lunedì 30 marzo 2009

Am I pretty- a cat inside this blog

Am I pretty?



Hi, I got a new member to our blog community. This kitty I felt so cute, isn't it? I hope this kitty is pretty. She will grow with this blog. Sometimes this may become a helping aspect to us! Who knows what may happen in future. Let us not drop her away. Do you agree?

I expect all of you give a look at this poor cutey. Tell me, is she pretty?. If so and you like her, please suggest a cute name for her. You can suggest names in the comment section below. And if you don't mind write a story about her. Are you passionate enough to predict her future please feel free to write it. All are welcome.
--author-Balachandran.

sabato 28 marzo 2009

Protein Treatment for Hair

Protein Treatment for Hair at home

Protein is very much required for the growth of hair. Whatever things you do, sometimes your hair looks unhealthy. No hair treatments seems to work for you. Hair is not growing. At the time of an unhealthy condition you can't try other store bought products. It may create adverse effect. Here you have to make your hair healthy again. You can provide the protein through a homemade protein treatment for hair. Do the following protein treatment for hair.

Protein Treatment for Hair
ingredients:
Amla powder - 2tsp.
Hibiscuss powder - 2tsp.
Egg -1

You can take more quantity ingredients if you have long hair. Make everything into a loose paste. After washing hair apply this paste all over hair. Wait for 20-25 min. Then rinse it off. If you feel to shampoo, use some mild shampoo. Do this protein treatment for hair at least once a week.

mercoledì 25 marzo 2009

Homemade Skin Peel

Today we are going to look how skin peel can be achieved through natural and homemade methods. You know about chemical peel. Peeling of outer layers of skin using chemicals. It may give very good result. But it is harsh and there are chances of skin damage. The total result of this chemical peel is taking away the outer layer of skin and allow fresh cells to come out. This can be achieved mildly through homemade skin peel. The result is somewhat balanced- means getting a moderate result with no side effects of chemical peel.

When we use natural scrubs the outer dead cells are removed. When we do homemade skin peel the dead cells are removed as a layer. The total layer is removed and the results are more obvious. It will last longer.

How to make homemade skin peel
For this we need corn starch, egg white, turmeric powder and orange juice.

ingredients:

Cornstarch - 3 tsp.
Egg white - 1
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp.
Orange or carrot juice - 3 tsp.

By adding orange juice to cornstarch make it a thick paste. Then add egg white and mix well. Now add the turmeric powder. Finally get a thick paste. This is the homemade facial peel.

How to apply homemade skin peel.
Wash face with cold water. Tissue dry the face. Apply homemade skin peel on face like a film coating. Avoid around the eyes. Allow it to dry. But don't allow it go too dry. Then using your fingers try to roll out the skin facial peel portion by portion. Do it gently. Do not rub out. By giving a circular movement the skin peel content will come out with the outer layer of skin. (do not wash out) After rolling out all the facial skin peel wash face. Now pat your face with the juice. Or you can apply the orange content or carrot content you got after taking the juice as a pack.

Wait for ten min. and wash it off. For the next three days do not allow the skin get over exposed to sun. Use some cold creams only. You can do this homemade skin peel once or twice in month.

martedì 24 marzo 2009

Homemade Face Mask

Homemade Face Mask

In a previous post I told you about a homemade face mask with honey to repair my damaged skin on face. It gave me a special smoothness and glow to my skin. In short I became a fan of that mask due to the magical result of it. Here is another combination of homemade face masks which is more smooth and simple. Honey mask is a super moisturizer to skin. It leaves a fine thin film of coating on the skin. This will protect the moisture content of skin. The over coating makes the skin sooo smooth to touch.
From Natural Homemade Beauty Tips

Today in this homemade face mask I add apple also. I found it is a marvelous combination from my experience. Apple and honey makes an all time homemade face mask. In hot season the water content may loose from our body. A natural treatment is more advisable in this situation.

Homemade Face Mask- how to prepare
Apple Homemade Face Masks: Ingredients used for this mask are red apple and honey. Grate one apple after removing the seeds. Don't peel of the skin. Try to get very smooth form. Add three teaspoons of honey. If you can get very refined is better. In this the wax content is very low. We need only small level of this wax. Mix well using a spoon. Then if you like keep it in a refrigerator to make it cool.
From Natural Homemade Beauty Tips

Homemade Face Mask - how to apply
Better in the morning. If you want to go out then make it in evening. Wash the face or cleanse with your favorite cleanser. Then apply the homemade face mask all over the face and neck. Do you have time to loll. Close your eyes and listen to your favorite music. After 15-20 min. wash your face with light cold water and tissue dry. Don't dry too much allow the water content to remain there. Then in between 15 min. wet the face for 3-4 times. This will make the skin moistured.

