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Wear a scarf – Summer Hair Care

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The summer sun is brilliantly hot and dehydrating for the hair as well as the skin. So, while you hydrate your skin by drinking water and eating hydrating foods, wear a scarf around your head whenever you step out to avoid the sun’s rays and pollution. As the sun’s rays can dehydrate and parch the skin, they can do the same to the hair leaving them rough and straw like. So, if you are already suffering from a rough and parched hair, try tomato on hair. And, don’t forget to get a scarf for the next time you go out.
Now, generally, silk scarves or satin scarves are recommended for hair as they prevent static and keeps the hair hydrated as opposed to cotton which sucks the moisture out of the hair. As much as this is true, I beg to differ from this at least for summers. Using cotton scarves help with the air circulation in the hair which is extremely important otherwise the sweat clogs the hair follicles. Also, for people who like to tie the scarf completely on their faces, cotton scarves are much easier to handle and allow the skin to breathe through it where as silk or satin scarves simply choke and suffocate the nose. Of course, we all know that cotton allows breathing and air ventilation thats why it is preferred in summers. Also, if you use silk scarves, it can result in blocked pores and cause breakouts. So, wear cotton scarves. And, don’t forget to moisturize your hair everyday with a hydrating serum or simply use aloevera gel straight from the plant.

Drink, Drink and Drink – Summer Skin Care

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Ok, so summers are really here. And, Hyderabad is already blazing and it will blaze even more in the months to come One thing I have noticed is that my level of hydration has suddenly reduced. I am drinking less water and my skin is becoming parched real soon. Yes, the evaporation levels are high in summers so obviously to compensate this loss of water, we have to drink extra amounts of water. Right??? So. how many glasses of water are you drinking????
Ok, here I would really like to make a point. Is drinking water alone sufficient to keep the body hydrated?? Because, I have a little theory about water levels in the body. I might be wrong but here it goes – our body flushes out unnecessary things, right?? So, if we drink excess of water which body isn’t able to store so obviously we make more trips to the loo. And, then, somewhere I read that excess water also flushes out certain minerals and vitamins out of the body which seems plausible and total whacky theory at the same time. A doctor or a skin care can reply better to this. Well, if you can, please feel free to clarify.
So, whatever be the case but I certainly think that drinking water alone is not gonna help much in hydration levels of the body because it has to be done from inside. So, it also depends a lot on the type and amount of food we are eating. Eating hydrated foods will definitely help improve the levels of water in our body. What I am saying is to load up on the foods which are full of water – cucumbers, radishes, onions, watermelon, tomatoes, oranges, all kinds of grapes and berries and fresh green leafy vegetables which have huge amount of water in them. All of these are full of water and taste really good. So, combine them with your regular water intake and see the difference. And, of course, do not forget green tea because you would need anti-oxidants to fight the free radicals created by the sunlight. Oh, and don’t forget the sunscreen 🙂

Orange Sugar Body Scrub {DIY}

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It has been so long since I have done some DIY and I have been lately indulging in some things so I shall share some experiments which were successful. So, today, I am sharing a simple body scrub you can make from oranges.
Ingredients
  • 1 complete orange mashed along with the pulp
  • 2 tablespoon honey
  • sugar (in my case I used raw sugar called ‘khandsari’ in Hindi)
  • 2 tea spoons salt (I used rock salt or sendha namak)
  • apricot powder (optional)
Method
Mash a complete orange removing its seeds. Add the honey. Now, the mixture would be extremely watery so add enough amount of sugar to create a scrubby texture. Sidewise, add the salt. The mixture would be still very watery so I used apricot powder to give some stiffness to it.
Now, scrub your body with the mixture. Keep it on the body for 5-10 minutes. Of course, do not forget your face or the feet. This scrub would be useful on all parts of your body. Make this scrub just before your bath because vitamin C in oranges breaks down soon after being exposed to air and becomes useless. So, the fresher your scrub and sooner it is used, the better the results you will get. And, let me add, the pulp in the orange will fall all over in the bathroom so make sure that you finish your shower before your maid cleans the bathroom or do this at night (which is my advise because vitamin C makes the skin photosensitive and also because I found my skin was looking much brighter and softer the next morning).
Tips
  • Use Jaggery powder or cane sugar in place of regular sugar.
  • You can also add cocoa powder, besan, multani mitti or anything else which you can think of. Even oats are a good choice.