5 Tips for Autumn and Winter Skin Care {Five Series}

So, winter is almost at the door step and autumn has already made the air pretty dry. The climate of Hyderabad is dry and it just gets more and more drier and sitting in AC doesn't really help!!! Couple of days back, I felt my skin was getting stretchy even after applying loads of moisturizers. So, how did I overcome that? Check out.

Good Cleanser

A gentle, SLS-free cleanser has really helped with the hydration levels of my skin. Recently, I tried out an SLS-based face wash for review purposes and I was amazed at the difference it made to my skin. My skin felt dried up and starved of moisture.

Hydrating Moisturizer

I did realize in this entire process that simply using loads of moisturizer doesn't really help. A hydrating moisturizer is the need of the day. So, I used my trusted aloevera gel and it worked!!! Yup, try to get a water-based gel moisturizers. There are loads in the market, especially, from big brands.

Exfoliation

Yes, something which I have NOT been doing but its extremely important. Dead skin cells are more during colder and drier months so a hydrating scrub is very effectively in preserving the lipid barriers of the skin. Raw Sugar or Jaggery works out the best for me.

Oils

Yes, I know you are afraid of oils but not oils are really oily and using correct amount of oil is very necessary. A drop or two is generally enough. And, there are loads of facial and body oils these days which do wonders for the skin.

My recommendation would be a drop or two of Apricot Oil which goes on skin like silk and makes skin amazingly soft and NO grease either. I do wanna use other amazing oils like rosehip and such and will report back after I use them ;) And, by the way, the oily skin gals can also use oils.

Layering

This is one of the tips which is really effective. Sometimes, products used can be ineffective on their own, especially for dry skins!!! So, layering helps a lot. I do that sometimes for both my face and body. The aloevera gel goes first and then I use a drop or two of any facial oil. Similarly, a body oil coupled with a great body lotion helps the body.

Please remember that all the above tips apply all over the body and not just the exposed parts. So, follow them and enjoy the soft skin this winters :) And, I am so excited for winters. Its my favorite-st climate :D How do you keep your skin protected in winters?

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My Hair Diary - September 2013

So, this month also I did not really concentrate on my hair. I got a hair cut in August and now I am just trying to prevent the split ends. I did not even oil my hair religiously. Its more of a washing your hair routine after coming from the office.

I hate sleeping with oil on my hair coz it stains the pillows and everything badly. And, most of the time, I wash my hair on the weekdays so there was no time for pampering. Also, I tried to use a shampoo which was totally not suiting me. Its not worth talking about so lets skip it but it did give me hair fall while I used it.

So, once I stopped using it, my hair was back to normal. So, if you are looking to change your shampoo be very very sure. Also, I have ordered Organic Surge shampoo back again as it had suited me so well. And, I am loving the conditioner as well. I can suggest it but I am not gonna review it anytime soon.

Yes, one treatment which I gave my hair in this last month was regularly using aloevera gel on the scalp and the body of the hair instead of using any oil. Why? Well, one is for a change and second, I think the oil was weighing my hair down the next day.

But, I would absolutely suggest this aloevera gel treatment. It gives such a beautiful definition to your curls and following with a drop of oil leaves your hair bouncy and next day the hair does not even end up weighed down. And, the hair is sooooooooo soft to touch.

What products I used?

• Shampoo - Kamini Shampoo

• Conditioner - Kamini Conditioner + Organic Surge Color Protect Conditioner

• Hair Oil - Vaadi Herbals Amla Oil

• Hair Treatment and Styling - Aloevera Gel

So, how is your hair doing now? 

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From the Archives : Aloevera for Hair : a quickfix {DIY}

As you all know, I swear by aloevera anytime of the day for hair. This was a tip I had found works really great when I had been at home and was trying out aloevera gel on my hair. I realized that applying aloevera gel is really messy but the gel dries off after a little while leaving really soft and really shiny hair. 

The best part is you can use the aloevera gel on the not-freshly washed hair to give it bounce! It can be applied everyday as well and you can use essential oils as well.

Also, when removing the gel from the leaf, the yellow parts or the green sticky messy parts should be avoided and only the clear gel be removes otherwise they get tangled in the hair.  

A quick fix to make your hair beautiful and style it in a short time is to apply Aloevera gel. Take a little of Aloevera according to your hair length in the palms and apply it to the hair. Massage some of it into the scalp and apply the rest on the hair. Pay special attention to the ends. Aloevera makes the hair sticky till it gets absorbed into the hair so you can style your hair in the mean time. It takes around 5-15 minutes for aloevera to get absorbed into the hair and does not weigh your hair down. After getting absorbed, Aloevera makes your hair shiny and bouncy.

