Beautician Shahnaz Husain offers tips and answers queries. Send your queries to askshahnaz@gmail.com
There's puffiness around my eyes which is worrying me. — Krithika
First, consult a doctor to ensure that your kidneys and sinuses are functioning well. Seek dietary advice too. Do not leave make-up, oil or cream on around your eyes at night when you sleep. It can lead to puffiness. You can try these simple home remedies. Apply a cold water or cold milk compress on your closed lids with cotton wool; leave it on for 15 to 20 minutes. Or soak cotton wool pads in chilled rose water and let it rest on your closed lids for 10 to 15 minutes. Grated potato or potato juice, applied around the eyes, helps reduce puffiness. So do tea bags. Steep them in hot water, allow them to cool and use them as eye pads.
Suggest a daily routine for oily skin. — Geetha
Wash your face in the morning and night with soap, or a cleansing lotion, or face wash for oily skin. After washing/cleansing, wipe your face with an astringent lotion, using cotton wool. Or, apply cucumber juice on your face. It helps reduce oiliness. Two or three times a week, use a facial scrub. Rub it gently on your face with small circular movements and then wash it off. Do not apply the scrub on pimples, acne or rash. During the day, apply a day cream for oily skin. Or, apply a non-greasy sunscreen before going out in the sun. Mix multani mitti with rose water into a paste and apply it daily on your face, at any time. Wash it off after it dries.
I have cracked heels. — Sangeetha
At night, before retiring to bed, soak your feet in hot water for about 20 minutes. Add some coarse salt and shampoo to the water. Rub your heels gently, with a pumice stone or scrubber to remove the dead cells. Avoid metal scrubbers. Wash your feet and massage cream into the skin. Apply it generously on your heels. Bandage your heels with a clean cloth, wear cotton socks and go to sleep. Repeat this every night for a week or till the cracks heal. Special preparations for the heels are also available, which may have an antiseptic effect and prevent infections.
I have become very dark after playing in the sun. Suggest home remedies to improve my complexion. — Aish
You have not mentioned your skin type. However, use a facial scrub twice a week. You can either buy a scrub, or mix rice powder with curd and use it as a scrub. Apply it on your face, rubbing the skin gently, using small circular movements. Leave it on for five minutes before washing it off. Mix one teaspoon each of honey and lemon juice and apply it daily on your face, at any time. Wash it off after 20 minutes. Twice a week, apply a face mask. Mix 3 teaspoons of oats with one teaspoon each of honey, curd and lemon juice, or egg white. Apply it on your face, avoiding the lips and the area around the eyes. Wash it off after half-an-hour.
My hair is very dry and frizzy. I have dandruff. — Sridevi
For dandruff, apply two tablespoons of vinegar on your scalp with cotton wool half-an-hour before shampoo. Take a couple of drops of a light vegetable oil, like sunflower oil, lightly on your palms. Rub your palms lightly together, so that the oil spreads on both the palms. Smooth your palms over the hair. Or, mix some water with a creamy hair conditioner and put it in a spray bottle. Spray the mixture on your hair. Then comb your hair, so that it spreads right through. Heat olive oil and apply it once a week on your scalp and hair. Leave it on overnight. The next morning, apply the juice of a lemon on your scalp, and wash the hair after 15 minutes. Avoid washing your hair with hot water. After a shampoo wash, wrap a towel around your head and let it soak up water. Avoid rubbing.
