How to get a glowing skin

The price you pay for living a rushed life takes a toll in the form of diseases and wrinkled skin. Have you ever seen an unhealthy person with a radiant glow? Your skin may improve with the help of some creams, gels and lotions, but it will suffer if you don’t get enough sleep, if you smoke,
drink too much alcohol, don’t take anti-oxidants, eat too many chocolates or junk food.

When the skin is not renewing itself regularly or not receiving enough blood and nutrients, it can become dry, dull, thick and lack that translucent glow. There is a deep link between skincare and one’s diet. Everything we eat becomes a part of our inner being and outer body.

Your skin can be better protected by adding the right food and spices to your daily meals. We all use spices to add flavours and enhance taste. Many of these spices are powerful anti-oxidants and can revive skin due to their natural healing abilities. Including spices in your diet and applying them topically helps maintain skin’s health. Some of the best spices to include in your diet are:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/HTEditImages/Images/beauty-skin2.jpgTurmeric: Using turmeric is a natural and inexpensive way to look after your skin. It is a potent anti-oxidant, a natural antiseptic and anti-inflammatory spice. It can be applied to skin to reduce swelling and pigmentation. Application of turmeric mixed with sandalwood powder and water reduces the appearance of acne.

Cinnamon: The essential oil of cinnamon can be mixed with petroleum jelly and applied on acne to dry it out. Mix three tbsp of honey and one tbsp of cinnamon powder. Apply a thin layer on the face and keep it on for 10 minutes. Then wash it off to make skin glow.

Fennel: Fennel detoxifies and exfoliates the skin. A few drops of fennel essential oil can be mixed with any skin cream and applied on the skin for its toning effect. It also helps reduce wrinkles. It produces hormone-balancing effect on consumption, thus preventing monthly skin break outs.

Cumin: It contains Vitamin E, which is good for skin and keeps it young and glowing. The essential oils present in cumin have disinfectant and anti-fungal properties.

These are only few spices that can benefit overall health besides that of a glowing skin. Discover your own ways to make spices a part of everyday life!

Tips for Clearer Skin in Winters

Dry and dull skin is a common problem faced by people in winter. The cold and windy weather and the exposure to drastic temperature changes tend to leave skin drier than usual. This article brings to you some useful tips for clearer skin in winter.


Beauty Nap

Get at least eight hours per night to sleep. Your skin, hair and nails show signs of sleep deprivation by becoming dull and dry, and your nails can become brittle. Hence, retire early, and remember to increase the ability to fall asleep by relaxing your mind at least an hour before you retire; this includes skipping evening caffeine and turning off electronics an hour before bedtime.

Replace your Old Cosmetics

Do not hang on with your cosmetics until the metal bottom surfaces, especially if you don't use them often. Replace old cosmetics from time-to-time to keep your skin healthy.


Exfoliate

Our skin constantly renews itself, but in winter, the dead cells cling to the surface of the skin. As a result, the skin looks dull, flaky and lifeless.

In winter, one needs to use a cleanser with alpha hydroxy acids such as glycolic and salicylic acid; this will boost the growth of new skin cells, thus, making your skin look bright.
Always use exfoliant with gentle micro beads. You can use a cleanser three to four times a week.
Another method to exfoliate skin is to use a manual facial scrub. You can use a facial scrub twice a week, but make sure that you are gentle with your skin.


Keep your Skin Hydrated

The simplest way to get clearer skin in winter is to keep it hydrated. To have a clearer and pumped-up appearance in winter, you must drink at least eight average sized glasses of water i.e. 64 ounce a day.


To add extra moisture to your skin, apply water based hydrating face cream. Apply a moisturiser after taking bath or shower when the skin is slightly damp. Water-based hydrating face creams quench parched skin and make the skin's texture healthier. People with extra dry skin can use a rich layer of body and face balm over the base moisturiser.
Exercise

Cold and short winter days can make you feel sluggish and busy. Don’t make winter an excuse to be lazy. Make sure that you hit the gym at least three times a week; this will help you maintain the hard earned fit body and make your skin healthy. When you exercise, your body starts to sweat and your skin will thereby, look the way you want it to i.e. clear and healthy.

Flash 40 pc of your skin to allure men!

Women should wear clothes that bare 40 per cent of their bodies in a bid to allure men, say experts.

Keeping the right balance between revealing too much and being too conservative has long been a dilemma for women while choosing the right clothes.

A research team from University of Leeds observed women at one of the city's biggest nightclubs from a balcony above the dance floor.

Using tape recorders hidden in their handbags, they took note of what female clubbers wore. Each arm accounted for 10 per cent of the body, each leg for 15 per cent and the torso for 50 per cent.

They also calculated how many times these women were approached by men asking them to dance.

The study found that women who showed off around 40 per cent of their skin attracted twice as many men as those who covered up.

In contrast, too much skin show turned men off as it suggests they might be unfaithful.

"Any more than 40 per cent and the signal changes from 'allure' to one indicating general availability and future infidelity," the Telegraph quoted lead researcher and psychologist Dr Colin Hendrie, as telling the Daily Mail.

