Swathy and Sky

Brown Sugar Facial Scrub {DIY}

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This is a slightly modified version of the Body Polish Recipe I had shared a while ago. 
Ingredients
  • 1 sachet  brown sugar
  • Oil to mix the sugar (preferably Apricot oil)
Method
Mix the ingredients. Use enough oil to make a paste and not more. Use the mix to scrub your face and neck after cleansing thoroughly. Scrub till the sugar melts and this doesn’t really take more than a minute but be gentle otherwise it can leave your skin feeling a little tender. After scrubbing, wash off the scrub and leave the oil as it is on the face. Do not wash it off. Follow with a little moisturizer. 
In place of apricot oil, almond oil is a great substitute. Both the oils get absorbed quickly into the skin and do not leave any greasiness behind. You can also include a drop or two of essential oils.
Results
Brown sugar is more preferred to normal sugar as you all are aware. This is because of the lesser calorie count of the brown sugar due to the presence of molasses which increases the water content in the sugar. This is also a reason that this is a better scrub than white sugar because it is less abrasive and hydrates the skin.
So, the results are awesome!! Your face is glowing and the oil and moisturizer combination leaves your skin soft and really supple all day long. A great scrub for emergency occasions. And, an extra benefit is that your skin is taut and tightened.

My weekly hair routine {Hair Care}

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I have been trying to take care of my hair since quite long and have been trying to keep a sustaining routine. This is what I do weekly.
  • Since my hair is curly and dry, I wash my hair only twice a week unless I go out somewhere in the dirt and pollution and specially in the day time or afternoon. Generally, I do not go out so my limit of shampooing twice weekly. Remember my article on how often should you shampoo hair?
My Weekday’s Routine
  • On the weekdays, when I wash my hair, I oil my hair and try to give it a hot oil treatment. At the very least, I try to cover my hair with shower cap and cover with a scarf for extra heating.
  • If not so elaborately, I do heat the oil and then apply it on the scalp and generally massage my scalp for 15-20 minutes while watching something on the television.
  • Then, I leave the oil overnight and wash my hair next day.
  • I do try to massage my scalp every night but I am not so very regular with it.
  • And, I give my hair a trim once in every two months. I do it on my own generally to avoid spending so much of money!!! But, twice in a year, I do prefer to go to a salon for a good hair cut. That reminds me of my next hair cut 🙂
Washing and Conditioning
  • I use a dollop of shampoo and mix it with a fist full of water and dilute it.
  • I wet my hair thoroughly with water and then, apply the diluted shampoo to my scalp and massage the scalp for sometime.
  • Then, wash it off an follow with the shampoo second time if I have oiled my hair otherwise once is enough.
  • After washing my hair, I squeeze the extra water from the hair and then, I apply a good amount of conditioner on damp hair and keep it on for 3-5 minutes minimum.
  • After that, I wash my hair thoroughly, obviously, and remove all traces of the conditioner.
  • I generally air-dry my hair. I use the towel to squeeze out all the water from my hair and gently wrap it in the towel for sometime to catch all the dripping water. This is something I do in the winters where as in summers, I leave my hair as it is.
  • I use a cotton towel instead of a turkey towel as the turkey towel is more fluffy and can cause the hair to dry out more than the cotton towel. And, I use a separate towel for my hair – the cotton ones which are extremely thin.
  • Anyways, after that I run a drop or two of the hair serum through the damp hair and since my hair is curly, I prefer to detangle my hair when it is 80-90% dry instead of letting it dry completely. The dampness helps the hair to detangle easily as compared to completely dry hair.
My Weekend’s Routine 
  • I do try to do a weekly deep conditioning treatment as my hair is dry, curly and thin and they get rough and dull very easily so I have to take care of them pretty regularly.
  • In the summers, I prefer to use home remedies like eggs and curd and such things but in winters, I am using the hair masks.
  • But, I do not apply the hair masks on the scalp so I use the aloevera gel for my scalp. And, I keep the conditioning treatment for an hour minimum and wash off my hair.
So, this is my weekly hair care routine. Nothing elaborate but it helps keep my hair soft, shiny and manageable and routine hair cuts ensure no splits.
Products I am currently using for hair:

Bad Diet and My Health {Health}

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Ok, so I have to confess that I am not at the ideal blogger. I do not act on what I preach and since the past one year almost, my diet has been so bad that I can see the affects now so I thought I would share my experiences with you so that you would never make the mistakes I made or at least you will give it a second thought!!!

My Lifestyle
First lets have a look at past one year of my life. What have I been eating for the past one year. Frankly, nothing!!! Yup, I have gone empty stomach countless times, literally lived on samosas and cups of tea and some pizzas. That has been my major chunk of the diet.
And, I am stressed out and my sleep is either fragmented or disturbed.I have spent many sleepless nights and ignored my health entirely.
Results
  • My weight is down by 6-7 kgs and is yo-yoing between 56 and 59 right now. Yes, I am looking really thin but dangerously frail. Trust me this is no way to reduce weight. Its not at all healthy.
  • I am weak, pale and constantly have fainting spells. You really don’t want that.
  • I have become forgetful and heavily so!!! My brain doesn’t work as it used to and I have to really struggle with things sometimes.
  • I do get twinges of pains at any point in my body and I have definitely suffered from muscles aches sometimes.
  • Since I have been heavily stressed too, so my skin has lost its natural glow and hair is definitely showing a little degradation.
  • The worst I have suffered is on the front of my “Immunity”. It gone bad to worse and I have enjoyed the best immunity all my life!!! I have suffered from cold about 3-4 times in the past year and bad cold that too and one in July was so bad that I was suffering from dry cough and cold for a month.
And, these results are really very minimal as compared to my negligence towards my health. So,I would request everyone to take care of your diet and not to neglect your Health. It can be very dangerous also and definitely not comfortable to live with.