Facial

Most of us do facial to relax and hopefully undo some surface level damage to the skin. Nowadays i have heard dermats doing some curative level peels and facial which mimic the effect of a facelift. Completely remove the old skin to reveal new skin.Well, i have no idea about them since i haven't got it done.

I want to share the basic facial I do at home.I am always amazed by how little amount of ingredients is required for a facial at home and most of them are there at home.There are so many delicious sounding kits available in the market by most brands. I haven't used any but i am sure they must be getting the job done if you don't expect the moon from them and don't believe their claims.

Here's what i do:

1. Cleansing:

I usually wash my face with a facewash before i start.Then depending on my mood i use either a ready made mild scrub like Ever yuth 's ultra mild scrub. I like this one its papain based [papaya enzyme] or Nivea Pore refining scrub face wash directly [ i don't know if its still available in india]. For extra exfoliation i either use plain table salt/instant coffee powder and gently rub it on the face. Sometimes when i am out of scrubs,i apply cleansing milk[ i use garnier/lakme] and then use salt/ coffee or cocoa powder and rub it all over my face and neck for 2-3 mins.

When you rub your face be gentle.You'll usually require only 1/4th tsp of salt/ coffee powder. Do it only for 2-3 mins.Keep applying water if skin feels dry.

2. Massaging:

I don't really massage my face because i don't know how to.So whatever little i know i use simple gentle strokes. I apply either olive/sesame/jojoba/apricot oils from the bottle in winters and coconut oil in summers.Sometimes i mix a little of oils with my moisturiser and apply. The point i am trying to make is i use whatever is on hand and what i feel like using at that time.I use refined oils and olive oil i use is usually the light yellow one [ so not extra virgin oil:I rather eat extra virgin olive oil than put it on my hair or face]

Massage and apply oil or cream till its soaked in.

Masks/Packs:

I have 2 standard recipes for face packs: For winter: In milk i put lemon juice, let it curdle then add honey,ambahalad and manjisth powders .Then depending on requirement,availability and mood, i add either powdered oats/masoor dal powder. Sometimes i add kokum butter/moisturiser to it.

In summers: I mix multani mitti with milk/ rose water add, sandal,manjisth and ambahalad to make face pack.

I keep the pack for 20 mins.

I usually have some herbs like licorice, neem always around so i use them too sometimes.I remember once i used my regular moisturiser as base and added neem powder and oats to make face pack.It works really well.

I wash off with water and dry with a towel. I usually don't find the need to moisturise afterward but if you do you can definitely apply a moisturiser or serum.

That's it. I admit its not fancy but i like how clean, smooth my skin becomes afterwards.In summers especially,the multani mitti pack dries up oil and shrinks pores,cleans the skin all at one go.

If you try it do let me know if it worked well for you as it has for me.

Sally Hansen Diamond Strength No Chip Nail Color

The first cosmetic i purchased when 12 was a light brown Lakme nailpolish. I didn't even know how to apply neither did Mom. You see, my mom never used nailpaints.

But i still remember how i used to apply in diwali vacations and how i got rapped on knuckles by nuns in school because i didn't remove nail polish when school restarted. I didn't know there was some thing called nail polish remover...my poor mom found one for me and scrubbed my nails clean. I promptly forgot about the nail polish until i found it in my drawer after some years ...dried and flaky.

I somehow never became a nailpaint fiend. My guess is its because it required time to apply well and then to dry and because i grew up in times when only 'actresses' or 'bold' girls wore bright nail polishes [read red and its shades!]. So i got stuck with a mental framework and subtle light peach,pink or mocha colors.

I wore light peach,lilac,light brown,nude,light pink through out college. Half the time i never had to remove nail polish- i worked with ethanol,acetone, hexanol,toluene in the lab through out college. On top of it, my nails chipped and broke easily. Here i want to tell you i have slim long fingers and nails so i was quite happy with their appearance even though I couldn't grow nails longer than 1/8th of a cm.

I am impatient with nails so though broke i used to use Maybelline express finish and Revlon. Only these 2 were available besides Lakme which talked about fast drying and long wear about 14 years ago. Its only now that there is Colorama. I have used Colorama [maybelline]. They are quite ok but some shades chip like plastic in about a day. I still use Maybelline Express Finish and Revlon. Revlon has hopeless colours now - nothing new. But these two are the only easily available ones which survive more than 2 days on my nails.

So my search lead me to try Sally Hansen.I asked my dad to bring Sally Hansen Diamond strength nail paint. It costs nearly Rs 500 in india and that too online. I haven't seen any in stores in Pune.

