B eautician Shahnaz Husain offers tips and answers queries. Send your queries to askshahnaz@gmail.com
I had chicken pox which has left scars on my face and body. — Amusha
If the scars have healed totally, try the following remedies. Make a paste of bicarbonate of soda and a little water. Apply it only on the marks, washing it off after five minutes. Use a facial scrub twice a week. Rice powder and curd make a good scrub. Apply it on the face, rubbing the skin gently with small circular movements, especially on the areas with the marks. Then, wash it off. Take curd, add a pinch of turmeric and apply it on your face and body. Wash it off after 15 minutes. This will also help get rid of marks.
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Amla is said to check greying. So, add amla to henna powder. However, henna turns grey hair reddish brown colour and does not make it black. Soak a handful of dry amla in about 2 to 3 cups water overnight. The following morning, strain the water, but do not throw the water away. Grind the amla. To the henna powder, add the ground amla, four teaspoons each of lemon juice and coffee, two raw eggs, two teaspoons of oil and enough amla water, so that the henna mixes into a thick paste. Allow the paste to stand for two to three hours and then apply it on the hair, so that the entire head is covered. Keep it on for at least two hours before washing it off. If you can't get amla, then mix tea water along with the other ingredients. Make tea water by boiling used tea leaves and then cooling and straining the liquid.
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These may be acne/pimples. Wash your face twice a day, in the morning and night with a medicated soap. Then wipe it with an astringent lotion, using cotton wool. Apply sandalwood paste on the boils daily. Mix cinnamon powder with a little lemon juice and a few drops of honey into a sticky paste. Apply this only on the boils daily, leaving it on for an hour. Mix multani mitti with rose water and lemon juice into a paste and apply it on your face two or three times a week. Wash it off after it dries. Use only oil-free products. Include fresh fruits, salads, sprouts and yoghurt in your daily diet. Drink six to eight glasses of water daily. Add the juice of a lemon to a glass of water and drink it first thing in the morning.
I have straight hair, but it gets tangled after a wash. — Sanjana
Use a mild herbal shampoo. Use very little shampoo, taking care to rinse if off well with water. After a shampoo wash, take a very small quantity of a creamy conditioner and massage it lightly into your hair. Leave it on for 2 minutes before rinsing it off. Or, apply a leave-in conditioner or hair serum. Apply it the same way, but do not rinse it off. After washing your hair, wrap your head in a towel so that the water gets absorbed. Avoid rubbing your hair with the towel. To remove tangles, comb your hair with a wide-toothed comb.
My eight-month-old daughter has a lot of hair on her face and body. What should I do to get rid of it? — Siju
Many babies have downy hair on their face and body, which disappears, as they grow older. The skin of babies and infants is delicate. Mix wheat flour and milk into a stiff dough. Hold the dough in your hand and rub it gently on the baby’s skin daily, the way you would use a sponge or loofah. Note that it is important to achieve a dough-like consistency and the wheat flour should not be mixed into a paste. Flour and milk can make a soft dough that can be used on the tender skin of children. Rubbing the dough daily on the skin is said to gradually lessen hair growth.