How to take care of eye area? {Eye Care}

I hardly talk about eye care separately. Honestly, I have never really bothered using any particular eye cream or took special care of my eyes. So, consequently, hardly any post was dedicated to it. But, then, sometimes when I am low on moisturizing, I notice that the fine lines around my eyes become very pronounced.

And, consequently, it would add a year or two to my age :D So, then, I would get around to moisturizing again. So, I thought I would list down a few things I could follow on a regular basis, not making my routine very involved or crammed with lot of serums.

Sunscreen and Shades

Huh...have you ever skipped on a sunscreen and checked out how your skin looks in a few days? Trust me, you do not want to do that!!

Btw, while applying sunscreen on the eye area, make sure you use your ring finger and pat the area around instead of rubbing the sunscreen in. Try to apply 2-3 coats!!

And, unless you are specy, you could do well with investing in shades. And, not forget to wear it as well. I know people who do!  

Moisturize 

Almond oil has worked the best for me till date but I do keep on using some or the other random oil - just a drop of it, however.

Of course, if you have decided preference towards eye creams, go for it and do not forget it even for a day.

Dark Circles, Dryness or Wrinkles

Again, almond oil will be my answer.  And, the best part is it helps with eyelashes as well :)

Puffy Eyes

It happens rarely with me but I simply splash lot of cold water on my eyes and rest my eyes a lot so they gradually lose their puffiness.

Drinking a lot of water or intake of salt at night results in puffy eyes so avoid doing that unless you have been drying your eyes out in which case the remedy would be to be happy :) 

Clear Bright Eyes

Well, for starters, some are just blessed with the clear bright baby eyes and for those who are not, follow all the above advises and get good sleep. For the starters, its only a good night sleep which makes my skin look hydrated and young.

And, of course, washing eyes in the morning is a very important ritual, not only to clean them but also to wake you up! Probably a walk in the morning sunlight will help as well. And, keep strict technology off-limit times in your daily schedule.

How do you take care of your eyes?

Related Posts:

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Homemade Cleanser for Eyes

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From the Archives : Oil Cleansing Method {DIY}

So continuing in the same series, let me bring this long lost post. This is one of the very much recommended beauty practices for both oily and dry skin beauties. It helps with tan removal to acne healing. And, its amazing as it removes makeup and cleanses the skin and detoxifies it. Since it is a little intense treatment for the skin, it should be done only once or AT MAX twice a week. 

Yes, by the name, you can make out it uses oil. So, please do not be afraid or prejudiced. I have always maintained that oil is amazing for skin when you know how to use them and which ones to use. So, here is a tip - Always use cold-pressed and extra-virgin or virgin oils whether it is olive or coconut or almond or sesame. Also, sesame oil is the one which is recommended heavily in ayurveda as apparently it is the only oil which can pass into the blood stream. Anyways, let us start with the post and please let me know of the doubts and clarifications.

A few days ago I had talked about OIL CLEANSING. Well, let me introduce to you something which I stumbled across a few days ago. I tried it and trust me, its amazing. I do not know how well it removes make up but it makes your skin squeaky clean without drying it. Rather, it leaves your skin smooth and supple. And, your skin glows the next day. You would love yourself.

It removes makeup fantastically as any oil would. 

Before proceeding, let me give a little background into OCM method. Oil is said to dissolve all the grime and dirt and dead skin cells and blackheads and what not. So, in this method, we especially use castor oil because castor has the most cleansing properties of all oils. Since castor is a drying oil and is extremely thick and concentrated it is not advisable to use it naked on the skin. It should be diluted with some other oil. Many people in the west prefer olive but I would suggest almond or coconut or sesame. No personal grudges with olive but it is something I do not really find amazing. If it works for you, go ahead!

Procedure:

• Start by keeping everything close to you. You would need a dry smooth cotton wash cloth (not too harsh for your skin), a bottle containing castor oil and olive oil mixed in a proportion suitable to your skin* oils and running hot water.
• Apply oil generously to your face and neck skin and massage it well the oil into your skin well using firm hands for around 5-10 minutes. It feels relaxing and is soothing for your face muscles. Exercise your cheek bone, jaw bone, nose, chin, forehead and eyes (use ring finger for eyes). The finger movements should be outwards and upwards towards the ear from the chin, cheeks, nose and upper lip area.
• After massaging to your heart's content, soak the wash cloth in hot running water and cover the face apply it on to your face. Keep the warmth of wash cloth to the point you can bear. Make sure the cloth is not too hot and let the warmth seep into your skin. Keep it on the face until it cools down. Then, wipe your face to remove the oil. You will find a lot of oil gone from the face. Wash the wash cloth in running hot water and repeat this step until all the oil is wiped off from the face and neck. Use the same wash cloth.
• Wash and soak the same wash cloth under hot running water for sometime to clean it and saturate it. Again apply it your face, keep till it cools and then, wipe away your face. Repeat this cycle till you feel your skin is clean. 3-4 times should be enough. 
• After you are done, DO NOT use any facewash. You can apply moisturizer according to the need of your skin. In place of moisturizer, you can apply a drop of the same oil used to cleanse your face. If it does not feel dry and tight, do not apply anything on to your face. Your face needs to breathe. Go and have a nice sleep.

