Life

A to Z Guide To Natural Beauty

Everything you need to know about natural beauty products.

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No amount of makeup can make you look beautiful unless you have created an inner glow of radiant health. Feed your body internally
with anti-oxidants found in fresh vegetables and fruits and externally by
applying nutritious packs on the skin.

A

Acne This skin
disease is caused by excessive secretion from the grease glands, which blocks
openings in the skin, giving rise to pimples. Apply a paste of one teaspoon
mint leaves with one teaspoon of sandalwood powder and a pinch of camphor to
the face and wash after 20 minutes with plain water.

B

Body Odor If you
suffer from foul smelling sweat, pay special attention to personal cleanliness.
Bathe twice a day with a good antiseptic soap. If you sweat in your armpits,
dust them with boric acid powder, mixed with equal quantity of good scented
powder of your choice. A glass of coriander leaf juice mixed with lime juice
helps reduce body odor as it is rich in chlorophyll, which has a powerful
deodorizing effect and also removes toxins from the blood.

C

 

Chapped Skin The best
remedy is to keep it well moisturized always. Before sleeping, wash and wipe
face until almost dry, then spread some petroleum jelly over the skin. Apply
petroleum jelly on the skin in the morning. Instead of soap, cleanse your skin
with good cleansing milk during bath, followed by a lather of moisturizer.

D

Dandruff This
disorder of the scalp appears in the form of white flakes in your hair. A good
conditioner for preventing dandruff in any season is plain yoghurt. Once
weekly, massage yoghurt into your hair, let soak for half hour, then wash off
with mild shampoo. For dry dandruff, massage a mix of one lime and one egg
white on scalp, soak for half hour, then wash off with baby shampoo. For
greasy, sticky dandruff, soak egg-lime mix for 1 hour, then wash with mild
shampoo.

E

Eyes Rest and
exercise is very important for healthy, bright and sparkling eyes. Splash your
eyes with tap water several times a day to remove impurities. To relax tired
eyes, dip cotton wool pads in chilled ice water and place on your eyes for 10
minutes in dark room for an instant relaxed feeling.

F

Foul Breath The
culprit here is tooth decay. Food particles caught in the cavities of broken
teeth create bacteria, which gives rise to a foul smell. To reduce foul breath,
wash and rinse your mouth thoroughly after every meal; gargle with warm water
and salt solution both in the morning and night; clean tongue; avoid foods like
onions, garlic and radishes. Peppermint tea, yoghurt and Vitamins B and C help
cure bad breath.

G

Greasy Skin To reduce the greasiness of the skin, wash
frequently with a good medicated soap and water. Avoid spicy, oily and junk
foods. Consume fresh fruits and vegetables and fruit juices. Use chilled eau-
de-cologne on the face as it acts as an astringent. Apply apple pack one to
three times weekly. Grate an apple and mix a few drops of lime juice; apply to
face for 20 minutes, then wash off.

H

Home Made cosmetics
Effective cosmetics can be made at home from ingredients found in the kitchen.

 

Egg Mask for wrinkles. Break egg and separate egg white.
Beat yolk and apply over your face and neck. When mask turns a little stiff,
beat egg white, mix few drops of glycerin and rose water and apply over top of
egg yolk. Wait till completely dry. Remove with lukewarm water, then splash
cold water. Repeat weekly for several weeks.

Lettuce lotion for greasy skin. Extract the juice of a
lettuce and mix with equal amount of lime juice. Apply to face and neck for
half hour before bath.

Carrot tonic for smooth skin. To 1/4 teaspoon of carrot
juice add one teaspoon of honey. Apply on face and remove after 15 minutes.
Repeat once weekly for silky smooth skin.

Make your own oil. Grind dry coconut to paste. Cook over
slow fire until oil settles at top and residue settles at bottom. Add essence
of rose or lavender.

I

Itching To combat
itching, apply a paste of basil and neem leaves.

J

Jaded skin To make
jaded, tired looking skin sparkle, apply paste of 1 teaspoon each of ground
oats , sandalwood powder, orange peel powder, honey and yoghurt for 20 minutes
two times a week on skin . Wash with plain water and splash on rose water.

K

Knees For rough
skinned knees, massage syrup of sea salt, teaspoon of lime juice and water
massage on knees regularly.

L

Lovely Lips Unlike
the skin on the rest of your face, the skin on your lips is not equipped with
oil glands and therefore can crack, peel or chap. For rosy pink lips, grind a
red rose to a paste, mix in milk cream and apply on lips. For peeled and
cracked lips, mix pure ghee with a pinch of common salt and apply on lips at
night.

M

Mane care Here’s the
lowdown for healthy, thick and shining hair. Trim hair every three months,
otherwise the split-ends will make your hair brittle, leading to breakage. Wash
with mild shampoo regularly. Massage your hair at least once a week to
encourage hair growth with four tablespoons honey, two tablespoon olive oil and
two teaspoons lime juice. Let sit for half hour and wash with mild shampoo for
healthy hair with shine and vitality.