Aloevera conditions your hair, makes hair smooth and soft and protects it from sun. It also stimulates hair growth if used on a regular basis. Aloevera can be used to moisturize hair. It is a natural humectant like honey and retains moisture. It can also be used on a daily basis. The gel from the plant can be applied directly on the hair. If bought from store, ensure that aloevera is pure and does not contain artificial additives.

Have you applied aloevera gel on your hair?

PS: The italicized paragraphs are the new updates. Rest of the post is same as it was originally published. 

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How to treat a water burn? {Skin Care}

So, on Thursday evening, I inadvertently placed my hand under a running hot water tap and the water was scalding hot. And, it burned my hand for almost a second. But, that was itself enough to burn the hand.

And, that was when I realized that how much can an acid burn scorch the body! The skin on the top wasn't affected at all. I didn't get any peeling or any blisters but under the skin it was burning like hell!!

Anyways, I tried out quite a few remedies to improve the condition. Let me discuss them.

Aloevera Gel

Incidentally, when my hand burnt, I didn't really care much for it. I went on with my usual activities of having bath and getting relaxed in the evening, all with a burning hand. Then, I applied the Rustic Art aloevera gel.

But, honestly, it didn't really help much. It was cool for a second and back to square one next! Though, I don't really think it is meant to help with deeper burns! May be aloevera gel from leaf helps though can't say much but it does soothe superficial burns.

Ice and Iced Water

Well, this was my savior. I have, god knows, wasted how much water that day. But, keeping cold ice on the hand wasn't really easy either. It hurts equally. This I did when I told my mom about my burnt hand.

And, later, when I was going to bed, I wrapped my hand with wash cloth soaked in ice water. This I kept on changing till I slept off. I kept a very huge bowl of cold water by the bed to dip the hand if I felt any burning. Fortunately, I slept off.

Toothpaste

Not the gel ones but the regular white toothpaste. I did apply quite a bit of it but I don't really think it helped me at all.

Vinegar diluted in Water

Apparently, this helps! Vinegar acts as a painkiller so if you get a painful burn, you can bathe the burn with water diluted with vinegar. I did pour some vinegar once into the iced water I was using but can't say how much helpful it was.

Sensitivity after the Burn

Ok, those were the few things I did. Honestly, had not my friend insisted so much on the ice water, I would probably have let go of the remedies after an hour only :D

Anyways, the next morning when I got up, I was expecting my skin to be peeling off from the hand but fortunately there was not even a small blister over there. No redness, no scar, nothing!

The only thing was the area was bloody sensitive and if it touched water, I would feel a discomfort. And, I was irritated the entire day because of the slight discomfort I was feeling in the hand.

So, one thing I learnt from the story was that you can burn yourself anytime so always keep a burnol or something else at hand so that it really helps. Once, I remember, a drop of oil fell on my hand when I was frying something. I didn't do anything and the scar is still there!

So, have you burnt yourself ever? How did you deal with it?

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Do you get boils on your nose bridge or around in summers? {Your Opinion}

This question is primarily for people who wear glasses. Do the nose pads irritate your skin?

Come summers and this problem gets aggravated for me. The sweat and the heat and constant pressure on the bridge of the nose due to the nose pads creates little bubbles or boils on the skin. And, it constantly hurts me.

The only relief I get is by removing the specs but since I do not use contacts it is definitely difficult. If I sit in air conditioning or in a cool place, it provides little relief. But, if the area has been already inflamed, it hardy helps!! The only remedy to this problem is to remove the glasses and use ice on the boils! And, applying aloevera also helps.

Have you ever faced such problem? What do you do to prevent skin from getting inflamed by friction?

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Have you tried Aloe Vera? {Skin Care}

Yup, I know you would have already used it. I have also been recommending aloe vera since ages. But, today, I am going to talk about my friend's routine with aloe vera which she is very diligent about.

She is from Delhi and surprisingly she did not find aloe vera plant in Hyderabad. Really, right? Nah, aloe vera is easily available here but she or rather we were too lazy to buy a plant and nurture it.

Also, keeping an aloe vera plant among girls can dry it faster than a rose plant in a desert :D Well, obvious, no? Granted that aloe vera plant is quite adaptable but still you get my point! Anyways, coming back to my friend, she got lotsssss of aloevera leaves from home and keeps them stored in the fridge. 

And, almost every evening or once in three days (I don't know the frequency), she takes a small piece of the leaf and rubs the entire gel on her face for like 30 minutes or so while watching television. 

And, then, she rolls off all the extra pieces or small sticky things present in the leaf which cling to the skin and lets the gel get absorbed entirely. And, she sleeps just like that without washing it off.

Results? S attests to the fact that this is one of the reasons why her oily skin turned normal. She is prone to pimples but fortunately its frequency has decreased. And, as I said, she does this very very diligently!!

So, for all the oily beauties, try this and you might get lucky! Also, for all skin types, aloe vera improves hydration of the skin and makes the skin glowing and really supple!! This is one of the great skin care tips for summer as well.

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