Category: Beauty

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Beauty

Be fresh-faced all summer long

With increasing heat and humidity, you’ll need to keep your face clean and fresh all day. Try these easy tips.
by Beverley Lewis

Ah, summer. A time for cold showers and water-rich foods. This is also the season when you need to keep your face fresh and cool – often, just having a clean, sweat-free face does wonders to get you through the day.

Try these tips for a fresh face all summer:

1. Get cleansed. Use a high quality cleanser to wash your face off sweat and grime. Make sure the cleanser is suited to your skin type. Try and wash your face twice a day to get rid of all impurities and keep the skin fresh. But ensure that the facewash you use does not contain any lauryl or laureth sulfates, as well as petroleum-based ingredients, as these tend to damage the skin due to the harsh chemicals in them.

2. Scrub it! Exfoliating skin helps remove dead skin cells and brings new skin cells to the surface. This helps keep the skin soft and gives you a glowing complexion.  

Make this simple scrub at home: You will need a tablespoon of sugar or salt, plus a tablespoon of almond or coconut oil. Mix this until you get a coarse paste. Add a few drops of your favourite essential oil to this mixture if you like a bit of fragrance. Use this scrub daily.

Or if you don’t have the time, simply use a natural bristle brush to get rid of dead skin on your body. Your skin will feel invigorated after you exfoliate and you will end up looking young and healthy. You can also buy readymade scrubs to suit your skin type.

3. Get toned. Use a good toner, as this will help close your pores and remove any excess cleanser and dirt and also help restore the skin’s natural pH balance. If your skin is oily, you’ll want to use an astringent as this helps get rid of the excess oil. For very dry skin, use rose water and witchhazel for oily or acne-prone skin. Using a toner or an astringent is an important step, as it helps prep the skin.

4. Moisturise. Make sure that the skin on your face and body is well-moisturised during summer, as air conditioning zaps moisture from your skin. Try and use a light water-based moisturiser and avoid thick body butters and creams, as they do not get absorbed into the skin and can lead to skin infections and breakouts.

If you want to go natural, apply grapeseed oil with a few drops of rose hip seed essential oil, as this is easily absorbed into the face and body and gives you a fresh, glowing complexion.

5. Back to nature. There’s so much fresh fruit available at this time of the year, and this is the ideal time to take advantage of all that Mother Nature has to offer our skin. Putting fresh fruits on the face and body helps revitalise it with vitamins and minerals. It is also a quick and easy fix.

If your skin is oily, grab a lemon or strawberry and apply some of the juice on your face and let it dry. Do this if you want a fresh dewy complexion.

For dry skin, mash a banana or avocado and let sit on your face for about 30 minutes and then wash it off. A face mask made from fresh cucumber is also great for any skin type and can help reduce red, puffy eyes.

6. Summer essentials. Whether you’re heading to the office or to the beach, you need to apply a good sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 or higher. Make sure that the sunscreen you choose is labelled ‘broad spectrum’, which means it blocks both UVA and UVB sunlight.

Always apply sunscreen before heading outside. Remember to cover often-forgotten spots such as the back of knees, ears, eye area and neck. Apply sunscreen 15 to 30 minutes before going outside. Then reapply every two hours, or sooner if you have been walking around in the sun, especially between 11 am to 4 pm. Also, remember that water-resistant sunscreen wears off sooner, so keep reapplying it every hour you spend outdoors.

Clothing can also help. But forget about tossing on a flimsy white tee. A white T-shirt has limited protective value. If you can see through the tee, the sun can shine through and burn the skin. Dark, tight-woven clothing that covers all exposed skin is best. You can also buy clothing that is specially treated with chemicals that help protect against ultraviolet sunlight.

On a side note, if you do get sunburned, aloe very gel is a great way to treat the burn and heal the skin. You can also use a wide brim hat to protect your face and hair and a good pair of shades to protect your peepers.

7. Drink plenty of H20. This is extremely important. Your skin is a reflection of your state of health on the inside. Drinking lots of water flushes out toxins and helps keep the skin moist and hydrated. Also, in summer we tend to sweat more, so replenishing lost fluids is important. Make sure you drink filtered water. Tap/city water usually contains lots of added elements like chlorine and fluoride, plus heavy metals like lead or iron. The point is to get rid of toxins, not introduce more into your system.

