Beautician Shahnaz Husain offers tips and answers queries. Send your queries to askshahnaz@gmail.com
What’s the benefit of applying curd on the face?- Priya
Curd is beneficial for the skin and the hair. It helps restore the acid-alkaline balance of the skin and keep it healthy. It benefits acne prone skin. Applying curd on the arms and other exposed areas of the body helps remove tan and softens the skin. It can be included in body and face packs and scrubs. In fact, even for hair care, curd is suitable. Applied on the hair half an hour before shampoo helps soften the hair and also adds body. It is used in henna packs for conditioning the hair. How to get rid of flabby arms? -Ajitha
For the arms, stand with feet slightly apart. Stretch the arms out to the sides, with palms facing upwards. Rotate the arms in small circles, clockwise and then anti-clockwise. Repeat 10 times on each side and increase gradually.
My lips are dark. Suggest a remedy.- Malathy
The skin of the lips is thin and delicate. After washing the face, when the lips are wet, you can rub them gently with a soft towel. This helps remove dead skin. Then apply milk cream and leave on for an hour. Add a few drops of lemon juice to the cream before application. Apply pure almond oil daily on the lips at night and leave overnight. You can also look for a lip balm with sunscreen. Change your brand of lipstick, because the perfume in certain lipsticks can cause darkness as a reaction to sun-exposure.
My hair is frizzy and dry. Can I apply jojoba and wheat germ oil?- Ranjani
Yes, you can use jojoba and wheat germ oils. They have emollient and nourishing properties. You can also mix castor oil and coconut oil in equal quantities. Heat and apply on the hair once or twice a week. Then do the hot towel wrap. It helps the hair to absorb the oil better. Or, you can apply pure almond oil. After shampoo, apply a creamy conditioner, taking less quantity and massaging it lightly into the hair. Leave on for 2 minutes and rinse. You can also apply a “leave-on” type of conditioner or hair serum. Apply the same way, but do not rinse.
My eyes are small. What kind of eye make-up would make them look bigger?- Nowreen
When plucking your eyebrows, leave the inner part of your brow thicker, this will create an arch to frame the eye. On the lids, use a slightly off-white eye shadow on the inner part of the lid and add a pure white shadow in the inner most part to create a light effect. Pay attention to the lash line to add definition to the eye area. Apply eye pencil close to the lash line on the upper lid. Dot the pencil along the lower lashes and smudge carefully with swab to enlarge the eye area. When applying mascara, pay attention to the lashes at the outer corner.