Since,dad would bring from US i asked for one. Its cost him $4 -$5.He got me one called 'Pink Promise'. For shade and other details go here.





The USP of this range is touted as: No chip.

And Chip it DID NOT !

The colour was warm light sparkly silver pink and to test it i put only 2 coats without topcoat.

It lasted a week on me. Can you imagine ? Here i would like to add that i do lot of house work and wash utensils with my hands without gloves. I am telling you this only because i was so surprised that it lasted a week....I would have been happy with only 4 days of perfect nails because most nail paints don't follow through their claims especially 'No-chip' claim

So can you imagine how long it would last on some one who doesn't do much with her hands.

Other things i noticed is : No smell/vapors of anything otherwise nailpaints smell of toulene or something ! The Maybelline Express Finish have acetonish/or aldehyde smell so does Revlon.

I plan to try one from Sally Hansen's regular range too.

Go get hold of it...if you have friends in US ask them to buy you some.Or buy from india.... I don't know just try for yourself.

Fem Bleach

I don't have any aspiration to become fair - never had. I'm pretty happy with my skin color.However, i do yearn for alabaster, pore-less, perpetual young, clear, smooth skin. Ideally , i'd prefer if i never have to consider botox or other surgical treatments for a smoother skin. Alas ! i know its not going to happen.I 'm growing older and the skin will become wrinkled and i'll look old and as yet there is no miracle in a jar !

I bleach [ home bleach kits] primarily for smoothing skin and lighten facial hair.And most women do bleach for exactly those reasons. Bleach creams have existed since god knows when..and for most its a quick fix for smoother fairer skin.

All home bleachkits are same inspite of claims of gold,silver diamond ,neem, turmeric and other such crap . However,if choices have to be made i choose on how fast it works,and whether my skin turns red after bleaching.There is nothing extraordinary in home bleach kits. Its pure chemical reaction which takes place on surface of the skin.

I have used Olivia,Ayur once , older Fem bleach twice. I used to use Jolen quite often untill one day i got a packet with empty activator container and jar with half cream when i bought it.They all turned my skin red for a day or so.

I use bleach only on face and neck.....too lazy to use anywhere else !Infact, i was so sour with bleaching that i stopped bleaching for 3 years during my mom's sickness [i stopped many things like doing eyebrows which i used to do religiously since 15 years of age, cutting my hair - i used to change my hair cut every year. I have tried all hairstyles out there. I was a maniac . ....I chopped off perfectly good long hair for a boy cut].

Then one day 6-7 months ago i spotted Fem Bleach and decided to give it a try. My skin had taken a beating and i had to go to a wedding and i wanted temporary gleam !


I purchased the blue one for wheat colored skin without any expectations.When i used, i experienced 2 things: 1] it didn't burn at all 2] it didn't turn my skin red afterwards.

With just the minimum amount of activator it turned my skin smoother,even and lightened facial hair. I used it strictly as shown in the pamphlet in the box. I was so happy. For the first time i could bleach properly without any trial and error with the bloody activator.

So yeah , i recommend Fem Bleach to bleaching maniacs out there who bleach for every reason,season or rhyme !

heart attacks and women

Most of the women live in the knowledge that 'heart attacks [ congestive heart failure,myocardial infarction ] are 'MEN'S DISEASE'.
Years and years of magazine articles and health spreads of everyday newspapers have gone on and on about symptoms of heart attacks in men.

Here is a talk from TED which will quickly dispel all your myths !
health threat women face

The moot points are :

In men, heart attacks are loud, quick and painful.Yes , groping left arm pain and chest pain and when they are rushed to hospitals and when labs are done most indicators are high which gives a clear indication of an heart attack.

In women, signs are subtle, chest pain  may be there or not or even slight. Some experience conflicting symptoms like nausea and uneasy sensation or giddiness. And the cardiac indicators on the lab tests are not high enough sometimes to cause alarm in the doctors .So diagnosis is poor. So in a women it largely goes undiagnosed on time and treatment modalities are also not as effective as in men.

The good news is in India doctors have woken up and are aware that women present heart disease symptoms in different ways and are actively and seriously looking when women come with even a minor chest discomfort or other symptoms.

What can women do for themselves ?

1. Recognise the new stats and be aware . In india breast cancer is still a greater killer in women because of late diagnosis in most cases. Similarly be aware and take care of your heart.Do those preventive health check ups.

