Swathy and Sky

Are your salons hygienic enough?

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Today, I would like to share with you a new article I read few days back. It talks about hygiene at salons. How much do we know about the cleanliness of the salons? Every thing that glitters is not gold. This cliche applies to the cleanliness of the salons too. Yes, we all go to the high class ones present at some posh area of the city and which charges accordingly for the services. But, what do we know about the lurking bacterias present in the wax used or the hair and skin tools.

The article says specifically that the wax should never be left open to air. It can attract a lot of bacteria which can enter during the waxing procedure. I read it after my visit to the salon and I remember distinctly that the utensil containing wax had been left open. Moreover, the hygiene practiced by the therapist. What if she has some bacteria on her hands. We all know that everyone is not used to the too hot wax temperatures on the body and everyone’s body has a different adaptability. If you find that a therapist is not doing her services according to your comfort, immediately request a change. Or, better, never go back to the salon. It has happened with me and believe me, that shows its effect later. And, I am sure, many people would have faced this.
Many of the tools used are not disposable in the salons like the wash basins, hair combs and brushes, manicure and pedicure sets. And, God knows, how many times they have been used on what kind of people. So, prefer to carry your set of tools with you. Of course, you can not carry a wash basin. I am talking about manicure and pedicure sets and the hair combs and brushes and anything else according to the service you are getting done like a blackhead remover for a facial. The article stresses on the fact that maximum brunt is born by the people who get manicures and pedicures.

“A previous client could have had a wart or fungal infection and if the tools are not washed properly, the infection can get transferred,”

And, the best way to judge the cleanliness of the salon can be to have a look at the bathroom. So, next time you visit a salon, do not forget to use the bathroom and inspect it closely. After all, its going to be you who will suffer for any misgivings of the salon.

Eye Care: Home Remedies

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Last time, I talked about eye care. Today, I would like to talk to you about some home remedies which can help us combat problems like dark circles, puffy eyes and wrinkles.

Dark Circles. 
  • Place chilled slices of cucumber or Apple on your eyes and relax for 10-15 minutes. Do this daily and you will see results in a week or two.
  • Apply chilled tea bags or cotton balls to your eyes. They also work in same way.
  • Place chilled inverted tea spoons on your eyes.
  • Saturate cotton balls with chilled milk and place them on your eyes. Milk provides relief to your eyes, helps in lightening the color and cleanses the eye area gently.
  • Apply herbal tea (green tea preferably) on your eye area with cotton balls. This would also clean your eyes.
Puffy Eyes.
  • Apply warm tea bags on your eyes.
  • Put a slice of freshly cut fig on your eye bags and see them disappear magically.
  • Slice of potato also works beautifully on puffy eyes.
  • Cold compresses are good.
Wrinkles.
  • Put a thin layer of egg white under your eyes to remove the wrinkles.
  • Pure castor oil prevents formation of wrinkles.
  • Massage pure coconut oil gently on the area having wrinkles at bed time.
  • Mix turmeric with sugarcane juice and apply to prevent wrinkles and slow aging.
  • Rub a slice of pineapple or green apple on your wrinkles.
  • Mix lemon juice with honey and apply several times a day to fade away wrinkles.
Other home remedies.

Eyes: Take Care of them to look young

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In the anti-aging series till now, I have talked about the importance of sunscreen to fight early aging and the notion of aging prevalent among us. Today, I would like to talk about Eyes. As we all know, they are among the first parts of our body to betray our age, if not given proper attention. Eyes give us a lot of trouble like dark circles, puffy eyes, wrinkles, crows feet and what not and make our life miserable. So, we will discuss about how to go on tackling them and achieve beautiful and bright eyes. You may have tried products on products to get rid of these problems but I am sure not many of you might have really found anything satisfying.

Dark Circles. The skin around the eyes is very thin. And, it has lots of blood vessels underneath which gives the skin around the eyes a naturally darker look. This darkness can be enhanced by factors like improper sleep or sleeping positions, dryness in the skin, heredity and many more.
  • I have stressed so much on the importance of drinking water or proper sleep. Start doing it today and experience some betterment in a week.
  • While sleeping, keep your head at a higher elevation so that the blood circulation is less in the face. This way, there may be a color lightening around the eyes.
  • Always splash your eyes nicely with cold water before sleeping and after waking up. This relaxes your eyes.
  • For those people who have dark circles due to hereditary factors, you can follow these steps but a permanent solution is not guaranteed.
Puffy Eyes. They are caused by excess water content around the eye areas. To reduce that, again I would advise you to sleep with head at a higher elevation. Now, you can reduce puffy eyes by taking care of your diet too.
  • Do not take excess of fluids at night, even water. Keep it to bare minimum.
  • Reduce the salt intake. Excess of salt in the body means increased capacity of retaining water. So, try to keep your salt intake to a minimum and try to reduce it everyday. Do not worry about the taste of food. It takes your taste buds only 15 days to get adapted to the new taste.
  • Reduce intake of sugar too.
Wrinkles. These are caused by dryness around the eyes or due to excess exposure to sun. They can also be taken care of through diet. You need a lot anti-oxidants in your body to fight the wrinkle causing free radicals.
  • Eat lots of green leafy vegetables, beans, olive oil, nuts and whole-grain bread.
  • Reduce the intake of meat and processed foods.
  • Also, reduce the intake of sugar. It is one of the causes of puffy eyes and pimples too.
  • Always go in sun wearing a sunscreen with an SPF of 15-30. Reapply every 2 hours.
  • Sleep on your back to avoid wrinkles. Sleeping on your sides puts pressure on your skin and creates wrinkles. Try a conscious effort to sleep on your back. I know it can be difficult for people who are used to curling up. But, its worth an effort.
  • If you do not wear glasses, get a pair of sun glasses with UV protection. They should have side covering too. This would prevent the entry of UV radiation anywhere near your eyes.
  • Do not squint. They are also causes of wrinkles.
  • Apply moisturizer on sunscreen on your eye area with your ring finger in a quick gentle sweep. Do not massage.
  • If you feel that having wrinkles is not bad, try stretching your skin to make them wrinkle free and have a look at your face. You do look younger. This would be your motivation to follow all the above mentioned points.