Mango Face pack {DIY}

So, king of fruits and this is the season for the king. So, make way for him in your daily diet and in your skin regimes. Of course, keep a control because it has high levels of sugar. So, what does mango do for the skin. It is moisturizing and makes the skin soft and smooth. 

Ingredients: 

• Multani Mitti
• Mango pulp

Mix both the ingredients and create a face pack of smooth consistency. Apply a thick layer over a clean damp skin. Wait for 15-20 minutes. This one doesn't dry out like the regular clay masks so it is easy to remove. Scrub lightly while removing and wash off with cold water. Moisturize. Your skin will be soft and supple by next morning. It also increases hydration in the skin.

Warning:

• Do not use the skin of the mango for any beauty activity. It can cause mild to severe skin irritations.

Tips: 

• Always apply face masks over damp skin. It increases penetration. Use hot water to open the pores for more penetration and absorption.
• For removing the face packs, use dry cotton. It removes the face packs much more easily than wet cotton pads or wet wipes. This tip applies to the face packs which are creamier and do not dry on skin like clay masks. For clay masks, you have to use wet wipes or cloth or cotton pads.

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Take a refreshing Orange Bath

Remember the Orange Sugar Body Scrub recipe I shared a few days back. So, what to do with the orange peels. Throw them!! No way. You can air dry and powder them, right. But, if you don't want to go through all that trouble then you can simply boil the peels in a big bowl of water and wait till the water level drops down to half. You can let it sit overnight if you wish too. Mash the orange peels nicely in the water after the water cools down. The peels breakdown very easily and release the tangy citrus scent. After you mash the peels properly, strain the water and squeeze to extract all the remaining water in the peels. You can dump the peels in your recycling dust bin or compost it in your garden. And, mix this orange water with your bath water. Take a refreshing bath. You will feel alive and your skin will glow after the bath, specially useful in summers for the refreshing citrus flavor which will hang on to your skin for sometime.

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Orange Sugar Body Scrub {DIY}

It has been so long since I have done some DIY and I have been lately indulging in some things so I shall share some experiments which were successful. So, today, I am sharing a simple body scrub you can make from oranges.

Ingredients

• 1 complete orange mashed along with the pulp
• 2 tablespoon honey
• sugar (in my case I used raw sugar called 'khandsari' in Hindi)
• 2 tea spoons salt (I used rock salt or sendha namak)
• apricot powder (optional)

Method

Mash a complete orange removing its seeds. Add the honey. Now, the mixture would be extremely watery so add enough amount of sugar to create a scrubby texture. Sidewise, add the salt. The mixture would be still very watery so I used apricot powder to give some stiffness to it.

Now, scrub your body with the mixture. Keep it on the body for 5-10 minutes. Of course, do not forget your face or the feet. This scrub would be useful on all parts of your body. Make this scrub just before your bath because vitamin C in oranges breaks down soon after being exposed to air and becomes useless. So, the fresher your scrub and sooner it is used, the better the results you will get. And, let me add, the pulp in the orange will fall all over in the bathroom so make sure that you finish your shower before your maid cleans the bathroom or do this at night (which is my advise because vitamin C makes the skin photosensitive and also because I found my skin was looking much brighter and softer the next morning).

Tips

• Use Jaggery powder or cane sugar in place of regular sugar.
• You can also add cocoa powder, besan, multani mitti or anything else which you can think of. Even oats are a good choice.

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Kiwi for your face

Its the season of Kiwis. They are rich, highly rich, in anti-oxidants and they taste really yummy. I love Kiwis also for their unique green color with black seeds in the middle (they are good for snapping around if you are a photographer). The riper the kiwi, more are the anti-oxidants in the fruit. So, while having kiwis in a day, take a slice and rub it all over your face and neck. Let it dry and wash off with lukewarm water and follow with room temperature water (avoid cold water). You will feel refreshed in a minute. Vitamin C in kiwis brightens the face in an instant and makes your skin clean, soft and supple. It also helps in removing blemishes and dark spots and helps lighten the tanning on your skin. You can use kiwis on the elbows and knees too.

