Beauty and Personal Grooming

One ingredient homemade face masks - really? Yes, you can have a delightful, home spa experience with minimal ingredients - in fact with the usage of only 1 ingredient, a single ingredient from your kitchen pantry or your kitchen garden!

Nature’s bounty provides us with a galaxy of things that we can use to beautify ourselves. For thousands of years, Indian women have been aware of this and have made the most of them for their beauty routines. Grandmother’s Pandora’s Box of beauty tricks consisted of many natural ingredients which are commonly available. While fruits, flowers and vegetables are often used in different beauty recipes, leaves are also invaluable as beauty aids . These include mostly leaves of mint, lemon, tulsi, henna, neem, drumsticks, lettuce etc.

Cornstarch , or cornflour (makkai ka atta) , is the starch of the maize grain, commonly known as corn. According to Dee Anna Glaser, MD, associate professor of dermatology at St. Louis University school of medicine, Cornstarch is one of the best home remedies to prevent irritated skin , as it relieves chafing by forming a protective absorbent layer between you and the outside world. With less friction, the irritation lessens when the skin rubs against itself or something else. Dr Glaser further says that you can also reduce the amount of moisture that normally develops over the course of a day by sprinkling odor-prone areas with cornstarch.

Activated charcoal (not the black stuff you’d use to fire up a barbeque by the way) seems to be a buzzword these days, and if you haven’t started reaping the benefits of carbon yet, this post will show you why you need to rethink the possibilities. Pic Credits: Wikipedia The fact that activated charcoal powder is widely used as a detoxifier and an antidote to poison, means that it has the ability to clean up your skin, but it can also work wonders when used in and around the home.

Everyone knows that the basis of every beautiful makeup design is healthy, glowing skin, especially if you’re preparing for your wedding day. A facial mask from a spa can be one of the best ways to achieve radiant skin, but who has the money or the time? Try one, or all, of these easy DIY facial masks to improve your skin and feel great, whether you’re getting married soon or just don’t feel that your skin is as healthy as it could be.

Introduction Not all of us have enough of free time to visit beauty salons that often as we would like. May be it’s because we have to spend our free time taking care of kids, having to work overtime, or just want to spend that free time with our beloved ones.  It’s only natural then that we will not be able to take regular care of our skin during those times, especially not having the skin tone we want. Some of the problems you want to get rid of may include: Dull skin complexion Dark circles under the eyes Uneven skin tone If you can connect yourself with these problems, then you should try some of these homemade skin lightening treatments which will surely help you. Not only will you save precious time, but you will also save plenty of money you would usually spend on products.

Winter is one season that tends to affect our skin badly. Winter tends to rob our skin of moisture and leaves us with flaky, dry and patchy skin. However there are ways to combat it with homemade beauty aids. Read through the posts My winter skin care routine , Winter skin care at home , Caring for your skin through the winter chill and other articles from the category Winter .

Did you know that there are so many easy hacks to getting salon like perfect skin in few minutes? When you are getting ready to go to a party or to impress that special someone, you need to look your perfect best.

In one of the earlier posts, I had blogged about how Zimbabweans make use of okra (Bhindi) as a homemade beauty aid to drive away wrinkles . Now I'd like to share another such DIY recipe with okra that can actually improve the skin's complexion. In fact, okra, also called as lady's finger isn't the only ingredient used, a few other veggies and a wonder spice like cumin / jeera is also included.     

Women accept to try everything that can improve the state of their skin. One of the modern effective remedies is a facial. Nowadays the application of face-packs is especially popular beauty procedure.  Up-to-date face-packs can be manufactured on the basis of ordinary stuff (fruits, rice) and more exotic stuff (gemstones and pearls, silver and gold, diamonds). All of them have rejuvenating properties and offer prospects of permanent youth to the skin.   A lexeme “exotic” means rare and lovely but face-packs should not be scarce. Exotic face-packs consist of seldom applied ingredients because of their limited quantity. Facials have to ameliorate the health and beauty of skin. Bear in mind that our skin is a natural protective barrier from the environmental elements and therefore it should be cared and nourished. If you want to conduce to brilliant stretchy skin, then you should apply one of the existing exotic facials. Natural ingredients will have a startling effect o...