Apply this homemade face mask everyday for five days and repeat it weekly.

domenica 22 marzo 2009

Homemade Face Pack for Dry Skin

Homemade Face Packs for Dry Skin

Oh, do you have dry skin? Here you can see homemade face pack for dry skin. As time passes the natural glow of your skin starts decreasing and wrinkles starts appearing. In order to improve the skin, a homemade face mask can be used.

Homemade face pack with honey. Mix 1 tsp. of honey, 18-20 drops of carrot juice or orange juice, add either oatmeal powder or besan(chickpeas) powder to thicken it. Apply it on face and leave for 20 minutes and wash off. Definitely it will solve dry skin.

Homemade face mask with yeast. Add a small piece of yeast, a little olive or almond oil to the yolk of an egg. Mix well apply on face leave for 20 min. and wash off.

Homemade face pack with egg. Separate the yolk and white of an egg. Beat the yolk and apply on the face. When half dry apply beaten egg white. Leave it fully dry and then wash with warm water. This cleans and closes the pores and remove wrinkles.

Homemade face Mask with Egg and Almond oil. Mix egg yolk with few drops of almond oil. Spread the pack evenly about the thickness of a coin. When dry wash off. This will help dry skin.

Homemade face pack with Corn meal. Mix a little almond oil or olive oil in 2 tsp of corn meal. Apply on the face very gently, let it stay for 15 min and then wash. This is considered one of best remedies for dry skin.

Carrot face mask/packs. Mix 2 tsp of fresh finely grated carrot, 2 tsp of milk or 1 egg yolk. Mix well and add one tsp. of besan(chickpeas) to thicken, and apply on the face. Keep for 20 min and wash.

Note: Before applying any of these packs on face, test it inside your wrist. So you can make sure that you do not have any allergy to a particular product. Sometimes it may cause itching or irritation.

I hope that these homemade face pack may help you solve the problem.

giovedì 19 marzo 2009

Precautions for Homemade Beauty Treatments

Things to remember while doing herbal homemade beauty treatments

In this site you see all natural homemade beauty treatments. So, those who are not familiar with Indian herbs may have doubts. You may think whether it have any side effects! Whether it needs any precaution for homemade beauty treatments! Even if it has no side effects there are some points to be noted as a precaution. Most of the ingredients I am suggesting in this sites for my beauty tips are used in cooking. But even foods are not accepted by all body types. Similarly herbal ingredients in homemade beauty treatment may not be accepted by all type of skins. When we treat sensitive skins or skins with allergic tendency we have to test the homemade pack or mask before applying.

For example, some people may produce irritation while applying pepper. In this case when we use items with pepper just test it by applying a small quantity on the inner wrist of hand. Wait for few minutes and make sure there is no irritation. This is the best precaution for this homemade beauty treatments.

While applying oils on hair or body. You may not using any oils before. Now everybody is aware of the benefits of applying oil. But if you apply oil for the first time it may not be accepted by your body well. When you apply oil on hair sometimes it may cause a sudden temporary hair loss. But do not stop oiling, after few try it will be ok. Remember to apply a little oil at first. And if you do not like the sticky feeling on hair after oiling you may use some mild shampoo. These are just some precautions for using homemade beauty treatments.

Sometimes when you apply oil on body or face you may not like the sticky nature of the oil. In this case you select thin oils or refined oil. Virgin oil is best but select refined. And refined coconut oil is very thin and do not leave much smell of the oil. But olive and almond oils are said to be very good oils. These oils may feel very thick, some people may not like it. Virgin and refined olive oil is available in the market. Once you get used to it you will feel nice to use oils and it become a part of your homemade beauty treatment.

In my personal experience, almond oil once I applied around my eyes to remove dark under eye circle due to sitting more time in front of computer. But it produced some discomfort for my head and eyes for few days. My skin is somewhat sensitive. But it won't be the case for everybody. So if you are applying almond oil or any other oil for first time apply a little and see.

When we use vegetables and fruits as ingredients give a little attention. Some fruits or vegetables we may not like or it won't suit our digestion. This is due to the acidic or alkaline nature of our body and ingredients. If your body is more acidic nature, your skin may show dryness. Then try to avoid ingredients with acidic nature or use very mild dose. For example while using lemon, orange etc. in your homemade beauty treatments, apply a minimum quantity in a small area.

