10 Useful Body Care Tips And Tricks You Probably Didn’t Know About
If there has been at least one visible change in the past half-decade or so, it has to be the sheer number and range of cosmetic products and brands flooding the Indian market. Take the humble exfoliator for example. When we were children, our mothers and our grandmothers used gram flour mixed with milk or water as an exfoliant on our faces and bodies. Today, we have the same ‘ubtan’ being marketed in budget, medium, and luxurious price ranges. And then there are the face scrubs, scrubs that help you get rid of the cellulite, a separate scrub for the lips, one for the feet. The mind boggles.
While this expansion has been a delight for the product junkie, not all the junkies among us can afford to splurge every weekend on these products. After all, we do have to budget for wine nights, coffee dates, and professional networking dinners, too!
For the rare day that you can’t afford to buy a targeted product, the multi-tasking product does not work, or you are simply trying to detox your beauty routine, we have come up with a list of genius tips which offer solutions to just about every problem we face.
You may want to apply the last of the face mask while you read on, just in case we have a trick for that, too!
1. When more salt is a good thing:
If your face feels and looks puffy after an extended happy hour on Wednesday night, you can be your own Kate Moss (we have it on authority that she dunks her face into a sink of ice cubes and cucumber slices to refresh her puffy face) and make a concentrated solution of salt and water. Soak a towel in this solution and hold it to your face for 10 minutes. The salt will help reduce the swelling, and your face will look brighter.
2. Pucker up with oil:
Getting ready to be a model for your amateur photographer friend? We’ve got the perfect aid to help plump up your lips, without asking you to spend 800 bucks on a product you may never use again. Rub your lips with any oil – in fact, even an ordinary lip balm will do – and rub your oiled lips with a toothbrush. This one-minute action will give you a bee-stung effect worthy of the Oscars red carpet.
3. Moisturize to glow:
Remember that we asked you to put on a face-mask before you started reading this? Because we have the best follow-up to all the cleansing, the mud-pack has done to your face. Once you have removed the pack, steam your face, and massage olive oil into your face. You may want to switch on Netflix because getting carried away with the massage will bring that much more glow to your face.
4. Honey, I shrunk the zits:
If the dairy in your diet has suddenly decided to spring a pimple on your cheek, or your PMS has decided to manifest itself on your cheeks – or worse, tip of the nose, between the upper lip and the nose, bindi spot on the forehead – dab a little honey from your kitchen on to the zit(s), and leave on for 15 minutes. The anti-bacterial element in honey will help reduce the size and makes it feel less conspicuous.
5. Eye drops to the rescue:
If the spot is stubborn and honey has not helped much, soak a cotton ball in eye drops intended to reduce redness. Blast chill this cotton ball for around 5 minutes in the freezer, and press on to a pimple to make it almost disappear.
6. Oil attracts oil and dirt:
If you have run out of your makeup remover, and shopping day is still 2 days away, mix 3 parts water with one part any oil of your choice – we recommend olive oil – and give the bottle a good shake. This solution will dissolve the greasepaint as well as the pollutants you have attracted throughout the day.
7. Buff that body:
Mix a teaspoon of baking soda, some oatmeal, and enough water to make a thick paste. Apply this paste on your body – works particularly well in zones where you’re prone to ingrown hair – and let dry. Rinse the paste off with warm water; you may want to scrub your skin gently to make sure you are getting rid of all the dead skin.
8. Brighten your dark circles:
Baking soda can also help with popular concerns in the eye area. Like dark circles caused due to sleep and excessive screen time in poor lighting. Make a hot solution of baking powder and water, and dab your under eye area gently with a cotton ball soaked in this solution. Let dry for some time before you wash it off. Don’t forget to moisturize, the skin under your eyes is fragile and needs extra TLC. You may need to do this for at least two weeks to see a difference.
9. Shandy for your hair:
Okay, not literally, but a mask made of eggs, bananas, and dark beer can smooth those frizzy ends and bring luster back. There’s a catch – this mask has to be used during the House of Cards episodes because you need to keep it on for at least a couple of hours. But the results are worth it, we promise!
10. Lengthy lashes:
Add a couple of drops of lavender essential oil to a carrier oil like coconut oil, and gently rub your lashes with this oil. The combination of moisturizing elements and the gentle rubbing of your lashes will make them grow out thicker. You can even dip an old mascara wand in this mix to make it a proper massage for the lashes.
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