Tips for glowing skin

Your skin is a clear indicator to your lifestyle and internal well being, here are a few popular beauty tips to give you that much elusive glowing skin.

Exercise: 

Exercising can do wonders to your skin. Indulge in some sort of physical activity on a regular basis and notice how it affects your skin for the better. Running, jogging, walking or swimming, take out around 30 minutes from your daily schedule and unwind.

Drink water: 

Probably one of the most advised beauty tips, keeping yourself hydrated on a daily basis is absolutely essential. Juices and other liquids are also highly beneficial. Drink around 10-15 glasses a day and it is sure to positively affect your skin. Additionally, excessive consumption of alcohol should also be avoided.

Go green: 

A healthy diet can do wonders to the quality of your skin. Incorporate a healthy dose of vitamins and proteins in your daily diet and notice the condition of your skin change for the tremendously. Figs, radishes, spinach etc are great for healthy, glowing skin. Nuts like almonds are also known to improve the quality of your skin.

Get perfect beach holiday skin

People love holidaying on beach, but they do not know how to keep their skin glowing. Expert gives tip to protect skin to have that beautiful beach holiday look.

Jill Zander, founder of the Jill Zander Skin Rejuvenation Clinic, shares tips to keep skin looking beautiful in the summer sun and beyond, reports femalefirst.co.uk:

Sun protection: 

Use a sunblock daily. Always include your neck, decollete and backs of hands and reapply frequently. Wear a hat and large lensed sunglasses.

Antioxidants: 

We become more sensitive as we get older to external stresses, as a result of free radicals produced by environmental pollution, car exhaust fumes, UVA and UVB and cigarette smoke. Invest in a scientifically proven home care regime to protect your skin with vital nutrients providing good antioxidant protection enriched with vitamins C and E.

Repair sun damage: 

When it comes to sun damage, vitamin A is the most valuable skin care nutrients applied to the skin. Vitamin A helps to smooth sun damage, giving less wrinkled skin and also helps to even out skin tone.

Use a good facial scrub: 

It is required to remove oil, dirt, impurities and dead cells to improve texture and restore natural glow. Do it at night only.

Summer scent: 

Never apply fragrance to the skin in the day. Oil of Bergamot, often used as a fixative, can cause photo sensitivity and pigmentary problems. Only apply in the evening.

Summer skin SOS

You will no longer hate the warm weather for the setbacks it can bring.We give you a list of the most common seasonal skin woes - and the solutions to prevent or fix them, to stay gorgeous all season

1. Sunburns

Reason: Exposure to UV rays during

Prevent it: For the face, use skincare products that contain SPF 30 or more. For the body, use garments such as scarves to guard against UV rays.

Solution: When skin is sun burnt, it is inflamed. So, burnt, it is inflamed. So, you first need to cool it; a cold shower is quite effective for this purpose. You can also soak a towel in cold water and place it on affected areas. Go for whitening/brightening skincare products and moisturise well.

2. Summer rash

Reason: Sweat makes the skin moist. Skin that is moist collects dust and impurities that block the sebaceous glands and cause summer rash and acne.

Prevent it: Never scratch your skin. Sweat contains salt that can irritate the skin, creating an itching sensation.

When you itch, your skin develops rashes.

Solution: Use a good-quality powder to prevent the skin from becoming too moist.
Make cleansing a part of your daily beauty regimen. Gently cleanse the skin with a cleanser, around two to three times a day. When outdoors or in office, apply moisturising lotion to a cotton pad and gently wipe the sweat off the skin instead of using a dry tow el. Moisturisof ing lotions to are mildly s acidic and do not irri tate the skin. ill 3 pm tate the skin.

3. Acne

Reason: Acne is the direct result of the direct result of dehydration due to sweating and excessive reproduc tion of bacteria. For adults, stress and lifestyle factors can disrupt the pH balance making the skin acne prone.

Prevent it: Change the way you cleanse. The key is to lather up the foam and cleanse gently, so that excess sebum is removed, but essential moisture is retained in the skin.

Solution: Gently wash the face with a cleanser, then apply a toner and a moisturiser (cream or emulsion) with a light texture. Sleep well, eat healthy, and avoid foods that are high in fats. Since your skin is very sensitive, apply products that can increase the `barrier function' of the skin.

4. Dry skin

Reason: Scrubbing can cause dry ness as it damages the stratum corneum (uppermost layer of the skin). Dif K t t ferences in humidity between indoors and outdoors and exposure to air conditioning are among other causes.

Prevent it: Maintaining an optimal moisture balance for your skin (balance between water, oil and moisturising elements in the skin) is important for healthy, beautiful skin. Most people with dry skin only use a cream. However, in order to restore the optimal moisture balance, apply a toner and an emulsion before applying a cream. This will create protective layers on your skin, thus increasing its barrier function.

