Swathy and Sky

How to wash your hair with soapnuts (reetha)?

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I had bought soapnuts (they are environment friendly and natural detergents) and shikakai a year back with the resolution that I would use only these things to wash my hair. Well, as you might have guessed, it never happened!! (till now) But, yes, I was successful in making homemade shampoo with soap nuts and shikakai and other ingredients.
A few days back one of my friends informed me that she has bought soap nuts to wash her hair regularly. And, I remembered my long forgotten lot of soap nuts and shikakai. Now, the reason I could never use soap nuts was because I never knew how to use them. I had asked a lot of people and they told me correct procedure but still I could not bring myself to use them. So, there was no harm in asking one other person, right? I asked my friend how to use soap nuts to wash hair. And, she told me. Strangely, you have some people in your life who assure you of things without really doing so. She is one of them and I decided to follow here advice to the letter.
So, what did she advice me? Quite simple: Soak soap nuts and then use the liquid to wash your hair. When the liquid gets finished, use the soap nuts to lather a batch of water again and use it again and again as many times as you want. No details, nothing. But, still, I decided to go with it. So, what did I do?
  • I put 3 soap nuts and 2 shikakai fruits (vary according of the length and thickness of your hair, my friend said it is very less, she has shoulder length hair – shorter than mine and she used 10 soap nuts so you can go for 15 too if you have waist length hair) in a cup and covered them with boiling water and left them overnight. I deseeded the soap nuts before soaking them. You can throw away the seeds or grow your own soap nut tree.
  • In the morning, during my shower, I shook the soap nuts in the water and then put them in little water in another mug. (Do not throw away the soap nuts.)
  • Now, I took the liquid (it has very less foam in it) and applied on my scalp and started massaging. It does not lather at all in the starting. So, you have to just work your way through your hair very thoroughly. Then, I dipped my hair strands into the liquid and shampooed them as well as I could. Yes, the whole procedure is a lot more messier than using a shampoo. And, it might tangle your hair. (There is a surprise there!!) Then, I rinsed it off.
  • Now, I took the other mug in which the soap nuts were transferred and used that liquid for the second round and simultaneously, transfer the soap nuts into the first cup in some water. Shake the soap buts a bit to bring out the lather. Again follow the same routine. This time your hair might lather. Mine did not because I had oil in my hair. The time soap nuts will take to lather depends on the oiliness if your hair so it might lather for you int he first time also if your hair is not very dirty and free of oil.
  • So, this way, I followed the shampooing of my hair six times though I could have probably stopped at third or fourth. Well, that would come with experience.I would aim for less times the next time I shampoo.
  • I did not condition my hair. I wanted to see the results without the effect of any conditioners and such.
The results:
  • Soap nuts are also washing agents. Though they are natural, they also clean your scalp. So, excessive washing is not recommended. If you do try this, stick to three. That is enough to clean the oil from your hair also. I overdid in my naivety.
  • My hair was shinier and softer without using any conditioner.
  • Now comes the surprise!! There was minimal tangling of the hair which was easily resolved in a minute which is really less as compared to ones I get while using a normal shampoo.
  • There is no frizz in the hair even though I overdid my shampooing.
  • Manageable hair.
  • There was less hair fall in the bathroom as compared to using shampoos.
Advantages:
  • Completely natural and non-toxic.
  • Soap nuts and shikakai condition the hair very well and promote hair growth. They also help stop hair loss and treat scalp infections and dandruff.
  • If you use organic soap nuts, I think the results would be even better.
  • Do not throw away the soap nuts after your hair wash is over. There is a lot of lather left in them. So, use them to wash your utensils or put them in a cotton bag and throw in a cycle of laundry. You can give your detergent a miss. Clothes come out really clean and bright if you use soap nuts.
So, I have decided that I would use soap nuts whenever I do not have to rush anywhere. I will keep a bottle of shampoo for emergencies. You really need time to wash your hair with soap nuts. Be careful not to get the liquid into your eyes or it stings the eyes pretty bad. I’ll give an update the next time I’ll wash my hair.

Prepare your skin for Waxing

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Waxing might seem like one of the easiest ways of getting rid with the body and definitely more safer than using hair removal creams or shaving or any other hair removal methods except for laser. But, laser is out of budget for most of the people. But, waxing can be extremely painful for many people with sensitive skin. Some can not resist pain and some are highly sensitive to the hot wax. And, many of you might be susceptible to boils and red patches which appear after the procedure. While I would definitely recommend waxing over other techniques, you should never forget that you are literally peeling one or two layers of your skin even if you are getting it done by the best of the professionals. And, in case you land up with amateurs, there is no saying that there would be bleeding or not. So, when you are exposing your most sensitive skin out, you can definitely expect your skin to react in various ways and boils and irritation is just mild of the symptoms. Though you can never get rid of these problems, you can at least strive to reduce them by following a proper before and after skin care.