So, although the summer might try to throw you and your skin a curveball,  if you follow these few simple solutions you will look and feel great and have everyone complimenting you on your healthy glowing complexion.

Have a beauty question? Write to us at editor@themetrognome.in or tweet your query @MetrognomeIndia and Beverley will answer it for you.

(Pictures courtesy sibubeauty.com, elizadomestica.com, skincancer.org)

Categories
Beauty

Quick beauty fixes for the summer

Coffee for cellulite and kosher salt for rough hands…our beauty writer’s got DIY fixes for skin as the heat advances.
by Beverley Lewis

I may not have all the answers to all of life’s problems, but there’s one thing I’m fairly certain of: if there’s a natural solution to remedy a beauty conundrum, I will definitely give it a go. In my experience, natural home beauty remedies tend to be more effective than over-the-counter beauty products and they are very cost-effective.

I’ve put together a quick reference guide of five of my favourite DIY home beauty remedies. Follow them and glow this summer!

Apple cheeks

Apples are full of powerful compounds like malic acid that can have a great effect on your skin. Malic acid is a fruit acid, or an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA), which means it works as a gentle exfoliator to reveal smooth, glowing skin. Slice an apple very thinly. Place the slices on the face and leave it on for 15 minutes. These soak up the extra oil and also help close pores.

Smooth operator

Exfoliating your skin regularly should be a mandatory part of your beauty regimen. You need to remove dead skin cells, toxins, and other deposits on your skin which could dull your complexion and lead to blemishes.

Good news is, you don’t need expensive scrubs and exfoliants to get glowing skin. There are several ingredients you can use to make your own exfoliating mask at home.

Try my favourite: salt or sugar body scrub. To make it, pour ¼ cup table salt or granulated sugar into a small bowl or container. Pour olive oil into the container until it covers the salt. Stir the mixture. Rub the scrub all over your body and into your skin. Rinse thoroughly, and you are left with a smooth glowing complexion.

Cellulite, be gone!

Stop cellulite in its tracks with this DIY, spa-like method. With the heat making us all reach out for our light cotton dresses and hats, why should cellulite stop you from flaunting your perfectly toned pins in a tiny pair of shorts?

Try this: warm ¼ cup of freshly-ground coffee beans with two tablespoons of olive oil in the microwave for 10 seconds. Next, stand on a large sheet of plastic or paper and smear this mixture over the affected area, then tightly wrap yourself in saran wrap (what is saran wrap?).

Leave this on for about 20 minutes, then remove the wrap, wash the area and using a natural bristle body brush, massage the area with brisk, upwards strokes. Follow this remedy for six weeks and you will notice a considerable difference.

Get polished

Chipped polish and ragged nails got you down? Get compliment-worthy hands at home with these tips: cut and file nails to your length of choice. As for shape, there are two main options: square or rounded. Next, soak your hands in a bowl of warm water for five minutes. Add two tablespoons of a bath powder or your favourite liquid soap to soften nails. Make sure the water’s not too hot or it will dry out your hands and nails. Then, apply cuticle oil or lotion on dry hands to nourish and soften rough spots.

Follow this with a cuticle stick to press cuticles back so they don’t get in the way of the polish. After this, exfoliate hands with a body scrub or homemade mixture of olive oil and kosher salt or raw sugar. Scrub for two to three minutes, then wash thoroughly. Follow this with a rich moisturiser. And the final step: apply a base coat first, then apply two thin coats of polish.

Puff pastry

“You look tired…” Ah. Those dreaded three words no woman wants to hear. But fret no more, try these natural solutions and you’ll be struttin’ around, wide-awake in no time.

– Place cotton balls soaked in milk under your eyes for a few minutes. The lactic acid in the milk helps reduce puffiness and dark circiles.

– Freeze a couple of spoons over night. In the morning, rest them on your eyes until they are not cold any longer. If you do this every morning, you will see a big difference in about two weeks.

