DIY

DIY Oats and Almonds Cleanser for Sensitive and Dry Skin

Nayantara Karnik · January 28, 2016 · 13 Comments

Update: This post is chosen as one of the 10 Must Try DIY’s by Blogadda. Congratulations Nayantara and thanks for such a wonderful DIY 🙂

My skin was totally acting up a couple of months back. I don’t really suffer from acne though I do have combination skin. I was getting dry red patches, itchiness and irritation especially around my mouth. All the usual face washes and cleansers were only aggravating the problem and no amount of moisturizers or facial oils were helping.

I figured the problem was sulphates which I’ve eliminated from my shampoos but it’s real hard to find face washes without them. Usually the Aroma Magic ones work well for me as they are sulphate-free and mild but I needed more this time. I know that oats are the bomb for sensitive skin and redness so I pottered around to find a good concoction of stuff that would work for me.

Oats are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, thiamine and iron. They are known to have anti-inflammatory properties and suit all skin-types, even the most sensitive. These properties make it great for treating acne and redness, sunburn & itchy skin. They also contain natural mild cleansing agents and gently moisturise and exfoliate skin.

Next up is green tea, a favourite of mine for all things skin & hair, loaded with anti-oxidants, helps in skin-renewal and hence anti-aging. Another benefit here is its anti-inflammatory properties, again great to treat redness, rosacea and acne as well.

Almonds are known the world over to be great for skin. They also contain anti-oxidants which help to protect skin, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E which is an additional anti-oxidant, magnesium and calcium which counter the effects of stress hormones and help cells absorb nutrients. They are great for glowing skin and to combat dryness. When ground to powder they also, like oats, make a very mild exfoliant.

So I thought of using these awesome ingredients to concoct a face cleanser-mask for myself judging by the way cleansing grains have become so popular over the conventional face washes. But I wanted to make it a bit more special, so read on to see what else I added to it.

DIY Oats and Almonds Cleanser for Sensitive and Dry Skin

DIY Leave-In Conditioner

Nayantara Karnik · June 24, 2015 · 7 Comments

As anyone with naturally wavy or curly hair knows, once you stop trying to straighten and flat-iron it into submission, and decide to find a way to make it look like the beautiful bouncy curls you see in magazines and the internet, suddenly, horror of horrors, you discover that there are hardly any ‘curl-friendly’ products out there in our Indian market.

Now, before you straight hairs turn away, this is something that could be great for your hair as well, in fact, for anyone with dry or otherwise damaged hair.

The key to having beautiful shiny hair is hydration. For years, I religiously shampooed and conditioned my hair, yet conditioner alone never seemed to be enough; my hair still looked frizzy and dry. After much research, and several youtube videos later, I realized one simple product that could really work for me was leave-in conditioner. Till date I haven’t really found one off the shelves that worked for me. Though many people suggest using just regular conditioner as a leave-in on wet hair, that alone wasn’t enough either.

Without getting into the nitty gritties of humidity factor and climate where you live or the composition of the hair shaft, suffice it to say that ‘water alone’ does not hydrate hair. Ideally, you also require humectants and emollients in varying proportions. Simply put, humectants will attract the moisture to your hair and emollients will seal that moisture in.

On that note, let’s get straight to the tutorial. [Read more…] about DIY Leave-In Conditioner

Okra (Bhindi) Hair Treatment and Conditioner

Nayantara Karnik · June 12, 2015 · 26 Comments

Whaaat?! Bhindi? Why would anyone put that in their hair…

In fact, it’s used by Rastafarians to make their dreadlocks and keep them healthy. Okra is one of numerous natural items that contain mucilage, which is the slimy stuff you must be familiar with when it’s cooked. Mucilage is good for the skin and hair, and even for your gut health. The reason I was even looking this into was because I’ve been trying to find a way to put less chemicals into my system. And I definitely see an improvement in the quality of my skin and hair since.

Okra’s also high in Vitamins A & C, folic acid, calcium, zinc, including biotin, all of which make it incredibly nourishing for the hair. That’s probably why it’s been used as an ingredient in various high end products including a conditioner by Lush. All this means it can be used in different ways to treat and condition hair – as a rinse-out conditioner, leave-in, de-tangler or even as a hair gel as it gives excellent curl definition. The best part is that it doesn’t have a weird smell, like many natural things you may be using in your hair already. It actually doesn’t have any noticeable smell.

So in case you’re in a really experimental mood, or just fed up with the same old stuff, take a look! I’m going to show you how to make a general conditioner using bhindi, with tweaks to adapt it to your needs.

INGREDIENTS (BASIC RECIPE)

6-8 okras, chopped or sliced length-wise
1 ½ cups water
1-2 tsp oil (I used sesame this time, you can also use grape seed oil, almond oil, coconut oil etc)

OPTIONAL ADD-ONS

Aloe vera gel
honey