Multani mitti (Fuller's earth) used as an ingredient in face masks. It is recommended for oily skins. If we use it in extremely dry skin it makes the skin more dry. We use green gram flour to wash body and hair. It also make dry skin more dry. But after oiling it can be used, it won't make skin more dry.

When you apply egg on skin or hair. It is noticed that some people may not like the nature and smell of egg. In this case use the egg white only. After applying it rinse well. Use soap or shampoo. Remember for rinsing use cold water not hot or warm water.

Another precaution for using homemade beauty treatments: While using carrot as ingredient. Or any vegetable or fruits for that matter give attention to use it. If you are grating carrot and think that you are keeping it on the fridge for latter use. Never ever keep carrot without refrigerating. Sometimes electricity failure, take care. It is same with the case of carrot juice. Reports have come it may cause serious health problems while drinking bottled carrot juice. Here in beauty care always try to use fresh ingredients.

These are some precautions for homemade beauty treatments to be noted. Latter I can add some more in another post. Good luck.

martedì 17 marzo 2009

Herbal Products with Amla

Amla or Indian gooseberry (Phyllanthus emblica, syn. Emblica officinalis) is a deciduous tree of the Euphorbiaceae family. It is known for its edible fruit of the same name. It is used in Ayurvedic medicines. Locally the crush of this fruit is used in hair treatment in India. Whatever hair treatment we make out of this Gooseberry is very effective in controlling hairloss and helping hair growth.

So many herbal products with amla are available in stores. The powder of amla is available and we can make hair pack using amla powder. Or simply make a paste of amla powder and apply on hair. Amla hair oil is produced out of amla. It can control dandruff formation and hair loss if used consistently. The fruit of amla if eaten raw is found good for acidity. Also drinking fresh amla juice is good treatment for acidity. If we drink a glass of water mixed with two spoons of amla powder is a good constipation remedy. So this process is believed to cleanse our internal parts of intestine. Because of this quality, a herbal product with amla is available as internal cleanser. Another herbal product with amla is shampoo. If produced with enough amount of amla and other ingredients it should work well as a herbal shampoo. Dried fruit of amla also available to buy. Herbal product with amla in tablet and capsule form I saw once. May be it is produced for those who hesitate to use amla in original form. It can be taken for acidity etc. I don't know how far it is effective. Below I am showing some examples of herbal products with amla for you to evaluate.




lunedì 16 marzo 2009

Herbal Prducts with Shikakai

Shikakai means "fruit for hair" and is used as a traditional shampoo in India.









It is made from Acacia concinna, a shrub native to the warm, plains of central and south India. Acacia concinna has been used as hair treatment in India for centuries, it is now grown commercially in India and Far East Asia. The plant parts used are the dry powdered or the extract of the bark, leaves or pods.

Now there a lot of herbal products with shikakai commercially made like shampoo, conditioner, hair rinse etc. As for as the quality concerned it differs with brands. I am introducing some items for you to check and do a study on that. I am not recommending any particular product.


domenica 15 marzo 2009

Herbal Products with Hibiscus

Hibiscus leaves and flowers can be used for hair care and skin care. It is already told how to make Homemade Hibiscus shampoo. The components of hibiscus help to increase the moisture content of the outer layer of hair strands. Because of this quality of hibiscus in shampoo hibiscus is used. The hibiscus content gives no side effects on hair.
Products in the market

Hibiscus Shampoos



Hibiscus for skin care - product review
Hibiscus Organic Tea

venerdì 13 marzo 2009

Herbal Products with Fenugreek

Fenugreek is an wonderful product that have many uses. Fenugreek (Trigonella Foenum-Graecum) has been suggested for mucus problem in nose, high cholesterol levels, diabetes, digestive ailments, intestinal gas, headaches, lung infections and skin eruptions. Earlier I wrote about the uses of fenugreek for hairloss, itchy scalp, hair rejuvenation, dandruff, blackheads, whiteheads, under eye dark circles etc. You can see the medicinal uses of fenugreek here.

Herbal products with fenugreek seed or extract or capsules are available in the market. From very long ago it is believed that fenugreek helps in producing breast milk and it is given to breast feeding mothers. Now capsules are available using fenugreek extract. It is given to control diabetes and cholesterol. Fenugreek can also be taken orally as a tea. Tea bags with fenugreek seeds are also available.

fenugreek



See other products with fenugreek
Not to be used in therapeutic amounts by pregnant women or by children or during hypoglycemic treatment.
[Note: No products are sold from this site. The products shown here is sold by the manufacturers only. These are only suggestions and shown only as examples. Please read the product details on their site and make sure you will be benefited with product. Thank you.]

