Swathy and Sky

My Skin Diary – August 2013

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Gosh…its unbelievable how this year is just flying by! I hate it and love it at the same time. Anyways, my skin was not behaving very well this month. I don’t know why but I did get an issue of lot of small bumps on the skin and by small, I mean very very small. You can just see that the skin is not looking smooth.

You will ask me if I did anything for it. Well, honestly, I did nothing specifically. My best guess is that it was because I did not use sunscreen. But then, this month I have cut some serious slack with sunscreen and those boils did not come later on when I stopped using sunscreen again.

So, may be the answer just boils down to maintenance. I have not been looking after my skin very seriously. I do tend to take it a bit for granted because my skin is, touchwood, really good. Thanks to my genes and no credits to me. But, I would reiterate the fact that howsoever good your skin might be, do not ever forget taking care of it.

Face

Day Routine
Night Routine
  • Cleansing Milk – Garnier + Mustard Oil
  • Face wash – Nivea Visage Refreshing Face Wash + Olay Total Face Cleanup
  • Toner – Liz Earle + Kama Ayurveda Vetiver Water
  • Moisturizer – Rustic Art aloevera gel
  • Facial Oil – Turmeric infused Almond Oil + Primrose Oil

So, I have to say here that the turmeric infused oil is working really well on reducing the breakout size for me. A few days back I had a bad case on my neck. I think I accidentally scratched my skin in sleep and it was an angry breakout whose size had reduced to half and 1/3rd the night and night after respectively on using the oil. So, yes, I would definitely encourage you to try it out. 

Body
Day Routine

Night Routine

  • Moisturizer – Vaadi Herbals Body Oil
Current Skin
My skin picking habit has left my neck tortured as I had mentioned earlier as well so I am STILL looking forward to reversing that damage and containing my habit. Do you have any advises? 
How did your skin fare in August? What were the products you loved and hated? 
Related Posts:

My Skin Diary – July 2013

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From the Archives : Turn your regular shampoo into a homemade herbal shampoo {DIY}

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Today, I would be sharing with you a recipe which I have been using for long for my hair and believe me, it has done wonders. I no longer believe in buying hair products according to your needs like a hair fall shampoo as a solution to hair loss or a damage repair shampoo for a heat burnt hair. I have got rid of these things using simple home remedies and I would suggest you to practice them regularly to see quick and long lasting results. You can use tomato repair the dry dull hair or fenugreek for hair loss. If you feel like, you can top your treatment with such fancy hair products too. They might do you some good, who knows!!!

Coming back to the topic, the recipe is very simple.
Ingredients (practically everything you think is good for hair and worth boiling in water)
– Indian Gooseberry (fresh or sun-dried amla) 
– fenugreek seeds and leaves (methi)
– curry leaves
– sage leaves / basil leaves (tulsi)
– hibiscus flower and leaves 
– mehendi leaves (henna)
– jasmine flowers and leaves
– rose petals
– lavender and rosemary flowers (if available)
Method
Soak them all the ingredients in two liters of water overnight. Boil next morning till water remains half of the original quantity. Let the water cool and strain. You can use this directly as a shampoo but it would not lather and I don’t know if it removes the oil completely. And, you might not get satisfied with it.

So, take a fresh clean bottle. Pour your regular shampoo to a one-third quantity of the bottle. And, pour this liquid over it. Shake well. Your herbal shampoo is ready. Do not worry about diluting your shampoo. It is good for you as less number of chemicals are applied on your hair and your shampoo lasts longer.

This shampoo works better than the regular shampoo. And, it will definitely give better results than the regular application. Do not judge it until you try this out. It might sound weird to some people. But, if you have ever heard, many people advice that one should dilute the shampoo with water to decrease the harshness of chemicals on the hair. I will request you all to give it a try.

You can use a shampoo sachet for a trial. And, then, you can decide for your own self whether this shampoo will suit you or not. And, it surely does help in hair growth too.

Words of Caution
Please refrain from using any ingredient, which you already know, you will be allergic to. If you want to dye your hair some color, you can continue with using henna leaves. But, remember that though henna is conditioning for hair, it is extremely drying too. So, you can skip it.

You may put some green tea (or your favorite flavor) too in the boiling water. Do not add anything which has short shelf life as it will spoil the whole recipe like lemon peels, soapnuts or shikakai. Use them fresh. You can use lemon juice as a hair rinse for shine. But, lemon causes hair to get dry. So, you might want to try out other remedies for shiny hair.

Have you tried something like this ever?
Related Posts:

From the Archives : Get rid of Split Ends {Hair care}
From the Archives : Hair Types and their Hair Care Routine {Hair Care}
From the Archives : Use “Shaving Oil” to get rid of unwanted hair {Skin Care}

Vaadi Herbals Aromatherapy Body Oil Pure Lemongrass and Lily Oil {Product Review}

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Vaadi Herbals Aromatherapy Body Oil Pure Lemongrass and Lily Oil {Product Review}

I simply love body oils and this one is fast growing on me. Though I don’t like the fact that it gets finished off too soon for me, it sure smells really fresh and lemongrass-y. I love the citrus-y smell which hits the nose as soon as you open the bottle.

The fragrance is strong but not overly so which does make me a bit suspicious if it is natural or not. I have never actually smelled lemongrass essential oil, hence, my suspicions. I have had bergamot though it wasn’t this strong. But, it was equally refreshing!
Pros
gets absorbed easily
smells refreshing
moisturizes the skin well
cute packaging
Anyways coming back to the product, it comes in a cute green bottle with a stopper. You have to pierce the stopper but I, being lazy, chucked it out altogether. Don’t do that because then you don’t really know how much of the product is enough for one use.

Vaadi Herbals Aromatherapy Body Oil Pure Lemongrass and Lily Oil {Product Review}
Due to that issue, earlier I used to end up using a bit too much of the oil but then slowly I decreased to using around 5-10 drops of oil for each body part. Applied on damp skin, the product gets absorbed really easily and moisturizes the skin well.
Cons
doesn’t do anything for the tan and blemishes as it claims!
can be sticky if overused
smell might get too strong for sensitive noses
I won’t say that it made my skin glow or remove the tan or did what it claims but it is definitely worth a try. I think a 100ml would last around a month of usage. And, the price is decent for the quantity.
Price: Rs 65 for 50ml
Availability
PS: Product provided by brand. 
Have you used this product?
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