Cleansing occupies an important place in dry skin care. Read all about skin care rituals and dry skin care. Then go through this simple recipe for preparing cleansing milk for dry skin. Ingredients:
Oat meal 2 tsp
Yoghurt (curds) – 4 tsp
Sodium benzoate 1 tsp
Method:
Mix yoghurt and oat meal in a bowl and blend well. After 5 minutes, add sodium benzoate. Then soak a cotton ball in this cleansing milk and massage it gently on your face. After 1-2 minutes, you can remove it by wiping it off with another cotton ball soaked in warm water. Then rinse off with cold water. If you need to scrub off dead skin, you can use these facial scrubs.
Also see the recipes for another Home-made cleansing milk, astringent and toner
You might be lucky enough to possess strong, healthy nails. But it is imperative that you keep them that way. While some women clean the utensils with their bare hands and try to remove the ingrained dirt sticking on to them by scratching with their nails, still others use their nails as screw drivers, brush, a tin opener or as a gardening shovel. Likewise, many do not think twice before immersing their fingers in harsh detergent solutions and other chemicals. All these activities can make the otherwise healthy nails to become brittle and lose their natural luster. Remember these points: * Nails should not be kept too long that there is a possibility of their breaking nor should they be cut too short so that they expose the nail bed.
* Always use a mild soap or a hand wash while cleaning your hands.
* Do not forget to wear gloves while attending to household chores like washing, cleaning or gardening.
* Avoid direct contact with harsh detergents and other soap solutions.
* Also do not immerse your hands in water for long periods of times. This weakens the na
ils.
* To remove the dirt off the nails, put your hands in lukewarm water to which a drop of a mild shampoo is added. Remove them after 1-2 minutes and gently clean them with a soft brush or soft linen.
* To remove stains from your nails and fingers try some of the home remedies.
* For keeping the nails shining and strong, sometimes in your leisure time, massage the nails and the cuticles with olive oil, with slow and gentle strokes.
* Massaging nails with the diluted water of alum also keeps them shining.
* A gentle massage with mustard (sarson) oil also helps.
* You can also use this homemade rich nail cream.
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon avocado (butter fruit) pulp
1 teaspoon egg yolk
1 teaspoon honey
A pinch of salt
Method:
Blend all the ingredients to a smooth consistency. Apply a small quantity of the paste to each nail, massaging gently into cuticles and surrounding skin. Rinse off after half an hour. You may prepare this cream in a larger quantity by increasing the proportions of the ingredients and store it in the refrigerator, to be used within a month.
For the oils and the creams to work on your nails and for better results you shouldn’t use your fingers or nails for at least half an hour. So the best time to massage nails is a few hours before retiring to bed. That way you won’t be using them for a long time.
See also:
Nails reveal your health
Strengthening weak nails
Fix torn nails at home
Quit the nail biting habit
Pic credits: fotosearch.com, digitalphoto.pl
If you prefer steaming your face to open up the pores before the application of a mask, then consider using the leaves of Tulsi or Holy Basil in the water. From ancient times women have used this wonder herb for beautifying themselves. As it has antiseptic and antibacterial properties, it is marvelous for the skin. Its efficacy in curing various skin diseases is also quite well known. Here’s how you can use Tulsi as a beauty aid.
The method:
Take some water. Squeeze half a lemon into it. Now add a fistful of Tulsi leaves, a handful of mint (pudina) leaves and boil it. Remove from heat when it starts emitting steam. Secure your hair with a band, take a thick towel over your head and bend over the vessel with your eyes closed so that your face is fully exposed to the steam emanating from the water. Take the steam this way for around 3-5 minutes. Afterwards you can apply a face pack. If not, splash cold water on your face or gently rub an ice cube wrapped in a hanky to close the pores.
Tulsi for inflammation and itching of the eyelids
Get rid of your skin's oiliness with clay masks
Before you embark on a rigorous exercise regimen, you are normally advised to follow certain pre-exercising instructions scrupulously.
Whether your skin is oily or dry you need to exfoliate it once in a while to get rid of dead cells. Harsh abrasive scrubs are not suitable for extremely flaky, dry skins. Dry skins need mild scrubs such as these. The presence of yoghurt in these scrubs makes them gentle and less coarse on dry skins. Use them once in two weeks (a month if your skin is too dry) and watch your face glow. # Scrub 1
Ingredients:
Dry Orange peel powder 1 tsp
Dry Lemon peel powder 1 tsp
Yoghurt (curds) 2 tbsp
Method:
Mix the dried peel powders and add yoghurt to it. Blend well. Gently massage it onto you skin or 2 minutes. Leave on for 5 minutes and then wash off.
# Scrub 2
Ingredients:
Oat meal powder 1 tsp
Yoghurt 2 tsp
Method:
Blend the two ingredients and massage the paste onto your face. Keep it on for 5 minutes and then wash off with cold water.
See also:
Pic credits:fotosearch.com
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. As we all know, besides cervical cancer, cancer of the breast is one of the main forms of cancer that is particularly known to affect women, and if detected earlier on there is a 98% survival rate. The only way you can detect the cancer in its initial stages is by doing a regular breast self examination or BSE. BSE is a woman’s first line of defense against breast cancer, and all women above 20 should do a monthly BSE to check for lumps. Don’t be under the impression that an annual examination from your family doctor is sufficient; cancerous lumps can develop slowly undetected over a period of time. And when the time comes for the next annual checkup it might be too late. So realize the importance of BSE and act now. Don’t know how to self-examine? Then hop on to this site.
