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Are you searching for a hair dresser in Hyderabad?

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So, this is a kinda different post and before I proceed on with it, I am not endorsing or criticizing any of the brands or places I will be talking about. No one is paying me to write this. I am writing everything based on my personal experience and yours might differ from it so please bear with me.
So, apart from my disclaimers, I wanna say this that this post is for people who are in search of good hair stylist or hair dressers in Hyderabad. If you already have one, you are lucky but if you think you need someone better, go ahead and read the post. So, I have been thinking of a good hair cut since quite a long time and since it is my friend’s engagement in a week, I direly needed to go today. I have been having regular hair style changes for only a couple of times till now and I have tried a couple of salons like Naturals, Lakme and La Belle. To sum up my experience, I was not very satisfied any where. So, this time, I asked one of my friends for any recommendation and it was a HE. I know sounds kinda lame but his mom has been visiting the same parlor for past 26 years and he advised me to go there. It turns out that this said parlor is owned by a Chinese lady. Now, if you do not know about this fact, Chinese people are particularly good at beauty. Another of my friend also recommended another Chinese parlor to me she is a fan of and a regular at.
Now, let me make one thing clear. This parlor is not like the high-end salons which have become so famous these days but the similar to the concept of beauty parlors in the last decade. At home, employing some girls and not so into using high-end equipments. If you are a kind of person who loves high-end salon, this is definitely not for you. Since I did not like any high-end ones and needed some one, I decided to place my trust in my friends and went to the parlor. Of course, I was skeptical and was full of mind to beat up my friend in case I was any less satisfied.
So, I go to this parlor and ask for a hair cut. An old Chinese lady who is apparently the same owner I talked about came out. I ask her how much time would a hair cut take and she said 20 minutes. Ok, I did wash my hair at home because I am not very sure of the hygiene levels at the parlors and salons and also to save my pocket. So, I sit there to get my hair cut and as soon as I sit, the lady starts cutting my hair. I told her that I wanted something different from my hair and wanted a lot of layers at the back. So, I have naturally wavy to curly hair with a very less volume but a lot of fluff and have a huge forehead. So, my hair cut starts and in 15 minutes, she was done with chopping off and styling my hair. I kept my eyes shut coz I was afraid of what I might see. And, lo behold, when I open my eyes, I was like is it me?? I got a completely different look which I never thought would suit me. And, trust me, the hair cut is amazing. It makes my hair look voluminous and  full and covers my forehead well. I am looking younger, my hair is looking a wow which it never did till today. I can’t stop smiling looking at myself since the moment I walked out of there. It costed me 350 bucks which was fine.
So, I wanted to share this experience of mine and recommend the parlor to anyone who is looking for a good hair dresser. This is only for people staying in Hyderabad. The name of the parlor is Blue Heaven. It has two branches – one at Banjara Hills (just opposite to Ohri’s Banjara) and another somewhere in Secunderabad. Now, there is a catch in this whole thing. You need to get hold of the owner to do the hair cut. I was lucky that I landed with her. She is generally not available or does not provide the services on her own. So, in case you plan to go, do make an appointment asking for the owner. The phone number of the Banjara branch is 040-23370455. So, guys, once again, I am not endorsing but just recommending something which I loved.

Banjara’s Kasturi Turmeric Herbal Powder {Product Review}

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PS: My entire review might be wrong. Please do not base your judgements based on this review.   
I had written about Kasturi Turmeric long back and in my quest for finding Kasturi Tumeric, I came across Banjara’s Herbals brand. Consequently, I bought the Kasturi Turmeric Herbal Powder they were offering. So, here is my review of the product.
My experience with the product
I had used it long back so I do not have pics but it looks similar to the regular haldi we use at home. But, when I used it, it left my face so yellow that I had to wash my face twice with a face wash after using the mask. And, the products stings as opposed to the tingling sensations felt when using herbal products. And, then after washing off, it leaves my face completely raw.
My efforts to better the product
To avoid the yellow coloration of my face after using this herbal powder, I mixed a little of it with my regular homemade besan ubtan. Guess what, it turned the complete ubtan into yellow and still managed to make my face discolored.
I even tried mixing it with sandalwood and multani mitti and then applying on the face but that also did not work.
After so many efforts went fluke, I compared it with the regular turmeric and I somehow have a sneaking suspicion that this herbal powder is not exactly herbal but probably has a yellow color mixed in some powder. So, right now, I have mixed the powder with sandalwood powder and multani mitti and am using it as a scrub instead of a face pack.
My Opinion
My strong suggestion is that do not buy this product. It is just 35-40 INR. Not at all costly but completely useless product. In case you come across this product, just give it a go.

Beware of where you are eating!

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Hopefully, you have seen Blood Brothers which I had posted a few days back. If you missed it, watch it here. Now, I was talking that I was having a discussion with my friend about HIV-AIDS. Durign the convo, he narrated an incident which happened almost a decade back in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad.
The incident went something like this. There was a panipuri guy who used to serve really good panipuris in Banjara Hills. One day he got a cut in his hand which he did not bother to cover or treat and obviously he could not stop serving panipuris coz of a cut so he continued with an open wound. And, a month later some person was detected positive for HIV. So, ultimately a trace was run on how he got the disease and it was found that the panipuri wala was the cause. That day around 80-85 people who ever had panipuri at that guy’s stall were detected positive for HIV. This incident garnered a lot of media attention though I could not find any details on the net. If you do or know anything about the incident (even if I am wrong), please do share the news.
This incident whether true or not had raised a lot of questions in my mind. I am a person who loves to eat junk and all the road side crap (even if I stop you from dong so). I try to curb my junk food cravings but chat and panipuri are my loves and I can’t leave them totally. Now, I donno how many of you would agree with me on this but I always found roadside items to be more tasty than the same items available at a posh restaurant. Well, that might be psychological too. But, whatever the case be, I wanted to warn everyone including myself from eating too much outside because the food can be unhygienic. Even the cutlery is enough to transmit the viruses and bacteria from one person to another.
I know that this post of mine would have an impact for at max a week. It is not easy to leave the habit of eating outside. So, I would just list down certain tips which can help you maintain a decent level of hygiene.
  • Avoid using cutlery in places where you can. Going to road side stalls, sweet shops, small local restaurants and dhabas are places where you can avoid cutlery easily.
  • When the plates are put in front of you, wipe them with a tissue once on your own.
  • Where you are doubtful about the quality of water, order a mineral water bottle or better yet, carry your own bottle of water.
  • Check the seal of mineral water bottle and always order bottles of cokes and other drinks.
  • Do not worry about the quality of water used in cooking coz temperature destroys many bacteria.
  • Always wash your hands before you eat. Prefer to carry a small tube of hand wash or a cheap face wash will also do the job. Anti-bacterials are not as effective as soaps.
  • Try to choose a hygienic place where self-service is allowed.
  • Avoid anything given in newpaper wraps (road side chats and other things).
  • If you are really interested in eating them, carry your own tiffin box and ask him to put the item in your box. Newpapers have a lot of germs.
  • Similarly, do not ever put your hand in your mouth after handling cash. Cash notes change a lot of hands so always avoid handling cash before eating.
  • You can wear gloves to keep your hands clean when using public transports.
These are certain precautions which can be taken to avoid unnecessary diseases. And, I am not just talking about AIDS, Hepatitis and TB but also simple cold and coughs and other unnecessary complications.
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