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Look fabulous this Karwachauth naturally

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I know its going to be a very rigorous day for you all married ladies and ladies who are keeping the fast without the mercy of even a drop of water. Ok, I do not want to sound cruel. I find it to be a great tradition and a beautiful day for a married woman. And, since it is the day dedicated to your husbands, it is the day you should look your best and make sure your husbands do not get time to look anywhere else 🙂 So, how do you accomplish looking fabulous when you are starving and dehydrated????? Well, take care of yourself the days before. I know my post is a lot late and I am really sorry but you can still make up to it. (I meant posting this at least a week earlier but it completely slipped from my mind.)
Dedicate your three days starting from today to yourself completely. Relax, enjoy, pamper. Well, yes, I know it is hell for working ladies and with families. But, you can always steal an hour for yourself somewhere in your schedule. Even if you can not, I do have tips for you.
  • Make sure you follow this routine to look fabulous during occasions.
  • In the evening, wash off your face with this makeup remover even if you are not wearing makeup.
  • Wash your body (yes complete body not only face) with either besan or ‘sunnipindi’ (as called in Telugu) mixed with raw milk (real cow or goat if you can get).
  • Every night you can pamper yourself with a face mask according to your skin type. A clay mask would be best as it detoxes your skin well. Mix it with honey for dry skin and with rose water for normal, oily and combination skin. Sensitive skin can go with either.
  • Do not venture out in sun for three days. Wear SPF 15 sunscreen even when inside.
  • You can massage your body before bath as it makes your skin extra soft.
  • Drink as much water as you can. Literally fill yourself with water.
  • Drink a lot of vegetable juices and fruit juices. Make smoothies of different veggies and fruits but avoid mixing both. Do not make a combined smoothie of fruit and veggies. It would not provide any nutritional benefits as the enzymes of both nullify the benefits.
  • Eat a lot of sesame seeds in these days. You could also ingest a table spoon of sesame oil, coconut oil or olive oil, whichever you prefer. I would go for sesame. It would give the much needed fatty acids.
  • After showering at night, massage your skin with any oil. For people with oily skin, you can go with aloevera and rose water mixture.
  • Make your diet as regular and nutritious as possible. Eat a lot of fruits. Mix a whole lot of nuts (almonds, walnuts, raisins, raw cashews and raw pistachios) and snack on them. Do not add salt or roast them. They lose their nutrition.
  • Moisturize your hair with natural aloevera in these three days. If you can use yogurt or egg on your hair, use them. Or, simply apply rose water. That does a lot of good to your hair.
  • Sleep well in these days. Take complete 8-9 hours sleep whichever makes you feel more refreshed. And, take a 10-20 minute walk early in the morning in fresh air. It would make you look fabulous.
This list can go on and on. So, my advice would be to think of beauty and health in everything you do. If you are stepping out of the house, do not forget sunscreen. After coming back, wipe your exposed areas with cotton pads dipped in chilled rose water or with ice cubes. Use gloves while doing the washing. Take baths with either honey, milk or salt in your baths as they soften your skin. Literally make beauty a part of every aspect. Not only for Karwachauth, but for life 🙂
[Do share what you are planning for Karwachauth]

Six Spices to boost brain

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Alzheimer’s is an incurable disease at present and can be onset even in your childhood but can not be detected until very late. So, take care good care of your brain as your children’s. Our kitchen is full of simple and powerful remedies. So, here’s is a list of six spices from the kitchen shelf which are strong anti-oxidants and keep you or your brain from getting aged. Make sure you include them in your subsequent meals.
  • Garlic: Brings a different flavor in the dishes and protects the nervous system. Promotes the growth of neurons (nerve cells), increases learning and memory capacity.
  • Rosemary: Lowers pulse rate and anxiety levels. May also help in improving memory performance.
  • Sage: Protects against injurious affects of the toxins on the brain cells. Can be substituted with basil leaves.
  • Clove: is the best source of anti-oxidants so you can start taking a clove or two per day.
  • Turmeric: Promotes removal of toxic metals from the brain.
  • Cinnamon: Promotes effects of insulin and lowers blood sugar levels preventing diabetes which might trigger Alzheimer’s.
In India, you do get four of these condiments pretty easily. Start sprinkling them in your food from today and enjoy the benefits. And, before I forget, let me again remind you, they are anti-aging agents too.

Sendha Namak – Indian Rock Salt Beauty Benefits

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I do not know how many of you are aware that Sendha namak is the pure rock salt of India and is a little costlier than the normal salt because it is found in very less quantities in the Indian sub-continent. The commercial salt available is iodized where as the rock salt is pure from nature, is more granular, has less salty taste as you would have already noticed and is not chemically processed. It is rich in lot of minerals and if used in regular cooking as a substitute of common salt, it can control all the health problems posed by common salt like high blood pressure, puffiness in the body or the eyes, is cooling for the body, helpful in digestion, relieves gas and soothes heartburn and helps in weight loss.
Not only health but many beauty benefits can also be acquired from rock salt.
  • Rock salt can be used as a body scrub. Since high in mineral content, it is a perfect substitute for spa standard products made at home.
  • Drop a table spoon of rock salt in your bath every time and enjoy a relaxing bath. It also detoxifies your body externally as well as internally. Eases stress and body pains.
  • Can be used as a teeth whitener or a mouth freshener. Also clears a sour throat if used for gargling.
  • Can be used as a foot soak, foot scrub or a hand scrub too. It is not drying on the skin.
  • Removes the yellowness under the nails and makes your nails shine beautifully.
  • Use it to cleanse your skin at night. Mix a table spoon of rock salt with your cleanser or face wash and rub it gently into the skin. Make sure to remove make up before this routine.
In Pakistan, there is a salt range of Himalayas, called the ‘Himalayan Salt Range’, which has the purest form of rock salt in the whole world. It is sold as ‘Himalayan salt’ but it actually is just a rock salt too. The only specialty of this salt is that it is pure and does not need any kind of filtering. So, those who have easy access to Himalayan salt or Pakistan rock salt, make sure you use it regularly in your food and beauty routines.
Do not forget to differentiate between Epsom salt and Rock salt. They have different mineral contents and Epsom salt is the best for skin. If you have access to Epsom salt, you can use it for

You can read about more uses of Epsom salt here.

We have always heard that salt is not good for hair but it is not so. The common salt is not suitable because it has many chemicals in it where as naturally occurring salts are as good for hair as they are for other parts of your body.