Swathy and Sky

Biotique Bio Almond & Cashew Fresh Repleneshing Hair Serum {Product Review}

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I have not been online for quite a number of days so if you have sent me mails, please give me sometime. My lappie crashed, then windows didn’t recover, so shifted to ubuntu and now, the touchpad is being erratic so it’s an ongoing schedule of laptop disasters!!! But, I am hoping to be back soon and I have a huge backlog of product reviews which I have committed to. So, this was requested by Divine Blush. Hope you find it satisfactory 🙂 I had long since wanted a leave-in hair serum which doesn’t have silicones and keeps my hair healthy. So, I got this the first time I laid my eyes on it.

Price: Rs 159 for 35ml

Ingredients

I don’t know if you can read it properly but I, sure as hell, can’t. So, here’s the list: Nariyal Jal (3%), Dudhal (3.5%), Manjishta (2.1%), Cotus Bergamia [wrong spelling, couldn’t read] (0.5%), Kaju (0.5%), Badam Tail (2%), Himalayan Water Q.S

Pros
– Ingredient List is very impressive
– It keeps the hair soft
Cons
– It doesn’t really do anything on its own unless you lock it in the hair (I am guessing this!!!)

My Experience

I am actually a bit confused about the serum even now after using the entire bottle. So, I shall first talk about its texture. Let me say this that I love the ingredients and the texture of the product is like a thick gel but it is not at all sticky on the hair. It spreads easily through the hair and keeps the hair really soft.

And, here is where my problem began. Once, it wasn’t able to control the frizz in my hair. Then, next time, it kept my hair really beautiful and soft and manageable. Then, again, it made my hair a bit greasy as I applied a bit more (or, it might have been the oil or hair not being washed properly, I am not really sure).

Since I was so confused about the product, I experimented a lot with it. I have applied this serum and followed with a drop or two of oil to lock in the moisture or followed it with a single pump of Dove Nourishing Care serum. Both times, I would say that it kept my hair really beautiful, shinier and moisturized.And, the best part was that my hair was hydrated for a longer time.

The reason for good hydration, as I think, is the ingredient list. It is full of water so locking it with oil or a moisture-locking serum works wonders for the hydration levels of the hair and that’s why, this product works. It doesn’t weigh the hair down but a little trial and error is required to make out how much of the product is required for the hair.

Have you used this serum?

Psoriasis and home remedies {Skin Care}

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This post was requested by one of the reader’s. Hope this helps you 🙂
What is Psoriasis?
Psoriasis is a condition which occurs as a result of skin cells being mistaken as external agents by the immune system. Hence, the body starts fighting these cells which result in scaly patches in different colors of the skin. It is actually not a ksin disorder but an immune system fault and the dermatological condition occurs only in some cases.
The skin cells rapidly divide and accumulate and replace themselves on certain parts of the body like scalp, hands, feet, genitals, etc. The skin becomes red and itchy and flaky also. It can affect anyone at any age but it is not communicative.
Please read the wiki page for detailed information.
How to treat Psoriasis?
While I would certainly recommend going to a reliable dermatologist, there are a few things which you can do at home too.
  • Sun Exposure: Expose the affected areas regularly to sun. Sun’s rays are powerful and very necessary for our well-being overall. Yes, they can cause cancer but not going into sunlight has lot worse side effects.
‘Phototherapy’ is a form of treatment which is used to effectively treat psoriasis. This includes exposing the skin to a particular wavelength of the sunlight. That is available only with a dermatologist but one can always use the sunlight for a limited period of time like an hour or so at around 10 AM or 3 PM when the sun’s rays are a little less strong but strong enough.
  • Your Bathing Ritual: Take regular baths, may be once or twice in a day. Add a cup of almond oil to your bath to make it moisturizing. Use a good quality soap which doesn’t strip off the natural oils from the body. It’s good to spend a bit on them. Or, ask your dermatologist to prescribe a gentle cleanser.
  • Moisturize: Moisturizing your skin is a good habit. Either use medicated ointments or go for heavy moisturizers or even vegetable oils. Vaseline or regular Petroleum Jelly also helps a lot with Psoriasis.
  • Diet: A balanced diet is absolutely essential whenever you face any disorder, whether skin or hair or body. So, eat your food properly and make sure you are getting enough healthy fats into your system.
These are somethings you can do along with your medication. But, these are just home remedies which do not guarantee any long term relief or even short term so always seek a doctor’s advice whenever you find any symptoms of psoriasis.

What to look for in a product review? {Beauty Products}

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Yesterday, I talked about my disapppointment with a product I bought after reading a lot of positive reviews. So, I thought it would make a good post to write on what one should look in the reviews and how to decide whether to buy a product or not? I recently came across disappointment buying a product after reading a lot of positive reviews and thought that this situation might have happened with many of you, probably even after reading my reviews!!! So, I thought it would make a good post to write about how to choose a product after reading the reviews.
No fault of Reviewers
First and foremost, one must always keep in mind that every product reacts differently for everyone. So, when reviewing it, a person is speaking only with their personal experiences and sometimes, it can be an accumulated experience if a group of friends. And, this is no way can be generalized over a large number of people. So, do not blame anyone if a thing doesn’t work for you. And, also remember that just because something doesn’t work doesn’t mean that nothing else also will not work 🙂 So, be open-minded about it.
Skin or Hair Profile of the Reviewer
Ok, so the first thing which you should always check out is the profile of a person who is doing the review. If they have oily hair, you can’t expect them to review a dry hair product and shouldn’t really depend up on it. Many people write that since it didn’t suit their combination skin, it might suit an oily skin or some such statement and I dare say even I might have written but this can be misleading at times. It need not be necessarily so.
So, you should be always read the review carefully and try to find out what exactly is the skin or hair profile of a person and what it is going through right now and whether it is similar to your condition or not. These things are not important when you are looking at swatches of a particular shade and deciding which one you like best but definitely comes in helpful when you are trying to decide what kind of a product is it.
Don’t rely on a single review
Yes, that is very important. Never go for a single review. Even when I write reviews, I try to read as many reviews of the same product as possible and try to judge if my experience was similar or not. So, when you are trying to decide on a product, be aware that many people might have put up their reviews so always survey well. You should also go to mouthshut and such review platforms which have reviews from various people.
Bloggers reviews are more reliable as you have a connection with them and can trust them to quite an extent depending on how long you have been following a particular blog. Media is too widespread today so be media savvy. This way you wouldn’t even blame a single person.
Comments
Yes, comments on a review are very helpful because it invites opinion from lot of people who might have used the product so always go through comments. Most of the comments might turn out of context but you will find a needle in a haystack.
Rest of the things include price and ingredient list which you can decide depending on your budget and preference of certain ingredients and avoiding certain of them.
What do you look for in a review?