Beauty and Personal Grooming

Coconut oil, due its high saturated fat content was branded as unhealthy and artery-clogging which could cause heart diseases. This claim has been widely disproved by the scientific community and it is now being hailed as one of world’s healthiest cooking oils. Though it may take time, perceptions are slowly changing as people are beginning to realize its tremendous benefits. Coconuts and coconut oil have always been a part of the cuisine in tropical countries like India (South) and Sri Lanka and even today coconut is indispensable in their diet. For now, let’s leave aside the health benefits and focus our attention on the beauty uses of this wonderful oil. South Indian women swear by it. They attribute their dense, long, raven black hair and a flawless , clear complexion to good genes and the liberal use of coconut oil in their diet and beauty regimen.

If you are on the lookout for brushing your teeth with some natural ingredients and herbs, then neem twigs, Tulsi (Basil ) powder, babool bark, dried orange peel powder are all good. Our ancestors who used these had strong teeth and they could chomp chikoos and sugarcane with equal ease. For a change if you would like to make your own toothpowder, then you here’s a simple recipe which I got to know from a naturopath. Try this if you can procure the ingredients. Ingredients: Tulsi (Basil) leaves powder -2 tbsp Neem leaves powder -2 tbsp Saindhav salt -2 tbsp Jatamansi -2 tbsp Ashes (Bhasma) of almond shells – 2 tbsp Roasted betelnut powder – 2 tbsp Cardamom (Elaichi) powder- 2 tsp Method: Grind all these to powder which is slightly coarse. Use this powder to brush your teeth in the morning and at night before you retire to bed. If you want you may also use it after every meal. This is supposed to help with disorders of teeth, including pyhorrhea. Re...

This winter I used a herbal face wash specially formulated for normal to dry skin . Normally I would have chosen a strong anti-bacterial face wash for my acne-prone, oily skin . But as I had mentioned in my previous post , this year the chilly winter air nearly altered my skin’s texture making it itchy and dry. That’s why, these days, I completely avoided using masks/scrubs having even the slightest drying effect. I wanted something gentle for my skin and so I purchased this Himalaya Herbals’ Gentle Face Wash Cream, meant for normal to dry skin . It has a creamy base and a lovely herbal aroma. And the best part -- it is enriched with the goodness of cool cucumber and moisturizing aloevera . Besides, it is hypoallergenic, does not contain harmful chemicals and is not tested on animals. I just squeezed a little of it on my palm and after moistening my face with water applied it in gentle, circular motions. Then I splashed cold water on my face to rinse it off. It did not ...

Though there are several factors leading to body odor, excessive perspiration is the most common cause. Read all about it in Body Odor – the ultimate social disaster . Here are some more effective home remedies to combat body odour: * Try bathing with water to which alum is added. * Add 3 cups of tomato juice in your bath tub and soak yourself in it. * Bathe at least twice a day in summer if you live in tropical countries. * Wash your armpits with a good quality body wash or use a home made bath powder like this for scrubbing. * You can also use baking soda as deodorant. * Or you could even use cornstarch instead. * Turnip juice also helps. Grate a turnip and extract the juice. Strain it through a cheese cloth and wash your armpits with this. * If you are comfortable with wheat grass juice therapy, you might try taking around 500 mg of wheat grass juice daily on an empty stomach or the first thing in the morning. This helps a lot in reducing body odor. * Apple ...

You have zits all over your face and desperately yearn for a clear complexion. You also love listening to music. Then this is the gadget that will fulfill both your needs. A Tokyo based company has come up with a weird MP3 player which claims to zap pimples instantly. According to this source , it’s a pretty ordinary 1.2-ounce mpion MP3 player that holds only 128MB of music (approx 20 mins), but promises to clear your face of zits while pumping melodious tunes into your ears. Apparently, you have to touch the device to the offending area as you listen to tunes, flip the switch to minus, and hold for 5-10 minutes. Allegedly, the negative ions open pores and replenish moisture. Then you have to flip it to positive and hold to reduce oil and close your pores back up. The price is rather steep and it costs around 21000 yen, which works out to about $185. Does this gadget actually work on pimples? Absolutely, no idea.

I love early morning showers . It perks me up and keeps me energized and refreshed for the whole day. To hydrate and soothe my skin during bathing, I used Lux Silk Nourishment Body wash . It is packaged with the goodness of creamy yoghurt, honey and olive extracts and costs only Rs.40 for a 125 ml bottle . You also get a free loofah with it to make your bathing experience more enriching. You have to just pour a few drops on the wet loofah and gently rub it all over your skin in circular motions. It works up loads of rich creamy lather, so you need to use only a little of it; hence very economical. It definitely left my skin moisturized and soft after use but didn’t give a super silky feel as it claimed. But I have to admit that this body wash is much, much better than the other drying soaps that I have used before. The fragrance isn’t particularly strong, but it isn’t so pleasant either. That’s fine with me as it lasted only till I was done with my shower. Take your pic...

We all know that the skin around the eyes is the thinnest while that on the soles of our feet is the thickest . However this does not in any way make the skin on the soles immune to problems. In fact, our feet are often bugged by problems of corns and calluses due to one reason or the other. Vagaries of seasons also take their toll. In monsoons , for instance, excessive moisture collected around the toes causes fungal infections . Winters are no good as they tend to give cracked soles and feet .