"Show some leg, show some arm, but not any more than that," Hendrie added.

The most popular women combined the 40 per cent rule with tight clothing and provocative dancing. The 15 per cent that combined all three criteria were approached by 40 men each.

The study appears in journal Behaviour.

Tips to pamper your skin this winter

As winter draws nearer, it’s time for us to pay attention to our skin. Though we no longer have to fear problems such as acne, sweat rashes, prickly heat or sunburn, winter brings other problems. And since different people have different skin types, it is important to work with your specific skin type to achieve a fabulous complexion.

Kapha skin type
People who have a kapha constitution typically have soft smooth skin that is naturally blemish free. Such people only need to watch out for puffiness and water retention. For this, they can opt for sauna (with a wet towel for the head). Taking sauna opens up the sweat glands and helps to remove extra water and toxins.

Kapha people are also prone to sinusitis, so they should opt for steam inhalation, preferably with some Ayurvedic herbs to clear the nasal passages. This skin type can get body massages with powder or herbs, followed by steam and ending with a moisturiser. As their skins have adequate oils,they only need to boost their circulation through exercises like brisk walking, yoga etc.

Pitta skin type
Individuals with this skin type will find that their skin looks best in winter. To rev up their blood circulation and bring a glow to their face, people with pitta constitutions can run or jog in order to sweat, followed by a body temperature shower and then a spray of cool room temperature water.

Pitta people also benefit from cool face packs that contain natural antibiotics like neem, cinnamon, turmeric and clove. These can be added to a base like Fullers earth, papaya or sandalwood. Gentle exfoliation and application of moisturisers is advised. They can also drink water with herbs like jasmine, chamomile etc., to flush toxins from the liver.

Amla in any form greatly benefits people with pitta constitutions, as does a body massage with olive oil. Avoid too much tea or coffee.

Vata skin type
People with vata constitutions are the ones who find winter a problem, as they suffer from dry skin and body pain in this season. They also benefit hugely from body massages with heavy oils like sesame etc. People with vata constitutions should go for sessions in the steam room, as it is moisturising and warming. They must use heavy moisturisers and exfoliate their skin gently with mung dal paste followed by a moisturiser.

A cup of coffee may help banish wrinkles

Want to get rid of those pesky wrinkles? Well, then forget trying lotions and grab a cup of coffee.

Nescafe, brand of instant coffee made by Swiss-based manufacturer Nestle, has started selling a version aimed at women, and it comes with the beauty-enhancing ingredient collagen.

So, instead of applying lotions to smooth out wrinkles, users can simply rely on a cup of coffee.

Sachets contain coffee, skimmed milk and 200mg of collagen – a protein found naturally in body tissue.

The precise beauty benefits of mixing collagen with coffee are unclear, byt this product is part of a much wider trend known as “nutri-cosmetics”.

This is where food and drink manufacturers promote new products by emphasising the positive effect they can have on the hair, eyes, skin or general appearance.

“Collagen is just one popular ingredient used to lend a more skin/beauty-friendly image to a product, and is increasingly found not just in beauty products but also in food and drink products – including coffee,” the Daily Express quoted David Jago, director of trends and innovation at market analysts Mintel, as saying.

The drink has so far made its debut only in Singapore.

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Antioxidant in Berries prevents wrinkles

Worried about harsh summer taking a toll on your skin? Apply berry juice.

Researchers in Korea have found that an antioxidant present in berries helps contain skin damage due to ultraviolet (UV) rays.

"An antioxidant found in berries and nuts can act as potential sun block and shield skin from harmful UV rays," said Ji-Young Bae, lead researcher of the st

Ellagic acid acts as an anti-photoaging agent

The other mice, also exposed to UV light, did not receive ellagic acid.

The mice exposed to UV radiation without the ellagic acid treatment developed wrinkles and thickening of the skin while the exposed mice that received topical application of ellagic acid showed reduced wrinkle formation.

The results of the test were presented at the Experimental Biology 2009 meeting in New Orleans

blocking production of MMP (Matrix metalloproteinase enzymes) which breaks down collagen in damaged skin cells and reducing the expression of ICAM (a molecule involved in inflammation) both responsible for skin damage due to UV rays, Bae said.

For the research Bae experimented using both – the in-vitro and in-vivo applications. Bae used skin cells and hairless mice for this research.

For eight weeks, 12 mice were exposed to increasing ultraviolet radiation, such as that found in sunlight, three times a week, beginning at a level sufficient to cause redness or sunburn and increasing to a level that would have definitely caused minor skin damage to human skin.

During these eight weeks, half of the exposed mice were given daily topical applications of ellagic acid on their skin surface, even on the days in which they did not receive UV exposure.

udy conducted at the Hallym University in South Korea.

The antioxidant identified as ellagic acid is a polyphenol ingredient contained in lots of berries and nuts and performs a photoprotective function, Bae said in an email interview.

Found in numerous berries, including raspberries, strawberries, cranberries, pomegranates ellagic acid prevents collagen destruction and inflammatory response, major causes of wrinkles in human skin cells following a continued exposure to sun's skin-damaging ultraviolet radioactive rays.