair a lustrous sheen and enhance its color also. Good for all hair types.

Rosemary Hair Rinse

Ingredients:

Rosemary tops/leaves -60 gm

Water-1 litre

Method:

Put the ingredients in a pan and slowly simmer it for 10-15 minutes. Strain the mixture and get the rinse. Let it cool. Use as an after shampoo rinse. This application used by all hair types (oily, dry and normal) gives a lustrous and beautiful look to your hair.

See also: Remedy for dull, limp hair

Face masks to lighten blemishes

A complexion, petal soft, flawless and that which exudes radiance is the dream of every woman. But very few possess it. Ugly scars and blemishes which tend to prop up due to various reasons prove to be a pain in the neck for teenagers and twenty-somethings. These three homemade masks are especially for those troubled by bothersome blemishes - economical yet efficacious they will lighten the blemishes on your facial skin considerably and over a period of time give you the peaches and cream complexion which you have always longed for.

Olive oil mask

Ingredients:
½ tsp olive oil
¼ tsp lemon juice

Method:
Mix the two ingredients well. Apply it all over your face and let it remain for 15-20 minutes before washing off.

Mint (pudina) mask

Ingredients:
1 sprig mint leaves
1 tsp rose water

Method:
Wash and grind the mint leaves to a smooth paste using rose water. Apply it all over your face and keep it on for a couple of hours if you really want to reap the benefits of this mask. Then wash off.

Orange juice and milk mask

Ingredients:

Orange juice – 1 tsp
Milk – 1 tbsp

Method:
Mix the two ingredients well and apply the mixture all over your face for around 15-20 minutes. Then wash off.

Home remedies for burns

In the morning rush hour, it’s quite common for you to inadvertently touch a hot dish which you have just removed from your microwave oven, or sustain minor burns and scalds while handling gas-stoves. That is enough to get you in a frenzy, and you comb every nook and corner of your house and almost turn your house topsy-turvy in your frantic search for the elusive first-aid box. However, in this process, you more or less forget about the throbbing burn which badly needs your attention.

Don’t waste your time, thus; cut short your futile search and look around your kitchen and later on in your garden. Here’s how you can use common ingredients of the kitchen like turmeric, honey, ice-cubes etc. to treat burns. Serious cases of burning and scalding require immediate medical attention and certain cases might need hospitalization also. The remedies mentioned here below are only for minor burns.

* Gently pour ice cold water immediately on the affected area or you might even try compresses of ice cubes. Do this for more than 5-7 minutes or until the pain stops. If any blister has formed, do not prick it.

* Here again, aloe the wonder herb can come to your rescue. Just spread a thin pulp of Aloe-vera gel over the affected part. Do it twice or thrice in a day if necessary.

* And also you might try using the wonder condiment of the kitchen ‘turmeric’ (haldi), well known all over the world for its numerous medicinal uses. Just apply a paste of turmeric and honey on the affected parts.

* You could also anoint pure til (Sesame) oil over the wound.

* Smearing pure honey over the wound also provides relief.

* Grind leaves of pomegranate (anar) into a fine paste and apply over the burns. This treatment produces a cooling effect also.

* Crush a potato and grind it into a fine paste. Apply this paste over the wound to ward off burning sensation.

* Pure coconut oil is also a very useful remedy to count on. Just apply it on your throbbing wound.

* If you do have banana plants in and around your house, you might even apply the juice obtained from the stem of the plantain tree on your burns.

See also: Home remedies for wounds

Pic credits:fotosearch.com

How to apply cream bleach

Generally, facial hair and for that matter even hair on the arms have a sparse growth but nevertheless they need to be tackled if one wants to sport a feminine hair-free look.

Plucking, waxing or shaving is not quite suitable for facial hair. For those who have hairy arms and legs, waxing is just perfect.  

Waxing, as you know, guarantees smooth, hair-free arms and legs for a month or even more sometimes depending on your individual hair-growth pattern. Bleaching is ideal for facial hair.

