Wine therapy for beauty !

Wine facials have become very popular in India. Wine has been used for centuries as a natural skin care treatment. Homemade masks and toners made from wine can help exfoliate and remove skin problems.

Wine also makes an interesting topical skin care treatment, since it contains such a wide range of substances that can be beneficial for troubled skin.

Every wine has a slightly different composition, and different varieties are useful for particular skin types. Dry skin types may wish to choose a sweet wine with plenty of sugar for water-binding purposes. Acne-prone skin will do better with red wine, since its high concentration of the polyphenol resveratrol may act to reduce inflammation while reversing or preventing free radical damage. Those with extremely flaky skin should choose dry wine, which has a greater concentration of the natural called malic, tartaric, and citric acid.

For dry, flaky body skin, mix 1 cup dry red wine with 1 cup of water. Pour into a spray bottle, and apply all over after a shower or bath. Leave on for 5 minutes, then rinse. Particularly flaky skin may benefit from mixing ¼ cup of dry white wine with 1 cup white vinegar and adding ¼ to ½ cup of this liquid to bathwater.

For dry skin, mix 3 tablespoons sweet red wine with ½ tablespoon aloe vera gel and one tablespoon runny honey Apply to face and neck, and rinse off after 10 minutes or so.

For oily skin and acne, blend 3 tablespoons red wine with some yogurt and use as a facial mask.

For sensitive skin, use white wine; the natural preservative tannin in red wines may prove too irritating to reddened facial skin. Boil a soothing herb like chamomile in the white wine for 10 minutes.Acne-prone skin may benefit from use of dry red wine straight from the bottle as a toner.

Wine therapy for spa

Wine and traditional spa treatments are now being combined to offer consumers a fresh approach to skincare and relaxation.wine not only tastes good - it's also good for your skin.Wine therapy removes dry skin and increases circulation with a foamy, vitamin-rich scrub of sea salt and wine, followed by a warm wine massage. Filled with nourishing vitamins Grapes, and their seeds and vines, contain some of nature's most powerful antioxidants, helping to account for the hottest trend in the spa industry cleansing their faces with Merlot wraps, exfoliating with crushed.Cabernet scrubs, and soaking themselves in vats of spring water treated with the extract of red grape vines, all of which help soothe, moisturise and protect the skin. It appears Cleopatra was on to something when she bathed in tubs of wine 2,000 years ago.

Wine grapes contain natural antioxidants called polyphenols that exfoliate, detoxify, cool inflammation, and soften and repair damaged skin. Sixty percent of extractable grape polyphenols are in the grade seed. Thirty percent are in the grape skin and less than 10 percent are in the pulp.

Resveratrol is a type of polyphenol found in the skin of the grape. Red and purple grapes have significantly more resveratrol than green grapes.

(Inputs by: Dr Jaishree Manchanda, cosmetologist and founder of Berkowits skin clinic)

Heard of the python massage?

Offered by a zoo in the Philippines, it's the latest entrant to the world of bizarre beauty. Is gross the replacement for gorgeous?

Not everyone can say no to a massage, as it's one of the most stress-relieving techniques. But this one may not just have you saying forget it, but nodding in disbelief too! A zoo in Cebu, Philippines is allowing tourists to get a new 'snake massage' via four huge Burmese pythons (weighing a combined 250kg)! The regimen is available in other places, like Bali. Imagine having a snake as a masseuse? Judging by its takers, more folks are apparently looking at reptiles as stress-busters...

How it works

The five metre-long snakes are said to slither across the brave participants. And they are, reportedly, fed 10 chickens before the massage, so they don't feel any desire to snack on their clients. The kneading and trembling sensations on the skin are said to give relief and give a massage. Another idea mulls over the fact that the massage might be inducing a sort of psychological relief-release which comes after an adrenaline build-up during the process. 

Wait, you can't scream!

There are several things you should not do during the massage session:

•  You're told not to blow air on the snake.
•  You cannot shout for help either as the snake can feel your vibrations and will think you are a predator.
•  Of course, don't attempt to get up and run away either.

Wellness gone wacky?

Here are other weird beauty treatments that people have been trying:

Leech facial: Actress Demi Moore has admitted to trying this out. It involves first having a turpentine bath and then letting special medical leeches suck out the blood in a bid to detoxify you.

Sheep placenta cream: These aim to stimulate cell growth and slow down the process of aging.

Snail slime gel: Snail slime is also in hot demand these days. Said to have moisturising properties due to proteins, glycolic acids and elastin content, it's apparently used in a cream by actress Katie Holmes.

Bird dropping facials: Victoria Beckham is a big fan of the Geisha facial, which has bird poop as an ingredient.