N

Nails Once a week
keep your nails free of polish to allow them to breathe natural air. Wear
gloves when using detergents, as chemicals in detergents can give rise to nail
deformities.

O

Open pores A good
remedy for open pores is to rub half teaspoon of lime juice mixed with ¼
teaspoon of orange juice and milk on the skin.

P

Pleasant Voice Take a teaspoon of honey with a teaspoon of
tulsi juice. For sudden hoarseness hum for a while, which warms up the muscles
and lubricates the voice.

Q

Quick Beauty Fixes If
you discover a pimple on your face before heading to a party, apply your saliva
on it. In a few hours the boil will burst, squeeze out the pus and clean the
pimple with an antiseptic. Apply powder on it and then cover with a dot of
black eyeliner.

For unruly hair, wash hair with flat beer, tie it up in a
pony tail or a French knot.

 

Here is how to perform a temporary repair job on a cracked
nail. First fill the crack with a base coat. When it dries, moisten a tiny
piece of tissue with the base coat, place on the crack and apply another layer
of base coat.

R

Rashes Most commonly
seen on elbows, face, knees and wrists, rashes start by inflaming the skin,
followed by intense itching and burning. The main culprits behind rashes are
allergies from cosmetics or food. 400 units of Vitamin E taken daily works
wonders on rashes. Six tablets of Brewers yeast consumed daily cures itching
and swelling and turns the skin smooth and beautiful. Sandalwood lotion applied
on the skin once or twice a day also offers relief from rashes.

S

Skin care For glossy,
radiant and beautiful skin you need a daily skin care routine. Apply a lotion
of one tablespoon milk or coconut milk, a pinch of turmeric powder and a drop
of almond oil on the face and neck in circular upwards movements using your
fingertips and wipe off with damp cotton. Immediately after cleansing the face,
apply chilled rose water, whose evaporating and cooling action causes the pores
to shrink temporarily, serving as a skin toner.

T

Teeth For healthy
teeth, floss regularly. Brush at least twice a day, once after getting up from
sleep and before going to sleep at night. Eat foods rich in calcium,
phosphorus, and Vitamins C and D. For bright white teeth, brush with 1 teaspoon
salt mixed with a little soda bicarbonate and lime juice. Strawberries are also
excellent teeth whiteners and cleansers. Just rub a sliced strawberry on your
teeth daily.

U

Under eye dark
circles
The dark circles under the eyes are caused by blood vessels under the
skin. Apply grated potato, mixed with lime juice and powdered milk, on the
darkened areas for 20 minutes every day and wash off.

V

Vitamins and Beauty
Vitamins aid the body to be healthy, attractive, slim and trim. Vitamin A is
useful for maintaining a clear, bright and youthful complexion. Good sources of
this vitamin are carrots, bananas, papayas, apples, mustard greens and leafy
vegetables. Vitamin B2 not only prevents pigmentation of the skin and wrinkles,
but also prevents early graying of the hair. It can be found in yeast, yoghurt,
buttermilk, etc. Vitamin C is believed to make the skin appear vigorous and
fresh and also mends skin tissues. Natural sources of this vitamin are Indian
goose berries, tomatoes and oranges.

W

Wrinkles Dry skin
around the eyes, the mouth and the neck gives rise to wrinkles. To remove
wrinkles, every alternate day apply a paste of one tablespoon of mashed papaya,
1 teaspoon each of milk cream, honey and milk powder to the face and wash off
after 20 minutes. Protein deficiency also leads to the wrinkling of the skin.
Good sources of proteins are mutton, chicken, eggs, beans, lentils, soya beans
and especially yoghurt. Two times a week also apply a banana pack. Mash a ripe
banana into a paste, mix with heavy cream and apply on face. Remove after 20
minutes to reduce dryness and fine lines.

X

Xercise The best way
to maintain your health and stay fit is to exercise regularly, which improves
circulation, tones the muscles and improves lung functions. Stretching keeps
the body firm and makes you look graceful too.

 

Before you get up from the bed in the morning gently stretch
from one side to the other. After you get out of bed stand up with your feet
flat on the ground and reach for the ceiling by stretching as much as possible.
Stretch from one side and try to feel the pull from touching your finger tips
to your feet, and then stretch the other side.

Cycling exercises all the muscles of the body and at the
same time increases blood circulation in the body. Skipping exercises the whole
body and improves breathing posture and also helps relieve tension. Swimming
helps reduce blood pressure and relaxes and strengthens the whole body.

Y

Yoga Yoga exercises
not only help control a restless, turbulent and obstinate mind, but also makes
the skin soft and smooth, purifies the body and enhances the immune system, so
make it a point to do yoga daily.

Z

Zest For a radiant
glow to the skin, apply the zest of citrus fruits, such as oranges and lemons,
mixed with sandalwood powder, yoghurt, olive oil and egg yolk, to the face for
20 minutes and wash off with water.

 

 

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