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Chocolate Anti-Aging Mask {DIY}

Its been too many days since I have put up any beauty tip. So, today, just to pamper myself I made a chocolate mask.

Ingredients -

• Cocoa powder
• Fresh Sugarcane Juice

Yup!! Only two things and it is very simple to get sugarcane juice as summers are approaching and you would have many hawkers putting up sugarcane juice stalls.

Cocoa Powder is an amazingly moisturizing ingredient as you all are very well aware of. It also has anti-aging and anti-oxidant properties.

And, fresh sugarcane juice has glycolic acid which is one of the most important Alpha Hydroxy Acids which are very important for skin. It firms up your skin, removes the dead skin cells, makes the skin glow like anything, reduces pigmentation on regular usage and has amazing anti-aging properties.

Result: A very soft skin which glows instantly. You might not require a moisturizer if you have normal skin otherwise if you have dry skin then follow up with a little of moisturizer or your favorite oil. Even combination skin and oily skin can benefit from this mask as glycolic acid is extremely good for controlling oil production of the skin so you need not worry about the mask being heavy.

One thing about this mask is that it does dry up unlike mixing chocolate with honey. And, when you are removing it, it comes off very easily so do try it out and post your views :)

Update: The best results are seen on the next morning after applying the mask. So, apply this mask at night and take your regular deep beauty sleep. And, voila!! Next morning your face would be glowing :)

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Get the most out of your scrubs

When you are scrubbing your face or any other part of your body, the general trend is to scrub and wash it off. But, yesterday, I thought of improvising a little. While scrubbing my face yesterday, I did it for no more than 3 minutes and then left the scrub on to let it dry. After it dried, I washed it off. My skin was smooth and moisturized. And, I ended the routine with a little of cleanser to wash off any scrub residue left on my skin. There was no need of a face mask and I firmly believe in not overdoing my beauty routines. The result was an even complexion with perfectly glowing skin. 

Tip: You can use the products from the market or you can make various scrubs at home. For over the counter products, you can improve the results by adding a capsule of vitamin E oil or a little of aloevera gel before scrubbing. This would give even better results.

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Softening your skin starts from your bath {DIY}

Taking Bath is the best way to unwind yourself from a hectic schedule. You can turn your bathing experience into a invigorating one by adding certain ingredients which help your body to relax and also relaxes your mind. Some ingredients which can be added to your bath water and their effects:

• Salt: Relaxes the tensed muscles, make your skin smooth, it detoxes the body, relaxes tired feet, improves circulation, prevents skin disorders, purifies the pores and toxins from skin. They are also good for exfoliation. Table salt would be a general choice but you can also go for rock salt.
• Milk: Softens skin, cleans the pores, good for exfoliation, nourishes the skin, improves skin texture and appearance, removes body odor, prevents skin disorders.
• Honey: soothes and nourishes the skin, makes skin silky and fragrant, prevents skin disorders, lightens scars and any marks on the skin and removes any bacteria present in the skin.
• Coconut Oil, Almond Oil, Olive Oil, Jojoba Oil: lightens complexion, moisturizes the skin, nourishes the skin and prevents skin disorders. You can also put a mix of these oils.
  
• Oat meal: soothes and nourishes skin. Put some oat meal in a cheese cloth and put it under running water and then, use it for exfoliation. 
• Lavender Essential Oil: soothes and softens skin, lightens scars and any marks on the skin, heals wounds and soothes tired muscles and skin.
• Floral Water: You can definitely put many flowers into your bath for an aromatherapy. Rose,  Jasmine, Rosemary, Lavender, Chamomile, Marigold are some of the flowers which you can go for. They would relax your mind, elevate your senses and provide you the ultimate pleasure of relaxation. They soothe your complete body. You can also use the floral water.
  

So, go ahead and try putting a combination of various ingredients and enjoy an invigorating bath.

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