Being an effective and painless method, it merely lightens the color of the hair, making it less conspicuous. Facial hair and hair on the arms are barely visible after a bleaching session.

Get rid of your double chin with this simple exercise

Double chins look so ugly and you desperately want to get rid of it. Usually if you are overweight or obese you tend to have it. But it is not a rule per se.

For those who have a double chin due to excess weight, the best thing to do is try and lose weight.

And an overall weight loss ensures that you lose weight on your chin too. It is as simple as that.

Or maybe not too simple for you. Then read the instructions given below.

Probably that could help you get rid of this unsightly extra projection clinging on to your original chin, almost like a ‘Siamese twin’.

Avoid pillows – sleep on a hard bed. The following exercise, if done daily, will gradually reduce the double chin.

Sit straight in front of a mirror. Look up towards the ceiling. While stretching your neck, turn your head to look over your left shoulder, then to your right shoulder. Return to the starting position and lower the chin to a right angle position with your neck. Press your chin against the clavicle bone in front. This exercise should be done in a slow motion for the best results.

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Skin toning lotion with grapefruit

Would you like to try your hand at this home made toning lotion using grapefruit? This toner is especially suited for oily and sensitive skin. A harsh-astringent lotion can only irritate your skin. So why not go in for a mild concoction like this. Skin toners as such have an evaporating and cooling action that causes muscles to contract and pores to shrink temporarily. Besides, toning is pleasant and refreshing and is valuable in removing traces of grease that the cleanser may have left.

Grapefruit skin toning lotion

Ingredients:

Grapefruit (ripe) – 100 gm
Yoghurt – 250 gm
Sodium benzoate – ½ tsp

Method:

Remove the skin of the grapefruit and cut it into small pieces. Put the pieces through the blender and then mix with yoghurt to make a fine paste. Refrigerate for an hour and add sodium benzoate. Moisten cotton wool with this lotion and pat it on smear this cream all over your face and neck – it is good for greasy skins with open pores. Do not forget the sides of the nose, chin and forehead. You could also use this after cleansing your skin thoroughly with a good quality cleanser. Leave on for around half an hour until you feel your pores tightening and then wash off with lukewarm water.

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Tulsi for inflammation and itching of the eyelids

Sometimes when one wakes up with a swollen eyelid or an inflamed eyelid, which could well be due to an ant bite, what does one do? If it starts itching then all one does is scratch… scratch… scratch – rubbing the eyes so vigorously and almost mishandling them in the process. Surely our delicate eyes deserve a better handling and quite a bit of pampering particularly at this time.

Here’s a simple remedy and a quickie too. All you have to do is to rush to your garden to pick up a few leaves of Tulsi or Holy Basil. Tulsi is not just used as a beauty aid but also to cure various skin diseases too. It has a soothing effect over the eyes too. This healer par excellence most certainly deserves the kind of adulation and reverence that is showered upon it. Now to the recipe.

Ingredients:

Tulsi (Basil) leaves
Powdered alum
Water

Method:

Prepare a decoction of Tulsi leaves and dissolve some powdered alum in the decoction. When there is inflammation or itching of the eyelids, warm this decoction and use cotton dipped into it to foment the eyelids. During the fomentation, change the cotton wads twice in every 5 minutes. And voila, the swelling will subside, and you can open the eyes without any discomfort.
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Aloe oil for split ends in the hair

When those over-publicized, fancy-packed hair-oils can’t do the trick and you end up losing your hair, it’s time to open grandma’s age-old recipe book for answers. These home-made, cheap and harmless potions are a perfect choice when you deal with something as important as your crowning glory. You simply can’t afford to make wrong choices.

Take the case of split ends in the hair, for instance. You just can’t ignore it and leave it to its fate. If left untreated, it leads to poor hair-growth and hair-loss. So make an effort to get rid of split ends with alacrity. Read all about it here. You could also try your hand at this easy-to-make aloe hair oil. Applying this regularly on your hair will help you tackle this problem of split ends effectively. Hair tends to split when the natural sebum oil fails to reach the ends of the strands. So a proper massage with this aloe oil will nourish your hair and prevent the ends from becoming brittle and splitting up.

