Skin Care

Wheat Grass for anti-aging

Swathy · October 15, 2010 · 1 Comment

Wheat Grass is an extremely useful and beneficial plant. It is rich in so many minerals and nutrients and can fight against so many diseases in our body ranging from acting as anti-inflammatory agent to preventing cancers in the body. Wheat Grass has been a highly prized medicine during the time of Egyptians. Spray wheat grass juice on a burn or inflammation and voila, the skin gets soothed immediately. It is that potent. Why? Because, it acts at cellular level within and outside the body.

What is so special about Wheat Grass?

The green pigment of the plants – chlorophyll – is the real ‘hero’ of the wheat grass. Plants use sun light to make chlorophyll and thus, trap the benefits and energy of direct sunlight in them. Thus, consuming this green pigment will help to release this energy in our system and allow it to make beneficial changes in our body. Not only does this energy give a boost to our health, but it also improves our appearance. “Healthy In, Healthy Out”.

You will ask why not other greens help then? Well, because Wheat Grass is one of the plants containing the highest amount of chlorophyll in it. About 70% of the plant constitutes of chlorophyll. This releases the much needed energy and catalyses the action of healing and regeneration within the body. Thus, comes its contribution in the anti-aging arena.

Our body can absorb as much as 60% of the wheat grass juice. It is an excellent cleanser, toner and also protects the body from harmful radiations from the sun. It can stimulate blood flow in the body so extremely useful for collagen repair and also, rejuvenating the dead hair follicles.

It is also rich in fiber helping in weight loss.

How to consume Wheat Grass?

Juice it or chew it. Juicing is an easier option as chewing might or might not be a pleasant activity. But, it can be included in salads and dishes which requires garnishing along with parsley or coriander. While juicing, you can strain the juice and apply the pulp on your face and leave it on till it dries or for 30 minutes. Wash it off after the stipulated time.

You can also grow your own wheat grass. Buy some organic or non-organic wheat grains from a farmer’s market and lay them in a tray. This is a great resource for instructions on how to grow wheat grass at home. I have to yet give it a try.

Dark Knees and Elbows Home Remedies

Swathy · October 13, 2010 · 57 Comments

What do we know about the skin around knees and elbows?

It is usually thicker than its surroundings and has more folds, is rough and dry and appears to be dirty even though the part may have been covered like full sleeved clothes and jeans. The skin is at least a tone darker than the original skin color. It looks ugly and never seems to restore to its original state.

Why is the skin dark?

Have you seen a baby with dark elbows and knees? No, obviously. It is the result of friction like leaning on the elbows or knees which causes the maximum problem. In schools, we are supposed to sit on the ground or participate in sports activities which causes the knee skin to grow drier. And, of course, due to our bad habits, we seem to lean on our elbows rather than sit straight and keep a good posture. The other cause is lack of hygiene and improper care. So, your affected areas need more care now on.

There are other reasons as well. Being overweight is one of them. And, another of the most pertinent reasons is eating a lot of sugar. Now, I would suggest you to ponder on certain points? Is your menstrual cycle highly irregular? Have you been to a doctor or ignored it? Are you a teenager going through puberty? Are you having any other dark patches or blotches on your skin, especially near your genitals or breast or neck? If all these questions are answered in negative, you do not need any professional advice. If not, you might need to consult a doctor and get yourself checked. Darkening of skin is usually a symptom to some of the diseases caused by hormonal imbalance in the body.

An Advice: When you read these questions, I am sure everyone of you would feel that all the questions are positive and may get panicked. So, I would like to suggest that you talk to your mom about all these issues and then come up to a conclusion. Always remember many of our problems including skin and hair conditions are due to weight issues which seems always out of control. So, take time and start with losing weight. I am sure that many of your would notice an immediate change. Even the cure for the said diseases is to lose weight so no need to think much. Now, on a lighter note, let us go to the home remedies and see what we can do to get rid of the dark skin.

Home Remedies and Habits to get rid of the Dark Skin

First things first. Lose weight. Start pranayam. It is the simplest of the exercises and extremely relaxing.
Secondly, stop munching on sugar and processed food. All the processed food including breads, cereals, energy drinks, soft drinks, energy bars and health foods are extremely high in their sugar content. And, they can wreak havoc with your system. Feel like having a dessert. Go for yogurt banana custard which is satisfying enough for the palate. Or, prepare the particular junk food which you feel like munching on at home.
Stop leaning on your elbows and knees and you would see the difference in two days. Trust me, I have been there and done that.
Always use a moisturizing and little rough body scrub made from honey or oils like coconut, almond, olive and such. They help in getting rid of the dead cells in these areas in an effective way. Sugar and rock salt are obvious choices for the granular part of the scrub. Use Cane Sugar (powdered jaggery). It is widely available and use organic products as much as possible.
Apply a heavy moisturizer on your legs and arms. They are, generally, the driest parts of the body even if your skin type is oily. Keep the elbows and knees moisturized.
Use a loofah at least 3 times a week in your bath if you have sensitive and dry skin and once a day for other skin types. It helps in regular exfoliation of the area and keeps the skin smooth.
Applying coconut oil or almond oil is also beneficial as they are best oils for curing dry skin.
Use bleaching fruits (fruits good for oily skin) in conjunction with moisturizing agents (liquids good for dry skin) of your applying as a knee packs, elbow pack or scrub. Like, lemon juice with sugar is a good option, even better is tomato juice or pomegranate juice with honey or oils. Fresh Lime (mausambi) juice or orange will give more potent results than lemon.
Coconut oil and Walnut powder make good exfoliators for dark skin patches.
Another great remedy which surely works is milk cream. Mix milk cream with a pinch of turmeric and apply on the affected areas.
Aloevera (straight from the plant) also shows lightening of the skin.
Keep the elbows and knees covered as much as possible.
There should be no deep lines visible on the joints. If you can see lines, that means your skin is dry and you need to moisturize it. Apply oil from Vitamin E supplements topically.
Sesame oil is great for moisturizing such areas as it has especially high proportion of essential fatty acids.
Massage the areas with oil daily. That will make the skin soft.

Note: The skin on elbows and knees always look little darker than original skin color because of the folds in the skin which increases if you are overweight. So, to check if the color of knees and elbows have lightened, folds on the elbows or knees and see the color. That should give you the accurate state of your skin.

Ice Cubes for your face {Skin Care}

Swathy · October 9, 2010 · 246 Comments

Ice Cubes are one of the quickest ways to restore your face to a fresh and dewy look. So, in case you are ever in a hurry, make sure to just rub your face for a minute or two with ice cubes and you are ready to go!! Another added advantage is that ice cubes constrict your pores making your face look smoother.

They can be a great relief during the bad breakouts and particularly soothing for acne and inflammatory skin. A nice touch for using ice cubes would be to freeze your favorite fruit and vegetable juices into ice cubes. That would provide your skin with immediate anti-oxidants and the various benefits which come from topical application of the particular fruits.

The essentials would be orange juice which is useful for bright face and apple juice which is great for oily skin. You can also go for pomegranates as they are especially high in anti-oxidants and would provide a rosy complexion.

Caution: Applying ice cubes straight to your skin can cause delicate capillaries under your skin to break so wrap the ice cubes in a wash cloth and then apply them to your skin.

Have you used ice cubes?