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Stop cracking your Knuckles

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Well, I thought it would be a good idea to do a series of posts on habits which are unconsciously done but they effect out body and skin or even hair in harmful ways.
Habit: The first which comes to my mind is cracking the knuckles. Well, it is true and I have this very terrible habit. I have tried to stop so many times but I do it unconsciously whenever I’m nervous or brooding.
Result: The result is an extremely wrinkled hand which looks at least 10 years older to your present age.
Remedy: If you are already suffering from the wrinkled hands, a very good option is to massage your hands with coconut or almond oil at night for five minutes regularly. And, keep your hand moisturized all day long with use of either the hand creams or body lotions or my personal favorite, body oils.And, of course, avoid the habit.

How to get rid of this habit?
I am pretty sure it is in heads of many of you but this is something which I would not be able to answer because I have been trying to get rid of this habit since quite some years but I have not yet succeeded. Even one of my friends has asked me in the comments about how to get rid of this habit. I wish I could help but the only thing I have succeeded in is to be attentive to what I am doing and if I find myself cracking my knuckles, I try to turn my attention to some other work I have. I would definitely appreciate if anyone can suggest some way to get rid of this habit.

How to protect skin this winter?

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Autumn is giving way to winter. By the time Diwali would come, winter would officially declare itself. Its time to change your beauty routines to accommodate the change in climate and lifestyle. Whether you live in tropical, dry, temperate or cold climate, the air in winter is drier as compared to that of the summer in the respective areas. Thus, you need to lavish more pampering on to your skin.

Your skin care starts with taking baths. Remember what I said about bathing too much. A must follow advice or you will see the repercussions soon enough. And, an advise from me would be to couple your baths with oil massages. That would prevent your skin from drying. In case oil massages become too much time taking and demanding, you can pour 2 teaspoon of your favorite oil to your bath. The oil will keep your skin moisturized. Follow with moisturizing your body on the damp skin. Keep the temperature of water low. Do not take long baths in any case how so ever tempting they might be.
Do not stick to the heaters and blowers in winters in case you live in cold climate. Exercise well to make your body tolerant to cold. That would also bring a pink glow on your face. Wear a lot of clothes to protect yourself from cold. Heating equipments burn the oxygen in the room and deprive you from all your moisture.Always avoid extreme temperatures as they simply lead to cracking of your skin and trust me you do not want to see the worst of it. People living in hilly regions would be knowing about that.
The air in the winter is really drying for the skin no matter where you live. The dryness generates a lot of static electricity in the skin and wearing woolens worsens the situation. So, invest in a good humidifier.Or, place a mug full of water in the room.
Drink lots of water. No one feels like drinking water in winters. But, that will surely lead to dehydration. Compensate with drinking fruit and vegetable juices instead of just plain water. Add lots of fatty acids and oils to your diet. That will keep your skin moisturized from inside.
Moisturize the skin a lot. In  the instant you feel dryness, apply moisturizer or oil immediately. At night, you can also compensate with milk cream or white butter. Coconut oil is the best if you go for oils. Buy heavy moisturizers. look for products rich in shea butter and cocoa butter. In case you do get pure unrefined shea butter, nothing is better than that. Pay special attention to your elbows and knees otherwise the skin around them would get rough and darker.
Cleansing and exfoliation are two things which should be done properly in winters. Anything excess would make your skin dry and less would make your skin dull. Go for homemade products in exfoliation. Do not exfoliate more than twice if you go outside regularly and once is enough if you rarely venture out. For cleansing, either stick to your favorite cleanser or go for homemade ones. Oil cleansers are good idea in winters even for oily skin.In winters, you would find sometimes (especially at very low temperatures) that you feel like scratching your skin. I have seen my mom do it many times. That is because of the excessive dehydration of your skin. At that time, apply a moisturizer or oil and massage it slowly into your body. Oil is always better as it gives fatty acids into your body and keeps it nourished from inside instead of outside. And, improve your diet as indicated. Food is the only thing which can keep you well in winters. Eat lots of eggs and fish if you can. Otherwise, depend on lots of seeds of every kind. Do not forget nuts, any kind of them. You can go on a binging spree without any qualms.

