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Back to nature
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If you have become too reliant on beauty products, it’s time to stop
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Photo: AFP
Home care There’s no cosmetic that can match things off your grocery shelf
First, take a simple test. Are you unable to step out without washing, conditioning and rinsing out your hair, smoothing some shine serum after blow-drying it, and finally, sprit zing two stiff shots of hair spray? Does your make-up routine include a
minimum of concealer, pressed powder, lip liner, lipstick, gloss, blush stain, highlighter, kohl, eyeliner, mascara? Phew! And all you metro-sexual men, do you overdose on after-shaves, deo sprays that promise you a million modern houris, scent, cologne, the works?
Well, you have just joined the Product Addict Club.
While most of the products we use on ourselves are good, unless one is a professional model or actor, too much is really too much. Even the supermodels and stars, roam with faces and tresses free of cosmetics when not at work. Nothing is as fresh, as beautiful as natural. Of course, going natural doesn’t come easy. While we aren’t advocating that you junk all the bottles and pots on your dressing table, we’d like you to try the natural way, for a day. Don’t reach for that tube of toothpaste. Dry brush your teeth, instead, using as the term suggests only your dry toothbrush in a firm but gentle motion. Don’t forget to run that brush over the surface of your tongue, too.
Throw away that soft body sponge, use a loofah, instead. Just go easy with the pressure on the softer areas of your body. Scrub the bumpy areas well, though; it’s not all cellulite, it occurs due to poor circulation and a little sloughing can work wonders. Eschew soap. Use besan as a substitute and add a little curd. Let the mixture dry and you have your face pack.
Trim your toenails close and smooth a little coconut oil on calluses. Soak feet in tea for a while, the tannins fight odour-causing bacteria. Use petroleum jelly as a hand and foot cream. Last thing at night, direct a jet of cold water at your feet. It’s a great perk-me-up. Don’t use body lotion as you usually do, substitute it with a little olive oil. No deo or talc; you’ll find you can actually manage without it and not smell too bad. We sweat anything between three-quarters of a litre to three litres everyday but 90 per cent of that perspiration is good sweat, a body-cooling system and doesn’t smell.
Free your face. Wash it with besan and let it be. A healthy complexion is a glowing one, and going natural is the first step towards acquiring that complexion. As for your eyes, a few drops of milk on cotton wool is a good de-puffer for tired peepers.
Give yourself a one-hour massage before a hair wash. Rinse with tea or lime juice for shine. Don’t watch TV. At all. You will survive. Listen to some mood music instead. Read a book. This is also the time you could use to lie down for ten minutes, to wash your eyes with water, to do eye exercises. Do some heavy duty yoga. Do stretches. Go for a long walk or a swim.
Eat light and eat well. Drink as much of water as you can possibly ingest. Don’t give in to your caffeine addiction, drink warm milk and honey instead. Stay off all soft drinks during this ‘natural’ period; drink lots of home-made lime juice instead. Steer clear of all sweets; eat fresh fruit instead.
The natural life. Diet, sleep and relaxation are the things you need, not conditioners and creams. Return to Nature. Breathe deep and breathe only through your nose, not your mouth. Walk with a measured tread and with grace. Stand and sit straight, don’t slouch. Be supple of limb, not stiff. Relax your face and body muscles. Wear only fabrics that breathe like silk, cotton and such blends. Living naturally is the only way to live!
SHEILA KUMAR
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