– Slice one small piece off of a potato, and cut the slice in half. Put each slice under your eyes and leave it under your eyes for 20 minutes.

– Place two thin lemon slices directly onto your bags or circles. Don’t squeeze your eyes tightly but be careful not to open. After 20 minutes carefully rinse off with cold water.

Have a beauty question? Send it to us as editor@themetrognome.in or tweet it to us at @MetrognomeIndia and Beverley will answer it for you.

(Pictures courtesy idiva.com, 123rf.com)

Categories
Beauty

Sun-proof your skin

There’s a nip in the air, but your skin still needs to be protected from the sun. Follow our easy skincare guide.
by Kavya Kolli

You can always count on the heat to test your survival skills in Mumbai. Every day before stepping out, you have to wonder to what degree of melting you will be subject to. Whilst indoors, we shamelessly plonk ourselves right under or next to the AC vents. But the humidity outside and the shift to a cool and dry temperature indoors takes a heavy toll on skin.

After soaring temperatures last week, this week we’re looking at dry, cool air in the night and dry heat in the day. Even ordinarily dry skin turns oily with these weather changes, feeling sticky and dirty. By the end of the day, your face feels like a canvas, painted with the city’s dust and pollution.

Protect your skin

First and foremost is protecting your skin from the sun. A good sunscreen is extremely important and must be a part of your beauty regime throughout the year. A good SPF (sun protection factor) of 15 and above is what you will require to combat the side effects of sun exposure on your skin. Even if your routine has you mostly indoors, sunscreen is essential because your skin is still exposed to UV rays. Sunscreen lotions tend to feel oily and sticky once applied, so it’s important to find one that doesn’t feel like a layer of oil on your skin and is absorbed well. A well-known skin or beauty brand will have one that suits you.

Nowadays, a lot of body lotions and moisturisers also come with SPF, which is ideal since we do end up exposing our arms and legs also to the sun.

Using a good cleanser is another vital part of skin care. The pores on our skin enlarge with heat so the amount of dust your skin accumulates is unimaginable. Plus the humidity makes the skin oily, making it that much easier for skin problems like acne and blackheads to arise. So at the end of the day, a good cleanser must be used to wipe off all the dirt and grime for your skin. The heat makes almost every skin type oily, so a gel-based cleanser will work well. If you find it too drying, you can go for a foaming cleanser or cleansing lotion that isn’t too rich or heavy in texture.

Cleansing should ideally be followed up by toning. A facial toner will soothe your skin and tighten the pores. An alcohol-free toner is preferable because alcohol can excessively dry out your skin. Rose water happens to be an excellent all-natural toner. You can even try freezing rose water in an ice tray and rubbing a cube all over your skin. It feels heavenly in such weather.

While we cannot avoid the use of a certain number of products to maintain good skin, we also need to realise that these cleansing products do take away some of the skin’s natural moisture. So it’s important to moisturise skin daily and keep it well hydrated. Drinking lots of water goes a long way and the rest, a good day cream for your face will help with. Again, choose one with your skin type in mind.

Keep in mind, that while using a moisturiser and sunscreen, the moisturiser goes on first and then the sunscreen. You can even apply makeup over the sunscreen.

You will also find day creams with SPF which can be an alternative to applying a face cream and sunscreen separately.

While picking out soaps, face washes or shower gels, opt for ones with aloe vera or honey in them because they help soothe skin from the heat. Even ones that have fruit essences like citrus fruits, strawberries, peaches, melons etc will refresh your skin.

Adding few drops of essential oils like tea tree to your bath water will have a cooling and relaxing effect on skin. It  smells great and is also a disinfectant, so it’ll protect you from prickly heat.

While maintaining a healthy beauty regimen, your diet must also be equally healthy. Include lots of fresh fruit and veggies in your meals and stay away from oily food. And because this weather is dehydrating, make sure to drink lots of water throughout the day.

Kavya Kolli is a Mumbai-based fashion stylist and avid writer, with an obsessive interest in fashion and beauty.

 

(Pictures courtesy www.humana.com and Kavya Kolli)

 

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