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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.

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]

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.