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How to keep your nails long and strong?

Swathy · March 8, 2010 · 2 Comments

Today, I would like to share with you some facts about nail care. Nails are dead cells growing out of our fingers. So, there are no nerves in the nails and that is why, we do not have any sensation in the nails. But, while clipping your nails, you should be careful enough not to dig into your skin. Nails have two parts to be cared for. One is the nail plate and the other is the cuticle area which provides a covering to the nail. The cuticle area has two types of skin. One skin is the dead skin which extends on to the nail and the other is live skin which folds around the dead skin. So, while pushing back the cuticles or clipping them during manicure, one should be very cautious not to hurt the live skin. This live skin protects our nails from the nail infections. This was the overview of the nail structure. Now, I would like to share some tips to keep your nails long and strong and more importantly, the nails clean.

Dip your nails in olive oil (or your choice of oil) once a week. This is irrespective of the fact that you are doing manicure or not. Oil keeps your nails strong and the skin around the nails moisturized. It prevents the skin from cracking and peeling around the nail edges (which is very prominent in some people). If you can’t dip it in oil, take a generous quantity of oil and massage your nails and cuticles with it. You can even do this daily with a drop of oil. This is a great tip for brittle nails. You can use jojoba oil in place of olive oil. It works great.
Once a week, you can take some baking powder on a brush tip and start brushing your nails. That will turn your nails white and remove any odd colors on your nail.
Instead of clipping your nails, file them. But, file them in only one direction. If you do it in both direction, your nails get ragged and do not look good.
Do not use false nails. Better try growing your own nails.
Leave your nails free of any nail paint at least twice in a month.
While doing manicure to your hands, do not forget to take care of your nails. Do not let your nails dry. Moisturize them every time you apply moisturizer to your hands.
Your nails show your health just like your hair. So, good nutrition will keep them pink. Improve your diet to include more proteins and vitamins which are important for both hair and nails. Generally, the growth of nails and hair are a lot interdependent.
Since, the nails are just dead cells. So, there is no nail mask which you can apply. But, yes, you can whiten them in the same way you whiten your teeth. Rub lemon juice or strawberries. But, do not forget to apply oil afterward as they are very drying for nails.
You can place your nails in a bowl of milk. This would improve the look of your nails. This would serve as a proper manicure.

Benefits of Orange on Skin

Swathy · March 8, 2010 · 111 Comments

This fruit belongs to the citrus family and is best know for its astringent and toning properties. Oranges are a good source of Vitamin C which is known to improve the skin texture and color. They help restoring collagen in our body which is responsible for skin firming and preventing early aging of skin. So, daily serving of citrus fruits helps our body fight aging.

After eating orange, instead of throwing away the peels, dry them in sun and grind them. Store the mixture. And, use it as a body scrub.
Mix the above made scrub and milk or milk cream and apply on face. It gives an instant glow to your face. And, reduces the dark spots and blemishes on your skin.
If you do not want to go through the tedious step of grinding the peels, you can make a refreshing face spray using the peels.
If you do not use a face spray, simply pour boiling water on the peels and leave for a day. Next day, filter the liquid and store it in fridge. Apply the liquid on your face using a cotton ball. Let stay till it dries up. Your face will be firm and glowing.
- You can use this liquid in preparing face masks. Use the liquid in a day or two.
- You can pour this liquid in your bath water and enjoy a refreshing and rejuvenating bath. Your skin will smell fresh all day.
- Use the liquid as a hair rinse to get shining hair. It also helps in removing dandruff.
A very innovative tip: Take the juice of 2 oranges and freeze it in an ice tray. Rub your face with frozen orange juice cubes. It will instantly freshen you up and lift up the tiredness from your face. The juice will give your dull and oily face an instant sheen. And, the chilled ice cubes will close and minimize the size of your pores. This also provides relief to acne prone skin and pimples.

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Use ‘Sunnipindi’ on you or your baby {Skin Care}

Swathy · March 6, 2010 · 254 Comments

Today, I would be sharing with you a very old age home remedy for glowing skin. ‘Sunnipindi’ is the powdered form of dried green gram dal (mung dal in Hindi). I am not very sure that you can get this powdered form in the market easily. So, time to make it. Not to worry. Its not a very difficult thing. Buy preferred quantity of green gram dal (with ‘chilka’ or its outer skin covering). It will be green in color as shown in the image.

Method: Air dry them in direct sun light. Grind them to get powdered green gram dal.You should mix 1/4 quantity of rice to the total quantity of green gram dal while grinding.You can include turmeric in the mixture. Remember to use the turmeric sticks instead of the commercially available packets.

Application:

1. Use it as a face scrub. Mix it with water, milk or honey and apply on face and body. It gives you glowing skin and removes all blemishes within a very short period.And, also removes facial hair. ‘Sunnipindi is more effective that ‘Besan’.

2. Use this mixture instead of soap while having bath. It is completely natural and a very old custom.

3. You should use this on babies too. Using it on babies removes the roots of their body hairs before they get strong and your babies will grow hairless (on body).

4. And, if you do not feel like using it everyday, you can use it weekly once. Oil your whole body nicely and stay for 30 minutes to 1 hour before bath. Then use the mixture to scrub your body. You should use this mixture without diluting it in water. Or, you can mix it in milk and then use it as a whole body scrub.

Do you use sunnipindi on your skin?