Methods of cleansing

It is important to clean the face with extra care because the skin is more sensitive than other parts of the body and is almost invariably exposed and it is exposed to the many harmful elements in the air around us every day.

There are many facial cleansers available in the market. These are formulated so that they cleanse effectively while keeping your skin's natural oils intact.

If you have normal skin you should use:

Gel cleansers:

These are usually oil-free and may not foam or lather. These are good for sensitive skin also.


If you have oily skin, you should choose from the following:

Foaming cleansers:

These cleanser lather the face and remove the excessive oil from the surface; particularly suitable for the oily skin type.

If you have dry skin, you should choose

Water-soluble cleansers:

These are good and all-purpose, and are generally non-irritating.

Lotion cleansers:

These are recommended for dry or sensitive skin because they leave a light soothing film on the skin.

Cleansing milks:

These are best for removing make-up.

Facial cleansers may be of many types. You need to choose one that is most suitable for your skin and your pocket.

How to Clean Your Face

The best way to clean your face is to warm water and a mild cleanser twice a day, probably in the morning and before you go to bed. It is a fairly simple process.

These are the correct steps for cleansing your face:

Wet your face with warm water.

Squeeze out a small amount of face wash, about the size of a fifty-paisa coin, on your palm.

Use a soft sponge to gently rub the cleanser all over your face for fifteen
to thirty seconds.

Splash your face with running warm water several times (about ten times), until you are sure that all the cleanser has been rinsed off. Feel your face for signs of oily residue. Warm water is more effective for dissolving oil and impurities.

Pat your face lightly with a clean face towel, but make sure not to pat it completely dry—you need to retain some water to get the best effect of the moisturizer that you apply.

Apply an appropriate moisturizer.


The top five face cleansing errors


Is your cleansing method is keeping your skin glowing at its best?
Make sure that you are not making these five common cleansing errors.

1. Cleansing too often.
Over clansing your face can stimulate oil glands, making your skin even slicker. So no matter what your skin type, cleanse no more than twice a day with a cleanser formulated for your skin type.



2. Using of too much cleanser.
The less concentrated your cleanser, the gentler it is on your skin. So dilute a dot of liquid cleanser with water or lather it up in the palm of your hand before you begin.

3. Using products that are too harsh for the skin.
You might like the tingly feeling that an alcohol-based cleanser or astringent provides, but using it every day can lead to tight, flaky skin. In fact, astringent is often unnecessary even for oily skin. So let your skin be your guide.

4. Using products too harshly.
Yes, whiteheads are annoying, but over-scrubbing will not help. Avoid abrasive facial pads or grainy scrubs. You might end up with blotchy, flaky skin or even tiny broken capillaries.

5. Not rinsing enough.
Many people don't rinse away their cleansers thoroughly enough. When you think you're done rinsing, splash your face three more times.


This article is republished in India Study Channel

Read more...

How to clean ourselves - Know about soaps

How should one bathe?
Should one use a body wash or a regular soap?
What kind of soap should one use?
Whether one should use soap or body wash depends on their skin?

So many questions arise in our mind, when caring of skin is concerned.
The skin on one’s body may be quite different from the skin on her face. It would be a good idea to check the skin on arms and legs. Even if the face has oily skin, arms and legs may be quite dry.

In Indian tropical weather conditions, one should bathe twice a day, morning and, using a cleansing agent and warm water. One should rinse thoroughly to prevent soap residue from getting deposited on the skin. Soap deposits may cause allergic reaction, and also lead to darkening of the skin. Always moisturize after cleaning the skin at night, even in summer.

It becomes confusing, what to use from so many cleaning agents available in the market. All of them are claiming their benefits. Let us know what we want for us and which will suit the best for our skin.


Choosing a Soap


If you have normal skin, these are the cleansing agents you should choose from:

Regular/traditional soaps:

These soaps are fine for normal skin, but may be irritating for dry skins.

Transparent soaps:

These are the best option for sensitive but oily skin.

Shower gels or body shampoos:

These have been recently introduced, and are often technically better than soaps.

If you have dry skin, these are the cleansing agents you should choose from:

Moisturizing or super fatted soaps:

These are good for those who have dry skin as they contain fatty ingredients and are pH neutral.

Body washes:

The moisturizing ones are especially good for dry skin.


Specialized kinds of soaps


Deodorant soaps:

Avoid using these on your face as the antiseptics can cause reactions.

Medicated soaps:

These can cause dryness, especially when used for long periods of time. Under no circumstances should you use a medicated soap for more than two months at a stretch.

Use a medicated soap only if:

*Spend a lot of time outdoors.
*You perspire due to strenuous skin.
*You have too much body odor.
*You have a skin infection.

pH of the soap is important:


pH is the approximate measure of acidity of a substance and is represented by a number. Seven is considered neutral, whereas less than seven is acidic. The higher numbers denote alkalinity.

Our skin is mildly acidic. Most of the ordinary soaps available in the market are alkaline. They react with the acidity of the skin and kill some superficial cells. These cells putrefy and cause more bad odor. More alkaline, and cheap is the soap, more damage will be done to the skin. Search for neutral pH soap for best results.

This article is republished at India Study Channel

Read more...

Food and beautiful hairs and nails

External beauty can be acquired by not just applying the right products to your face, what also matters is the food intake. Just like every other part of our body, hair and nails are at their strongest and healthiest when a balanced diet is consumed a healthy diet that contains an adequate amount of protein and plenty of vitamins and minerals.