Homemade Shampoo

Home-made shampoo

Homemade shampoo can be made easily. This way you can avoid adding chemicals to scalp. And if you want, all the hair care can be done naturally. Thus can go all natural. This site helps to find your needs naturally. The homemade shampoo will be helpful for those who don't want to use chemicals, those with sensitive scalp or with extreme dry or oily scalp and hair.

ingredients for natural homemade shampoo:
50 grams soap nut (Aretha/Reetha)
50 gm dried amla
50 gm shikakai

(To buy shikakai , amla and reetha)

Grind all the above ingredients. (Or these ingredients available as powder) Boil them in two liters of clean water. When the mixture gets cold filter it and can be used.

How to apply this homemade shampoo
If you have very dry scalp and hair or you used shampoo recently, before applying this homemade shampoo, apply some oil on hair and scalp. Generally if you apply a little oil is adviceable. One more thing to remember- those who have rough or thick hair strands, reducing the quantity of amla powder to 25 gm is good. For the first time when apply this homemade shampoo, you may feel thick hair strands, so remember to dilute the shampoo.
While using this homemade shampoo please avoid using other shampoos or dyes.

giovedì 12 marzo 2009

Dark Skin Around Neck

"HI GEETHA MY NECK IS BLACK IN COLOUR HOW CAN I REMOVE THAT BLACK PLZ HELP ME."

This is a question asked by one of the valued visitors to this site. Actually I skipped this topic before, then I forgot to write about dark skin around neck. When I saw this question I thought it is the time to include this topic so that it will benefit to all my dear visitors to this site.

Reasons for dark skin around neck
The dark color formation around neck is due to different reasons. That includes acidity. I felt most of the cases with dark skin around neck are having acidity problem. It may give dark area around eyes, neck, at the tips of fingers, elbow etc. But it may occur due to some other reasons also.

If acidity is there in addition to treat for it you can reduce the appearance of dark skin around neck by the following homemade remedy.

Potato Pack for dark skin around neck
ingredients:
Fresh potato - 1
Fresh milk - 5 to10 tsp.(as required)
Coconut oil - 1 tsp.

Mash the potato. Don't peel out potato. By adding milk make it a paste. Add a little coconut oil or olive oil to it. Potato pack for dark skin around neck is ready.

How to apply potato pack for dark skin around neck
First of all wash the neck area. Towel dry and apply a little oil around the neck. Then apply potato pack on that area. Allow the potato pack to be there for 20 min. Then wash it away.

Apply this pack daily for three months to stop the appearance again. Still you can see the disappearance of dark skin around neck before that.

mercoledì 11 marzo 2009

What is Yoga

Today I am talking about a different subject for you - Yoga. Yoga is now the most discussed subject in this modern society. Yoga can be related to beauty in the sense that only a healthy body can hold beauty. In other words in order to maintain beauty we should keep our body healthy in a positive way. Yoga helps to keep our body healthy in a positive way.

So what is yoga? Certainty it is not like it is said now a days. There are a lot confusion and misunderstandings about yoga. So here is a brief account of yoga. I would like to tell you that the information about yoga here is only the basic knowledge. It is not intended to go deeper. It is purely meant to understand by laymen. For deeper and serious understandings you have to refer other recognized books or sites.

There are many yogas out of which I mention here is only a few. Yogas means stages or phases. Phases of spiritual journey.

1. Bhakthi Yoga- Devotional Phase
2. Karma Yoga - Phase of Duty (performing good duty leads us to God)
3. Jnana Yoga - Phase of Knowledge (spiritual knowledge)
4. Hata Yoga - Phase of Yoga Asanas (asana means sitting postures)
[It is a physical exercise make our body fit to go for mental fitness]
5. Kundalini Yoga - Releasing energy from spinal chord
6. Swara Yoga - Breathing Phase
7. Raja Yoga
8. Kriya Yoga
9. Mantra Yoga
There is one more to mention but I omit that to avoid difficulty to understand.


Have you noticed the fourth step, it is the phase of yoga asanas. Asanas means body postures that helps to maintain a good physical state. Physical fitness is necessary for a good spiritual mind. So there are so many postures explained in this stage. This can be done for mere physical fitness. So now in our modern world people are preaching Yoga Asanas not the full Yoga.