Don’t let procrastination get the better of you. Making this aloe-oil is almost a child’s play. Aloe-vera, the natural healer is a fantastic herb; it is not just good your skin but for your hair as well. Even Cleopatra was believed to have rated it highly as a beauty therapy herb. So go to your garden pick up a few aloe leaves and prepare this wonderful hair-oil. Don’t have an aloe-plant at home? Then you are definitely missing out on a powerful natural healer. Go and get it at the earliest and let the spiky aloe plant adorn your garden. If you’d like to have some guidance on how to grow this multi-purpose and versatile herb, click here.

Aloe-hair oil for split ends in the hair

Ingredients

4 big leaves of aloe
250 grams of coconut oil

Method:

Aloe leaves are thick, succulent and have a transparent pulp. Slit open the leaf and scrape out the juicy pulp. Use a liquidizer and blend to make it into a smooth paste. Heat coconut oil in a wok and add the aloe pulp. Keep stirring until the oil floats on the top. Strain the oil and bottle it.

Application:

Take two tablespoons of oil and massage it well into the scalp. Work your way from the ends of hair to your scalp, see to it that the ends are properly nourished with oil. Leave on for one hour at least.

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Home remedies for excessive thirst

Excessive thirst – this doesn’t sound like a malady at all. After all everyone feels thirsty. It’s so very normal. And with the change of seasons, there is always an appreciable change in everyone’s appetite and thirst habits. Summer times, especially, are thirst times. But an excessive and incessant craving for water could well point out to something grave. Hence ‘excessive thirst’ as such should not be brushed off lightly. Especially when you have an inkling that something is intrinsically wrong with you - call it your ‘instinct’ or your ‘sixth sense’. Sometimes excessive thirst could well be an indication of a far more serious ailment like diabetes. Seek appropriate medical help if you harbor such suspicions. If you do not suffer from any such afflictions and all your tests are normal, then try some of these home-remedies to quench your insatiable thirst.

* Have two to four grams of fresh gooseberry (amla) with honey along with water 2-3 times a day.

* Boil water till it is reduced to one fourth of its volume and have it.

*Mix the juice of half a lemon with one cup of warm water. Add one or two pinches of salt and sip the juice.

*Immerse a sour apple in water overnight. Next morning, crush the apple and extract the juice; drink this juice to quench your thirst. Do this continuously for about a week.

* The juice of sour grapes is also found to be effective in such cases.

* Roast a teaspoonful of black pepper and powder it. Add this powder to four cups of boiling water; decant and cool. Use this water whenever you are thirsty.

* Tomato juice sweetened with sugar or glucose is also an excellent drink to quench thirst.

See also: Cool drinks for summer / Beat the heat this summer with these therapeutic drinks.

Your clothes for summer

Is that sweltering heat bothering you too much? How about a slight change in your wardrobe? With the right choice of the type and color of clothes, you can actually beat the heat and feel cooler. Here are a few tips; though not a complete list in itself, it’s worth a glance.

Tuck away all your nylons, synthetics and heavy silks. Confine yourself to cool, crisp cottons only for day-wear, and maybe, light silks for evening wear. 

Cottons keep you looking and feeling cool and comfortable. They absorb sweat and moisture and permit proper airflow to the skin.

Strapped dresses, culottes, shorts and T-shirts will keep the heat off. So consider wearing them. Avoid wearing very tight-fitting clothes as they hamper circulation of air, making you feel stuffy and uncomfortable.

As for colors – white is highly preferable. Avoid deep, dark colors like black, bright red or maroon during the day, when the sun’s blazing hot and humid. If you just can’t do without black, then reserve it for the evenings.

Light, pastel shades and delicately-cheerful colors are best for afternoons. Light colors reflect light and keep the wearer cool. Lemon shades, ice-blue, petal pink, vanilla-cream, earl grey etc. are the right hues for you.