The most important factor is to eat plenty of protein-rich foods, such as lean meat, chicken, eggs, fish, low-fat dairy products, pulses, nuts, seeds and soya. Diets deficient in protein can result in fine hair that is prone to breaking or split ends, and nails that are brittle and vulnerable. Poor dietary intakes of iron can also have a major impact on nails, causing them to become brittle, spoon-shaped (curved in the middle), and pale rather than pink in color.


As there is very little overlying tissue, the small blood vessels under the nail are more obvious than else¬where in the body. As a result, iron in the red blood cells shows up as a pink tinge - or pale, if iron intake is poor. Also, a loss of hair or thinning hair is one of the main symptoms of anemia, a condition that results from lack of iron. One of the best sources of iron is red meat, fish, bread, green leafy vegetables, peas, lentils, beans, dried fruit, and eggs.

Vitamin C helps the body to absorb iron from plant foods, so foods such as citrus fruits and juices, berries. Green leafy vegetables, kiwi fruit, tomatoes and pep¬pers should be consumed. It's a common misconcep¬tion that white spots on nails are caused by a calcium deficiency. More often than not, they're caused by damage to the nail itself and will grow out, but a poor intake of zinc may be the cause. This immune-boosting mineral - found in meat, poultry, seafood, cheese, nuts and seeds - is essential for healthy nails and hair, and its absence can be linked to dry and brittle hair, loss and even dandruff. Prevent dry hair and cuticles, drink eight glasses of water a day and eat juicy fruit and vegetables - many contain at least 90 per cent water. so one can maintain fluid and vitamin levels at the same time

Read more...

Sun protecting Skincare

Sunrays have dual effect on our body. On one hand it elevates mood, protects our bone by improving bone density and may be protecting against some form of cancer; but on the other hand the UV rays lead to premature aging of our skin. So the use of sunscreen lotion is essential to protect our skin from the ill effects, while enjoying the benefits of sun rays.

Are all sunscreen products are safe?

Chemical UV light sponges when applied repeatedly to the wide areas of the skin, they are absorbed and these oestrogen like chemicals are fond in the breast milk and the urine. This is not desirable. Check for the ingredients while buying your products and avoid those with the following chemicals Benzophone, Azobenzone, PABA (Para Amino Benzoic Acid), PABA esters, cinnamates and nano particles of titanium oxide and zinc oxides.


Go for reputed brands, those use natural ingredients to protect sun rays.

Other things you should do to protect your skin from sun:

Sun-protection fruit blend

All the fruits in this smoothie are fantastic antioxidants and the pomegranate juice also helps protect the skin from damage caused by the sun.

• ½ mango
• ½ papaya
• slice of honeydew melon
• 1 nectarine
• 3 apricots
• 12 black grapes
• Small glass of pomegranate juice

Slice and collect the pulps of all, deseed the grapes. Place all the fruit slices and pulps into a blender and blend them until they are well blended. Pour the blend into a glass and top off with chilled pomegranate juice, stirring well to combine. Relish the drink fresh. Pomegranate juice has been shown to extend the SPF of a sunscreen by as much as 20 percent.

Some exposure to sun is beneficial

Expose your non sun blocked skin to early morning sunrays for 5 – 15 minutes three times a week. This will give you the natural dose of vitamin D you require.


Use hat judiciously

Protect your face and the Décolletage by wearing wide brimmed dark colored hat between 11 am to 4 pm routinely. This will prevent age related pigmentation.


Care after a sun bath

Skin may some times feel sore after a sun bath. This can be soothed by applying cider vinegar by cotton swabs.



Better don’t use sun beds

UV rays from sun beds may cause the breakdown of folic acid in the body. This B vitamin seems to protect against some later-life diseases, such as dementia and cardiovascular disease. Using sun beds may also worsen age related pigmentation problems.


Using self tanners

If you are using any self tanners ,better use any organic one.
Fake tan and tanning moisturizers have been associated with DNA damage because of their active ingredient dihydroxyacetone (DHA).


Your snacks may help to protect you from the ill effect of sunrays


Food containing beta carotene, lutein, the antioxidants like Vitamin C protect the skin from sun damage. Rely on oranges, tomatoes and green leafy vegetables. Vitamin E in these foods also help to reduce the redness caused by the sun exposure.

Read more...

Daily skin care is required after 30!

Skin renews itself and repairs the damages in night. Before 30 you may not require special care but after 30 an intensive replenishing management is required to maintain youthfulness of the skin.

Basic principle of applying cream at night

Remember not use excess quantity of your night care products. Use only the quantity, which can be readily absorbed by the skin. Wipe away any excess quantity by tissue paper after 2 minutes.


Home made night care oil for your face

For cleansing use the home made cleanser for sensitive skin.

For making the night care product of your own use the following:

1 tsp each avocado and wheat germ oil
1 capsule evening primrose oil
4 drops essential oil of lavender
2 drops each essential oils of myrrh and frankincense
1 drop each essential oils of cypress


Pour all the ingredients in a dark glass bottle. Drop the essential oils into it. Shake well to mix. Store it in a cool and ark place. To apply, massage the oil on freshly cleansed damp skin.


Massage your feet to ensure good sleep

The relaxation and good sleep at night shows on the face in the morning. To ensure good sleep massage the feet with warm colorless sesame oil before reclining to bed.

Read more...