Next morning, you need not cleanse your face. A wipe with a wash cloth or a splash of cold water is enough to clean it. Your skin would be glowing. Oil cleansing not only removes grime, dirt and make up from your face, but also, the blackheads and blemishes. This procedure should not be done too frequently. I think 2-3 times is fine in a week. Care should be taken not to scratch the skin.

Go and check it out for yourself. Have a happy cleansing.

* Remember, castor oil is quite thick and can be drying for the skin if used in large quantities. It has cleansing properties but is too strong on skin if used alone. That is why you need another light oil to dilute it. You can also use jojoba oil. For the mixture of oil, you can use 75-25 castor-olive oil combination for normal skin. You can experiment with different proportions till you find the one suiting your face.  The proportion of mixture should be such that for dry skin people, castor oil should be less in proportion like 50-50 or 60-50 and people with oily skin can have 80-20 as the proportion. But, since every skin is different in its needs, you should find out the right one for yourself. It would take trial and error but remember one rule, do not use too much of castor oil. It will dry your skin irrespective of its type.

PS: Italicized and striked paragraphs/sentences are new additions. Rest of the post is as it was published earlier. 

Olay Total Effects 7 in One cream + serum duo SPF 15 {Product Review}

I am doing this review as a part of blogadda program so I had to use it for 7 days and post the review. Unfortunately, the clever me totally skipped that part of the deal!!

So, here goes a quick review of the product and I am extremely sorry for the inconvenience caused to whomsoever it may concern. Also, please note that I have not tried the product for a month as I regularly do!

Price: Rs 369 for 20gms

Pros

gets absorbed into the skin easily!

doesn't feel heavy on skin!

prevents skin from getting dull!

Cons

does not really stand tall on all it claims!!

My Experience

Well, for the starters, I do not like the fact that it has spf 15. Since it is an anti-aging product which is a cream-serum combo, it should have either been a night cream (I am sure Olay has something in that category as well) or have a higher sun protection factor if it was intended for morning use.

Anyways, a moisturizer should not be used as a sunscreen so it works out perfectly. The product is really light on the skin provided you don't tend to overuse.

A pea-size drop is enough to cover face and neck. It gets absorbed into the skin within seconds without leaving any greasy feeling. And, the result is a well-hydrated skin. 

Given that I have not been taking care of my skin prior to the arrival of this product, I did see some laugh lines along the mouth. The proper moisturizing from the product did help smoothen them. They are still there but less visible because of supple skin. 

One thing I noticed since I started with this product was that my skin was not getting dull by the end of the day which it had started to when it was peak summers. May be it is this product or the weather itself! Hyderabad has been awesome lately :)

the seven claims! please click on the pic to enlarge and read them and i am sorry to not get a clear pic! next time I shall do better!

But, sine the main ambition of the product is to address seven signs of aging, let me talk about how it fares on those grounds. The pic above shows the seven effects and it also claims to give more fairness. 

Honestly, I do not think I saw any difference on those seven claims! I have a few fine lines under the eye on which there was no effect but then it has been just like 10-14 days I have been using the product! Wrinkles need little more time to improve!

On grounds of even skin tone, I do not think I saw anything either. When I apply the product, it helps brighten the skin but that is that! It does not lighten the skin tone or anything. 

I have few dark spots on the neck but unfortunately there is no improvement in them either! Now, there is change in the skin pores. When skin is adequately moisturized, pores do seem less in size so that is the only change I have seen! 

One thing more I have noticed is that the effects of the product are visible only as long as you keep on applying it. So, I think the product would be more effective when it is used along with its night time counterpart!

can you see the yellow ribbons in the product? that's the serum at work!!

My Verdict

The product is worth being tried once. It might be a good moisturizer for all those who are searching for one! And, it can be used on oily or combination skin as well!!

Have you tried out this product? Do share your experiences!

I am trying out Olay Total Effects as a part of the product review program at BlogAdda.com

  

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