Before Waxing
  • Always make your appointment two weeks after your periods. Skin is less sensitive then.
  • Before you go for waxing, always make sure that your skin is not injured or burned in any way. If you have allergies, cuts, open wounds, sunburns or warts, get a treatment before going for waxing.  Waxing can aggravate the situation otherwise.
  • Skip exfoliation, saunas and steam baths on the day prior to waxing.
  • Do not drink coffee on the day before or on day of waxing as caffeine makes you sensitive to pain. Avoid tea also as it also contains caffeine even though it is less.
  • Take bath immediately before waxing. This would help in removing the oils on your skin and any grease or dirt which might cause hindrance while waxing.
  • Do not apply and moisturizer or sunscreen or even deodorants.
  • In case you are going for professional service, wash your hands and other parts of the body where you intend to get waxing done with water once more. This ensures easy removal of the hair and so an area does not need to be waxed more than once or twice.
  • If you are sensitive to pain,  pop a pain killer 20 minutes before waxing. It will ease the pain. 
During Waxing
  • Make sure of the wax temperature. If it is too uncomfortable for you no matter the temperature, tell the girl attending you. Do not let her do what she wants.
  • If the girl attending you is too rude or does not listen to you, complain at once. Trust me it is lot better than enduring pain and not going back to your favorite salon. It happened with me.
  • Do not let the girl attending you keep on waxing your skin two to three times at the same place unnecessarily. Sometimes best of the salons have such people. That makes your skin sore and painful in the extreme especially at sensitive places.
  • Do look around for hygiene. Better carry your clothes instead of changing into ones provided by the salons. Salon hygiene is very important to look for before you become a regular there.
After Waxing
  • Now that you have endured all the pain, you would feel a lot of itching after waxing. Do not itch your skin. I know it is uncontrollable but it made big red boils on my skin and then left ugly scars. Itching also causes a lot of ingrown hairs which in turn irritate the skin. So, do not itch at any cost.
  • If you are at home, immediately go and place a cold water shower head on the areas waxed. That will soothe you well and relives the itch.
  • Still feeling like itching, run a soothing hand over the area instead of clawing your fingers into the skin. Endure for a moment and it will be fine in the next.
  • Then, take a leaf of aloe vera and scoop out all the gel. Apply it on your skin but do not massage.
  • Do not use very hot water for bathing. Warm water will keep your skin in better condition.
  • Avoid exfoliation for a week after your waxing. Your skin does not need exfoliation as it has been stripped off a layer of skin literally.
  • Moisturize your skin well as long as your skin feels sore.

Look fabulous this Karwachauth naturally

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I know its going to be a very rigorous day for you all married ladies and ladies who are keeping the fast without the mercy of even a drop of water. Ok, I do not want to sound cruel. I find it to be a great tradition and a beautiful day for a married woman. And, since it is the day dedicated to your husbands, it is the day you should look your best and make sure your husbands do not get time to look anywhere else 🙂 So, how do you accomplish looking fabulous when you are starving and dehydrated????? Well, take care of yourself the days before. I know my post is a lot late and I am really sorry but you can still make up to it. (I meant posting this at least a week earlier but it completely slipped from my mind.)
Dedicate your three days starting from today to yourself completely. Relax, enjoy, pamper. Well, yes, I know it is hell for working ladies and with families. But, you can always steal an hour for yourself somewhere in your schedule. Even if you can not, I do have tips for you.
  • Make sure you follow this routine to look fabulous during occasions.
  • In the evening, wash off your face with this makeup remover even if you are not wearing makeup.
  • Wash your body (yes complete body not only face) with either besan or ‘sunnipindi’ (as called in Telugu) mixed with raw milk (real cow or goat if you can get).
  • Every night you can pamper yourself with a face mask according to your skin type. A clay mask would be best as it detoxes your skin well. Mix it with honey for dry skin and with rose water for normal, oily and combination skin. Sensitive skin can go with either.
  • Do not venture out in sun for three days. Wear SPF 15 sunscreen even when inside.
  • You can massage your body before bath as it makes your skin extra soft.
  • Drink as much water as you can. Literally fill yourself with water.
  • Drink a lot of vegetable juices and fruit juices. Make smoothies of different veggies and fruits but avoid mixing both. Do not make a combined smoothie of fruit and veggies. It would not provide any nutritional benefits as the enzymes of both nullify the benefits.
  • Eat a lot of sesame seeds in these days. You could also ingest a table spoon of sesame oil, coconut oil or olive oil, whichever you prefer. I would go for sesame. It would give the much needed fatty acids.
  • After showering at night, massage your skin with any oil. For people with oily skin, you can go with aloevera and rose water mixture.
  • Make your diet as regular and nutritious as possible. Eat a lot of fruits. Mix a whole lot of nuts (almonds, walnuts, raisins, raw cashews and raw pistachios) and snack on them. Do not add salt or roast them. They lose their nutrition.
  • Moisturize your hair with natural aloevera in these three days. If you can use yogurt or egg on your hair, use them. Or, simply apply rose water. That does a lot of good to your hair.
  • Sleep well in these days. Take complete 8-9 hours sleep whichever makes you feel more refreshed. And, take a 10-20 minute walk early in the morning in fresh air. It would make you look fabulous.
This list can go on and on. So, my advice would be to think of beauty and health in everything you do. If you are stepping out of the house, do not forget sunscreen. After coming back, wipe your exposed areas with cotton pads dipped in chilled rose water or with ice cubes. Use gloves while doing the washing. Take baths with either honey, milk or salt in your baths as they soften your skin. Literally make beauty a part of every aspect. Not only for Karwachauth, but for life 🙂
[Do share what you are planning for Karwachauth]