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Masoor Dal Body Scrub {DIY}

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Pulses in our kitchen prove to be good scrubs as well. Earlier, I had talked about ‘Mung Dal’. Today, I would be talking about ‘Masoor Dal’ (Red Lentil). Ground red lentil is a very good scrub for the body.

How to make the scrub?
Grind the masoor dal into a fine powder and pass through a utensil with small holes (percolated utensils) to seperate the fine powder and the impurities. Store the fine powder in an air-tight container and use a little occasionally. If you find that the texture of the powder is too harsh for your skin, you can mix it with cornflour or chickpea flour (besan).
Using the Scrub
  • Mix it with honey or milk and use as body scrub while in shower.
  • Use as a face scrub twice in a week for oily and combination skin and once for normal to dry skin.
  • Alternatives: If you do not want to store it as a scrub, you can soak a cup of red lentils in milk or water overnight and make a paste in the morning and use it as a scrub or a face pack. You may even add the skin of almonds soaked overnight. It would make your skin glow like never before.
  • You can even mix the powder with pure ghee (made at home) and use it as a scrub. Pure ghee acts as lubricant reducing the harshness of the scrub on your skin and simultaneously nourishing it with the necessary fats to make skin look beautiful.
  • You can mix other ingredients like dried tulsi leaves, rose petals or orange peels also and make the scrub a invigorating scrub. They will provide a scrub a distinct smell if use separately.

More benefits of Lemon – get rid of acne scars

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I have talked about the uses of lemon sometime back. Here, I bring you more uses of lemon. And, the best one would be for people suffering from acne. So, read on to know more about how to use this beauty ingredient in your daily skin care.
  • After you are done with drinking lemon water in the morning, instead of throwing the lemon rinds away, rub them on your skin. It serves as a good scrub and helps lighten the scars and blemishes. It is specially useful for acne scars.
  • Cut lemon into two halves. Take a half and dip it in brown sugar. Now, scrub your elbows or knees with the lemon until sugar dissolves completely. This would remove the darkness prominent on the elbows and the knees.
  • Lemon can be rubbed on rough skin spots like heels to soften them before using a pumice stone to scrub it off.
  • Put drops of lemon in your shampoo or body wash to refresh and tone your scalp and body.
  • Use lemon rinds to make a refreshing homemade face spray which will keep your skin fresh all day long even in hot summers.
  • Pour lemon juice or essential oil while doing your manicure and pedicure. This would ensure clean nails. You can even rub lemon on your nails to make them appear white and clean. Make sure to follow up with moisturizer or oil on your nails to avoid drying them.
  • Instead of throwing away the lemon rinds, you may boil them in water and take bath with the water.
  • If you have an oily or combination skin, using lemon regularly in your face packs would balance the oil production in your skin. It slows down aging process.
  • Use lemon juice in your pre-poo treatments if you have an oily hair.
  • If you take herbal tea, squeeze lemon according to your taste in it. This would ensure you get all the benefits of lemon internally if you do not drink lemon juice in the morning.
  • A great tip to clean utensils: If you do not want to use lemon rind on your face, rub them on the utensils well before washing them. This would remove all the grease and other deposits.

Facial Massage for Anti-Aging Skin Care

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I talked about home remedies for eye care last time in the anti-aging series. Today, I would like to share with you a simple trick of 10 minutes everyday which can take years off from your face. Facial Massage. When we massage other parts of our body, the muscles and bones react in a favourable way by becoming strong and firm.

Then, why not apply the same principle for the face. It is important to keep the face bones strong so that the skin over these bones does not sag. Over years, mostly due to gravity, the skin on our body begins to get pulled down giving an aged look. To massage the face upwards will act as an action against gravity and will yield results in the long run.

How is the facial massage done?
  • Always wash your face before massaging it
  • Do not forget to wash your hands, fingers and nail beds
  • Apply a generous amount of oil preferably lighter in texture so that the fingers easily glide on your face
  • Use only two fingers – the middle and the ring finger to massage your face
  • Use upwards and outwards strokes towards and away from the cheek bones.
  • Massage on the eye area should be done only with the ring finger.
  • You can use any kind of an oil. Make sure that you are not using essential oils if you are pregnant. Coconut, Olive, Jojoba, Almond are the favourites.