Solution: Religiously moisturise your skin every morning and before you go to bed. The right way to apply the cream is to use the palm of your hand and apply it in a slow motion.

5. Uneven skin tone

Reason: The reason is different for different areas. Decrease in blood circulation and d haemoglobin in the blood affects the area around the eyes, making them appear darker. Exposure to UV rays causes melanin to build up which changes the colour of your cheeks. And if you notice uneven skin tone on your entire face, it may be due to lack of translucence because of ageing.

Prevent it: Moisturisation, sun protection, and facial massage are keys to avoiding uneven skin tone.

Solution: When massaging the face, pay attention to using the correct amount of cream. For the 
area around the eyes, take a towel, soak it in warm water, squeeze it and place on your eyes for a few minutes. This will increase the blood circulation and refresh your eyes.

Beauty tips to keep in mind

• Lather the cleansing foam until it is thick and creamy, and then use it to gently cleanse the face. Do not scrub, as it will damage the skin. The foam will act as a cushion and collect dust and impurities from the skin.
• Do not apply heavy moisturisers on oily skin as the pores can get clogged with oil and lead to blackheads and pimples.
• Be beautiful from the "inside" by paying special attention to food. Opt for healthy, natural and light options like salads and take vitamin and mineral supplements.

• After cleansing, use a toner. This will replenish the moisture in your skin and make it supple and soft. A smart way of using the toner is to take several cotton pads and soak them in the toner. Place the cotton pads on dry areas like a mask for 10 minutes.
• Apply sandalwood paste on pimples, acne, rash and heat boils. If there is a rash, mix sandalwood paste with a little rose water and apply on the affected area. Wash it off with plain water after 20 minutes. You can also use talcum powder containing sandalwood for conditions like prickly heat or body rash.

(Inputs by Hiroko Watanabe, skin expert, Shiseido and beauty expert Shahnaz Husain)

Coffee face packs for supple skin

Your favourite beverage also doubles up as a great face pack, read on how

Use these coffee face packs to draw your coffee-addict partner towards you. They are easy to make and well, everybody has coffee at home!

Honey coffee pack:

We love coffee, we love honey! When you mix the two, think of the kind of delicious paste you will get. Mix a spoonful of each and slather it over your face. Wash it off after it dries to get beautifully soft, exfoliated skin.

Cocoa-coffee pack: 

It simply cannot get better than this! Think of what this mouthwatering, mind-blowing combo does to your senses... now think what it can do to your face! Both cocoa and coffee are antioxidants and when made into a paste using a little honey (another antioxidant) you will nourish your skin and cleanse it off all the grub you have accumulated all day.

Dry-skin pack: 

By mixing a little olive oil with some coffee powder, you will get a useful remedy for dry skin. Just make a paste it apply it on your face. Wash it off when the pack is still wet, don't let it dry off.

DIY skin detox for summer

Get rid of dry, flaky skin and be summer-ready by following these do-it-yourself (DIY) steps to make your body look beautiful.

Sweat it out: 

Sweating is our body's natural way to discard toxins. Take a brisk walk, go for a morning jog, take up power yoga, exercise in your local gym — do whatever it takes to make sure you sweat. Lazy girls can opt for the sauna or steam room at the gym.

Eat right: 

Dump those packaged and processed foods from your fridge. Stock up instead on fresh vegetables and fruits. At least once a week, make sure you eat only fresh veggies and fruits of different colours —oranges, cucumber, guava, apples, broccoli, zucchini, red and yellow pepper, carrots and watermelon to name a few. Including different coloured items in your diet ensures that various vitamins and minerals are consumed.

 

Scrub off dead cells: 

Use a mixture of honey, oatmeal, curd and fine sugar as a mask on your body. Leave it on for at least 30 minutes and then scrub off gently. You could also use a pre-packaged body scrub. Squeeze a small quantity on a loofah and use gentle circular movements all over your body to scrub off dead skin cells. Follow it up with a shower and apply an intensely nourishing but non-sticky moisturising lotion. Avoid going out in the sun directly after a thorough scrub. It's best to scrub before you retire for the night.

Drink to cleanse: 

Make water your best friend. Avoid drinking packaged fruit and vegetables juices — even if they promise to be sugar-free and preservative-free. For your fix of natural juice, take a few pieces of beetroot, cucumber, bottle gourd and a few leaves of spinach and blend in the juicer.

Have a shot of wheatgrass juice every morning if possible. Try combinations of different vegetables and fruits in your juice to suit your taste. You'll see a noticeable difference in your body, skin, hair and nails when you drink two glasses of mixed juices every day for two weeks.