After the parties, pamper your skin and hair to flush out toxins and get you looking your best again
Now that the party season is over and summer is here, its time to rejuvenate your skin and detox from all that alcohol consumed during parties. Whether it is the kind of food you eat or simple tips to revive your skin and hair, there are solutions to every problem.
‘You are what you eat’ may be a clichéd statement now, but it still holds true. And while most of us take in a lot of excess sugar and fat especially during the party season, it makes sense to go back to healthy eating to get one’s body back on track. Here are a few basic remedies found in your kitchen, to get you back into a good groove.
Cut out the sugar
Eating excessive amounts of sugar can make the skin dull and it ages faster. We don’t even realise how much sugar we consume through breakfast cereals and fruit juices. It is better to eat foods which have natural sugar in them and use sweeteners like honey. Choose citrus fruit or melons which are low in calories, and those rich with antioxidants like grapes.
Choose the right fat
When it comes to fats, there are several theories. A personality like Nigella Lawson eats cream and butter, and has glowing skin. But one cannot do that indiscriminately. So, eat the good fats – the monounsaturated fats that are found in olive oil and avocados. If you have any doubts, just switch to a Mediterranean diet for a short time – their food is supposed to be the healthiest.
Speaking of oils, rest tired feet in a tub of warm water with bath salts and any oil you have at home – peppermint, lavender or even olive oil. Sit back, relax and your feet will be refreshed in no time.
Veggies ahoy
Eat more of the vegetables that people use in salads, and try not boiling them to death! For fibre-rich foods, pick carrots, green leafy vegetables, beans and tomatoes. Avoid starchy ones as they can increase the sugar in your system. And while not all vegetables are good to be eaten raw, some need proper cooking to taste good – the gourd family of vegetables, for example. Yes, bring on the bitter gourd and bottle gourd for a good healthy system from within.
If you have dark circles under the eyes, grate cucumber and apply the juice on to the darkened area or just lie back with slices of cucumber on your lids. Eating this vegetable regularly has lots of benefits.
Flour down
Most people know this but few practice it – go easy on the starch. Avoid pastas and white rice if you can, as well as processed flours and breads. Opt for multigrain breads and flours, and if you can avoid them entirely and make a meal of vegetables, meats, yoghurt and salads, you will feel great from within.
Various flours too, have cosmetic benefits. If your skin is looking dull from all those late nights, take 1 teaspoon of wholewheat flour, add equal quantities of rock salt, sandalwood powder, milk and crushed almonds. Use this as a scrub on your skin and it will get softer instantly.
Spice up
Our Indian herbs and spices have medicinal values and must be included in our daily intake. Curcumin from turmeric is a natural antioxidant and garlic, cloves, cinnamon and pepper all have healing properties. They increase the flavour of our food and no Indian dish is complete without them.
In fact, turmeric is also antiseptic in nature and if you make a scrub of gramflour, turmeric and cream and use it to wash your face every day, you won’t need to go to a salon for treatment.
Eat your beans
Proteins are important for our wellbeing and to delay the ageing process so include dals and beans of all kinds to your diet to get your share of protein. Add eggs, fish and chicken to your diet if you are non-vegetarian.
In fact, if you have dull hair, apply mayonnaise to your scalp and hair, and wash it off after a while. It will give you great-looking soft hair.
Protein treatments for the hair are important and if you have nothing else, just mix an egg with some olive oil and apply it to your hair, leaving it on for an hour before shampooing. You will love the end result.