2. In India more and more women are working late hours, are doubly stressed..........and more importantly we have to fight for everything that is actually is our God given rights. India is not the best place to be a women but i'm hopeful that things might change. In india women work in the house and outside while roles of men are still only as breadwinner. I know being a care taker is hardwired in our DNA but take good care of yourself too. Don't blame yourself,feel guilty or ashamed and if you do actively try to learn skills to combat these feelings.Don't be in hurtful relationships or friendships.Don't care what others are telling especially those who point fingers at you and trying to make you feel bad by judging you.Don't lose yourself in trying to be a good wife ,good DIL or daughter or even a mother. Ask the men in your lives to help you. Bringing up children and running a household is even his responsibility. Seriously, having children and how many and even marriage is a choice.Women face the brunt of pregnancy and bringing up children so its only your choice alone.

3. In india,in conservative households, leftovers are mostly eaten by women and fresh food is given to men. While there is nothing wrong in eating leftovers, make sure its eaten by all or make food only in required quantities. This requires paradigm shift because i have seen women are in charge of cooking and preparing food in such households yet they treat themselves like this.Hold men to different standards: If a man cries or helps in the kitchen, cooks food,cleans the house and is vocal about his feelings.... ITS GOOD !He doesn't become less of a man in any way.If you want to be treated equal and want gentler men , stop saying boys don't cry and bring up boys like human beings instead of MEN !

4. Go for your walks. Instead of taking a rick for 2kms walk if you have the time. Take stairs instead of lifts. Exercise. More and more women have pauch just like men because they have stopped doing physical work and are sitting in office and working on computers.Go do your errands and make the men in your life too and even your children otherwise how they will learn to maintain an active physical life.The funny thing is even maids i see these days are fatter !
The only way to increase stamina unfortunately is 'resistance'- when you strain against something or pull weight ! So don't be afraid to pick up heavy bags or stuff untill and unless you have been told by doctors not to !

5. Don't try to be like men...they are NOT very good role models! Smoking ,drinking,drugs,chewing tobacco and paan masala give the same high to women and men. But women physiology is different then men.These substances when consumed will affect and lead to horrible diseases !So not worth it !

6. In india,men are not trained in household chores by their mothers so for some women it becomes double work of working outside and then doing household chores too. So either spend on help [ which is a different pain in itself- finding good reliable help] or plan to do only this much and delegate other work to husbands and kids.While you are at it make sure you teach your sons and daughters to cook and clean up after themselves if nothing else !

7. Why do i stress on learning to cook- hey its directly related to your health. You decide which oil you use and how much. You decide how to cook a certain vegetable and how much. How much personalization will an eatery,cook or even a fancy dabbawallah give you ? So untill and unless you are a millionaire with an obedient and health conscious cook who will minutely follow your instructions you better learn to cook whether you like it or not. Eating junk food and surviving on maggi all the time because you won't cook or won't make time for cooking your meals will directly affect your health and weight.

8. Make informed choices that are good for you. Don't just do what others expect of you.I know for most women this is very difficult especially simpler, meek and gentle natured women.Do only stuff which makes you feel good and not used.And making these choices is going to be a constant battle.If you are gentle and trusting as person, predatory men and women will try to undermine you in different ways and complicate your life.

Avocado oil

I first saw an avocado and ate one on my brief visit to Bengalore.Its a funny fruit, green on the outside with a huge pit in the stomach and flesh with no taste of its own !

Goes without saying i didn't know there was an oil pressed from the fruit and yeah even has a butter- avocado butter.

One of my friends got me Avocado oil from US - Now foods brand a 100ml bottle. Its edible and also to be used in personal care as an emollient. I had asked her to get Apricot and avocado oil if possible since i had heard about these exotic oils which are unavailable in India easily and effortlessly.

i used Avocado oil mixed with coconut oil in winters only for luxurious pampering on skin.So i knew it to be super moisturizing, non greasy and gives a soft conditioning effect on the skin even after shower.

One day when my hair felt drier than usual i thought of using avocado oil on scalp alone. My scalp is drier than hair on most days.i didn't expect anything but just after shampooing alone my hair was smooth,frizz free and soft ....moreover my scalp felt soft and conditioned too. I usually oil the scalp more and just lightly the hair strands. No other oil has given me a conditioned soft scalp especially after shampooing with the sole purpose of removing oil !

My hair didn't require any conditioner. They 'felt' conditioned,'fed' and soft to touch.Well, its been a year since i have been oiling with avocado oil atleast once in approx 40 days.Its only an 100ml bottle and i'm already on lookout on how i can procure avocado oil easily in India. Any answers?

I'm in love with this oil. Will switch to avocado oil completely once i do manage to sort out procurement issues.

Do try it. I recommend for dry, parched hair and scalp !Just a simple oil massage and shampoo it out as usual ! Just plain oil with no additives,essential oils or herbs . Don't boil it with any herbs in it. Just use it out of the bottle !