I wanted to clear this factor. The total Yoga is meant for spiritual growth. Out of this the yoga asanas can be practiced by anyone to improve their physical condition in a positive way. It is entirely different from other form of physical trainings like aerobics etc. If we link meditation to yoga asana it will be a marvelous experience to our body and mind.
If you need to know the different yoga asanas I will explain it latter in a different post.

lunedì 9 marzo 2009

Body Wrap

Slimming Body Wrap for dry skin
Homemade Body Mask

This body wrap is highly beneficial to rejuvenate the body tissues as a topical application. It draws out the toxins from the skin and peripheral tissues. It helps body to extract fat tissues and reduce fat. After removing fat and toxin, this herbal body mask supplies minerals that body needed. Today the herbal body wrap/mask I explain here is for dry skin type. Previously I wrote about Body Wrap for Oily Skin.

Ingredients to make body wrap

Herbs
1 cup total
Aloe vera powder
Rose petals powder
Neem leaves powder

Other ingredients:
Red clay - 2 cups
Epsom salt - 1 cup
Fresh milk or cream milk - 200ml
Yogurt or curd - 200ml
Lavender oil - 6ml
Spearmint oil - 6ml
Tea tree oil - 6ml
Coconut milk powder - 2tsp.
Olive oil - 2tsp.

How to prepare this herbal body wrap/body mask
Boil 1.4 litres.(1400 ml) of water in a big steel pot. When the water reaches to boil add the herbs and remove flame. Then add all other ingredients. Then allow it to cool.

One week before doing body wrap try to drink enough water. To ex-foliate apply any clay cleansing mask. Eat healthy food. Avoid shaving or waxing on these days.

Take a hot bath. Now we need long enough medical bandage cloths or thick cottons to wrap body. Cut it into required lengths.Keep the mask in the pot warm, heat it if required. Dip the bandage in the mask one by one.Then wrap the body with the bandages. Start from ankles and move above. Or apply the mask on the body using a brush, then wrap the body using hot bandage.Wait for 60 min. Then wash body with warm water.

If you do this body wrap/mask monthly you can avoid excess fat, get good looking smooth and supple skin.

giovedì 5 marzo 2009

Tulsi-Basil Remedies

Tulsi (Basil) Herbal Remedies
[Ocimum tenuiflorum or Ocimum sanctum]
Tulsi
Here I am talking about some herbal treatments using tulsi. Tulsi is used for several minor ailments cure. Tulsi is also used for auspicious purposes also. So it is cultivated in the front garden of many houses. So it is readily available to use.

Tulsi and its medicinal uses

In the time of common cold and fever, a tulsi coffee gives so soothing to our throat. Mix few tulsi leaves, pepper and dry ginger. Put all these in a pot of one cup water and boil it. Add coffee powder. If you want add sugar for taste. Drink this decoction.

At the time of cold and fever to children give the juice of tulsi leaves. For this mash the tulsi leaves in a spoon. Get the juice and pour into mouth.

As you know tulsi can be used to cure pimples in the initial stages. Make a paste out of tulsi leaves and apply on the pimple area. This is a best cure for pimples.

For dandruff or hair loss tulsi can be used. For this mix the paste of tulsi leaves in coconut oil and boil it. Do not over boil. Use this oil for hot oil treatment on hair. If used once in a week for three months dandruff can be avoided. It will help hairloss.

martedì 3 marzo 2009

Dandruff-Coconut Milk Solution

Dandruff Remedy/Dandruff Cure- Homemade

If you have dandruff with itchy scalp, coconut milk is a fine remedy for it. The reasons for getting dandruff may vary. Sometimes dandruff is caused by simply the dry scalp. In the initial stage just do a hot oil massage. Dandruff will vanish. But if you just avoid it like that after few weeks it may get infected with bacteria or fungus. This is now the real dandruff problem. Sometimes the dry scalp may lead to itching. When we scratch the problem become worse.

Coconut Milk for Dandruff Remedy
Get a fresh coconut and grate it. Then using a mixer/grinder take the milk of it. Add one or two spoons juice of fresh lemon. Apply this on scalp using finger tips without washing head. Give a light rubbing on the scalp. Apply well and massage the scalp for 10-20 min. Then take a bath as usual. Really coconut milk and lemon works well with dandruff problem.

If you have dry hair, by using this it may feel more dry. No problem just be like that for three days minimum. Still continue use this for few days. At first you will get relief from itching on the scalp. After applying coconut milk, rinsing out the flakes and residue is very important. Do not use any shampoo at this time. The coconut milk may give some oil to hair, but it won't be sticky. Sometimes you may not like the smell. whatever the condition certainly this will give relief from dandruff.