Flawless, unblemished and even-toned skin is something which every woman desires. However when your facial skin is marred by dark spots and discoloration, it naturally affects your self-esteem. Patchy skin and hyperpigmentation can be due to various reasons. Melasma also called as pregnancy mask occurs during pregnancy due to hormonal changes and it could persist even after your delivery. Other causes are due to post pimple marks, use of birth control pills, exposure to the sun without using proper sunscreen, freckles , age spots etc. Some types of discolorations can be due to burns and or bad habits such as pinching or plucking your skin or incorrect use of tweezers while removing facial hair. Flickr photos by sicchickk71

When it comes to looking beautiful, one of the best accessories that we have is our skin. Therefore, we have to make sure to be as proactive as we possibly can about preserving it; one way to do so is by getting a facial on a consistent basis. Aside from the fact that facial masks are a wonderful way to pamper yourself, it's also great for deep cleansing your skin, tightening up your pores and providing moisture in your extra dry places.

Accentuate your assets with homemade beauty essentials for skin, hair and nails. Using only a handful of ingredients – some of which you probably already have on hand – you can create inexpensive, chemical-free formulas that nourish naturally. You’ll instantly feel chic for saving money, and doing your body good!

If you've ever stood at the beauty section and wondered why hair masks are so expensive, then you have a reason to be confused.  While name brand products can cost a hefty pile of money, the truth is that you can get the same, if not better, results on your own with just a few regular ingredients you will normally have in the fridge and pantry.  Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't take a big time investment to make your own hair masks and the natural ingredients you use will be much more beneficial for the long term health of your hair than the chemical additives found in store-bought products that can strip and damage your hair over time.  Here are a few ideas to make your own hair mask and create a healthy hair shine at only a fraction of the cost.

After a long hard day at work, when you return home the first thing you would want to do is wash your face. And why not! The dust, grime and grease accumulated on your face in the course of the day due to pollution and other factors weighs you down and you just want to get rid of that muck once and for all. The gentle splash of cold water on your face and eyes does the trick and  perks you up to feel clean, refreshed and relaxed both physically and mentally. Now when you are tired and eager to wash your face , concocting a DIY recipe would be the last thing on your mind and you would naturally reach for that store-bought face wash, cleanser or soap. But then the results would not be as dramatic as the below mentioned yogurt one or this tried and tested homemade face wash . (The latter one can be prepared well in advance and stored for months together.)

If you love to whip up your own DIY homemade beauty rec i pes , then these beauty tips & secrets from Zimbabwe are a must-read. With mundane ingredients such as lemon and okra , Zimbabwean women prepare wonderful health drinks and exotic masks that help erase fine lines and wrinkles to reveal smooth, supple skin.

  Thailand is a beautiful country and a popular vacation spot. Thai women are counted amongst world's most beautiful women. They have porcelain perfect skin with smooth, even-toned, radiant complexion, silky hair and gorgeous nails . What's the secret of their good looks and how do they retain their youthful looks even in their advancing years? One of the reasons is that they sip lots of antioxidant rich Green Tea , consume omega-3 fatty acids rich sea food and gulp down lots of vegetable & fruit   juices . Secondly, they rely on traditional beauty tips and  concoct their own DIY beauty recipes with natural ingredients that gives them the most astounding results. 

20's was the time when you had smooth, supple skin . But once you are on the threshold of 30's , time slowly begins wreaking havoc and your facial skin shows the earliest signs of sagging. It's at this point of time that you need to use anti-aging skin care products more stringently, mostly if you had neglected skin care in your late twenties . It's not necessary to shell thousands of bucks on fancy sounding high-end products to look good, especially if you are managing everything  on a shoe-string budget . Home-remedies &  face masks with inexpensive ingredients from your kitchen and garden can do the job equally well. Recipes for these DIY beauty aids are also quick and simple to create at home. The below mentioned Homemade Skin Tightening  Masks have worked wonders on my skin. There's no reason, why it shouldn't work for you. Use these once in a week.

It's so sad that most superfoods touted as healthy and nutritious aren't pleasant-tasting, while fried and junk food are so delectable that everyone loves to gorge on them.  Green tea, a beverage of choice of most-health conscious people is no exception and tastes awful. I mostly drink it because it has immense health benefits. To enhance its taste, and well, make it more potable, you might want to add a little milk and sugar to it. After all, as a nation of tea-drinkers, for most Indians drinking tea without milk is unthinkable. Junk food looks enticing and is so delectable