We all have faced this problem of corns and calluses at some point of time or the other. During such times, we find it uneasy to stand properly or walk gracefully. As a result we tend to shuffle our feet too often and this attracts people’s attention to the sorry state of our feet though encased in beautiful footwear. This does not augur well for us and makes us cut a sorry figure in public. A woman with such problem feet can never look beautiful and graceful. So it is imperative that she attends to it at the earliest.
How are these corns formed?
Often these corns are formed as a result of wearing ill-fitting and inappropriate footwear. Corns are made of hard dead skin and they emerge as a protection against friction or pressure. They are easily recognized by the raised central core and red cuticles.
Corns are generally small and are formed on the toes, while calluses are bigger and generally develop on the soles of the feet and sometimes on the palms. These may or may not be painful at first, but there is always a danger that they may become painful at a later stage. Instead of using those over-the-counter corn-plasters which might result in blisters and ulcers and harm your skin, why not consider some of these simple and effective home remedies.
* No amount of clipping and hacking is going to make the corn go away if the pressure is still there. The reason for the hard skin must be found and the cause removed. Only then will it go away. This can be done by changing your shoes, if they are the culprits, or by using replaceable pads to wear inside the shoes which will help to keep pressure away.
* If you have a callus or a ridge of hard skin around your heels, you can soften the skin with warm water after a bath and use a pumice stone or a foot scrubber to gently rub it away. Remember to cream the area afterwards with Vaseline (petroleum jelly) or lanolin to make the skin supple. You can also try a gentle exfoliation with almond scrubs.
* You can also consider a gentle application of castor oil, coconut oil or olive oil on these spots regularly 3 to 4 times a day to soften them.
* Papaya fruit pulp or its juice can also be applied on the corns.
* Alternatively, dip a cotton bud into pure, undiluted lemon juice and keep on the corn. Saturate and rub gently a couple of times.
* Turmeric (haldi) powder which is known for its antiseptic properties should be mixed with honey or neem oil and applied on these corns.
* If they are probably bothering you too much then you might consider removing it professionally.
* Walking barefoot on sand sloughs off the dead cells and hardened masses of skin from your foot naturally. A regular walk at the beach might as well prevent the formation of corns or calluses. To conclude, let foot care be an integral part of your beauty routine to keep your feet looking good and healthy.
Burning incense and candles for long has been a part of religious ceremonies and rituals in Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and other major religions of the world. The pleasant aroma emanating from the smoldering incense sticks might send you into a state of ecstasy and trigger the spiritual mood in you but did you know that it causes the release of some harmful pollutants that is hazardous to your health?
To freshen up your face after a hot, humid day and cleanse it thoroughly, you need to apply a cleansing cream. A simple recipe for preparing an herbal cleansing cream is mentioned in that post. A still simpler, convenient and an inexpensive way to feel fresh and rid your face of all the gunk and grime is to wash it with this homemade face wash which is prepared with most of the ingredients from your kitchen pantry. Trust me, the fresh, clean feeling that you get after using this is akin to or even better than some of those expensive, over-hyped creams. Given below is another recipe for preparing your own cleansing cream. Lanolin Cleansing Cream
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of Vaseline (petroleum jelly)
1 tablespoon lanolin
5 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoon vegetable oil (preferably coconut oil)
½ cup distilled water (around 20-30 tbsp)
Method:
Melt lanolin and oil using the double boiling method. Boil distilled water and add this hot water slowly stirring continuously all the while. Remove from heat and beat the mixture well. You can preserve this cream in the refrigerator for upto 1 month.
Pic credits: fotosearch.com
October 10 is observed as World Mental Health Day. As we look around us, we see that mental disorders, stress and depression are on the rise; these are the by-products of modern living and a fast-paced lifestyle. There is a plethora of information available everywhere on how to manage stress and achieve better mental health. Don’t let this information overload to confuse you. You have to figure out for yourself what works best for you, there is no single right way of coping with a given situation or beating the blues. 
A woman, who is normally calm and courteous, shows a marked change in her behavior on certain days of the month. If she is the extrovert and outgoing type, she may become unduly rude and quarrelsome, make unreasonable demands, snap at family members, and find fault with people for minor reasons she would have otherwise overlooked.
If your weekly skin care routine includes an application of face masks and packs, then choose the ones meant for oily skin. 
Here are some masks for oily skin.
For a change, you can try using this mask made from fruit juices. Fruit juices work wonders on your skin.
Ingredients:
Sugar cane juice 1 cup
Orange juice 1 cup
Water melon juice 1 cup
Lemon juice ¼ cup
Method:
Mix all the juices and store it in a small glass bottle in the refrigerator. Whenever you want to apply this mask, mix this blend of juices with a little quantity of besan (gram-flour) and smear it over your face and neck. Keep it on for 15-20 minutes and then wash it off. Use this mask twice or thrice a week, depending on the greasiness of your skin. Ideally, application of certain face masks, should be a weekly affair, do not go overboard and make it a daily ritual. You will end up damaging your skin. Read about this in Home facial foul-ups.
Related:
How should you prepare your face for a mask?
Face packs for different skin types
The versatile Vaseline or petroleum jelly is well-known not just for soothing chapped lips or it’s supposed claims of lengthening eyelashes but has a variety of other useful and fun-filled applications as well.