Skin tends to get darker in winters. There are various reasons for it. The first on my list is excess exposure to sun. People love to bask in the heat of sun in winters. Do not forget a sunscreen if you are one of them. The second is dry air. It sucks out the moisture from your skin. You can do nothing except keep the water levels inside your body at a high and nutrition very controlled. Avoid junk foods which we do binge more in winters. Do not go for bike riding or long car drives in open. The third is obviously the friction and static electricity which I mentioned above also. This can be avoided by wearing cotton clothes first and then covering with woolens. Wearing multiple layers of clothing also helps prevent cold than a simple jacket. The fourth reason is excess exposure to heat. So, stay away from heaters, save electricity and keep yourself in check by exercising regularly. Use more blankets. The last reason is over application of moisturizers. If you just keep on slathering moisturizer in layers on your skin, the pores will get clogged and your skin starts to look dull.
[These tips are for everyone no matter what climate you live in. I am sure you would be able to relate to something or other here. I would surely love to hear any ideas which you might have for winter skin protection.]

Prepare your skin for Waxing

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Waxing might seem like one of the easiest ways of getting rid with the body and definitely more safer than using hair removal creams or shaving or any other hair removal methods except for laser. But, laser is out of budget for most of the people. But, waxing can be extremely painful for many people with sensitive skin. Some can not resist pain and some are highly sensitive to the hot wax. And, many of you might be susceptible to boils and red patches which appear after the procedure. While I would definitely recommend waxing over other techniques, you should never forget that you are literally peeling one or two layers of your skin even if you are getting it done by the best of the professionals. And, in case you land up with amateurs, there is no saying that there would be bleeding or not. So, when you are exposing your most sensitive skin out, you can definitely expect your skin to react in various ways and boils and irritation is just mild of the symptoms. Though you can never get rid of these problems, you can at least strive to reduce them by following a proper before and after skin care.

Before Waxing
  • Always make your appointment two weeks after your periods. Skin is less sensitive then.
  • Before you go for waxing, always make sure that your skin is not injured or burned in any way. If you have allergies, cuts, open wounds, sunburns or warts, get a treatment before going for waxing.  Waxing can aggravate the situation otherwise.
  • Skip exfoliation, saunas and steam baths on the day prior to waxing.
  • Do not drink coffee on the day before or on day of waxing as caffeine makes you sensitive to pain. Avoid tea also as it also contains caffeine even though it is less.
  • Take bath immediately before waxing. This would help in removing the oils on your skin and any grease or dirt which might cause hindrance while waxing.
  • Do not apply and moisturizer or sunscreen or even deodorants.
  • In case you are going for professional service, wash your hands and other parts of the body where you intend to get waxing done with water once more. This ensures easy removal of the hair and so an area does not need to be waxed more than once or twice.
  • If you are sensitive to pain,  pop a pain killer 20 minutes before waxing. It will ease the pain. 
During Waxing
  • Make sure of the wax temperature. If it is too uncomfortable for you no matter the temperature, tell the girl attending you. Do not let her do what she wants.
  • If the girl attending you is too rude or does not listen to you, complain at once. Trust me it is lot better than enduring pain and not going back to your favorite salon. It happened with me.
  • Do not let the girl attending you keep on waxing your skin two to three times at the same place unnecessarily. Sometimes best of the salons have such people. That makes your skin sore and painful in the extreme especially at sensitive places.
  • Do look around for hygiene. Better carry your clothes instead of changing into ones provided by the salons. Salon hygiene is very important to look for before you become a regular there.
After Waxing
  • Now that you have endured all the pain, you would feel a lot of itching after waxing. Do not itch your skin. I know it is uncontrollable but it made big red boils on my skin and then left ugly scars. Itching also causes a lot of ingrown hairs which in turn irritate the skin. So, do not itch at any cost.
  • If you are at home, immediately go and place a cold water shower head on the areas waxed. That will soothe you well and relives the itch.
  • Still feeling like itching, run a soothing hand over the area instead of clawing your fingers into the skin. Endure for a moment and it will be fine in the next.
  • Then, take a leaf of aloe vera and scoop out all the gel. Apply it on your skin but do not massage.
  • Do not use very hot water for bathing. Warm water will keep your skin in better condition.
  • Avoid exfoliation for a week after your waxing. Your skin does not need exfoliation as it has been stripped off a layer of skin literally.
  • Moisturize your skin well as long as your skin feels sore.