Brace yourself, winter is coming...and its bringing all the dryness in the world to play havoc on skin/hair/lips you name it. So do you suffer from dry hair during the winter? Dry hair is more prone to stretch and damage. It will also lead to way more split ends than usual.
Here is a simple trick to prevent that from happening.

(image collected from internet)

I have had one organic raw shea butter lying around in the fridge forever.  I had to process it before use and I felt so lazy! And I already have too many body butters as it is. But winter is coming and even though my hair isn't normally dry, it will be. So I made this DIY Shea Butter whip with coconut and honeysuckle oil.

 

I have been reading so much about at-home peels and thier amazing results, finally decided to try for myself. But did my research first. Went with very low strenght, 35% glocolic peel from skin  beauty solution. Figured out once I start slow, I can build up a tolerance and then go higher and maybe try stronger peels like TCA later.

I have a round face so obviously contouring is a must. It just also happens to be my most fav make-up thing to do in the world, sculpting face in general.

Here's is an update and a simplified version of my previous DIY Vit C serum formula 
You can use either pure vit C powder/ ascorbic acid or vit C ampoule, whatever you prefer or have access to

Using vit C ampoule:
you'll only need
1. 500 mg of Vit C liquid
2. Distilled water/ if you have oily skin you can also use witch hazel
3. Light oil (like almond/vit e/ grape seed oil), this is optional only for dry/normal to dry skin

• Step 1: break the ampoule on the top and put the liquid in a clean container.

• Step 2: fill the now-empty ampoule with water or witch hazel and add that water/witch hazel to the container. Do it 3 times. If you have oily skin and have witch hazel you can also use it, but dont use only witch hazel, mix it with water, like 1 ampoule of witch hazel and 2 ampoule of water etc

• Step 3: if you have dry/ normal to dry skin add half a table spoon of light oil to the container. Shake well before use.
• Step 4: Apply this after you wash your face, just a few drops should cover the whole face. Wait atleast 15 minute before you proceed with moisturizer.  

Thats it. Keep it refrigerated. you can use it for 6 days tops. After  that make a new batch.

Use this ratio for 5-6 months. Then go to 2:1. That is for each ampoule of vit C use only two ampoule of water ( fill the ampoule twice only). DO NOT INCREASE THE POTENCY ANYMORE THOUGH.

Using vit C powder:
You'll need:
1. Ascorbic Acid powder
2. Distilled water/ if you have oily skin you can also use witch hazel

• Simply take a pinch of vit c powder on your palm and add some drop of water/witch hazel to it. Apply. Pure ascorbic acid will absorb instantly.  

• Or you can just add a pinch of vit C powder to you day moisturizer/ night moisturizer and apply that. This is what I do

For more formulation please visit make-up-alley's DIY Vit C page...almost everyone has thier own formula for it. So whatever works for you.

I have used the first version ( using ampoule) for 7-8 months on a regular basis then switched into the 2nd one during last month and I can personally say both works. I only changed because making serums every 5-6 days was getting kind of tiring...

It changed the look and feel of my skin. I sometimes skip it during the day, specially if i am going out since vit c can increase sun sensitivity but  I have been applying it religiously the nights I do not use Retin-A. And wake up with glowing, plumped, soft and clearer face. Seriously! Not only it helped to improve the texture of my skin, it also helped to fade my tan/marks. So give it a try, you will begin to see improvements in 2-3 months Insha Allah

Let me know if you have any question or query about this

For the last one month, whatever face mask I am using, after the allotted time, like 15-20 minutes, I have been washing off the mask with a cleanser instead of rinsing off with only water.

I am scared of the mask residue specially cleansing or purifying ones because they are strong) what the long term affect might be. Also how the leftover residue would interact with moisturizer or block pores or cause breakout or whatever.

 Even home made face masks like juice or aspirin, washing it off with cleansers so it neutralizes the ph level (these juice and aspirin masks can be quite acidic) and also makes my skin less sensitive to sun (specially if I am going out, never go out in the sun with residue of acidic mask)

Some may argue that washing off face mask will limit the ability of the mask for work after the allotted time. That is say, you apply a purifying mask, keep it on for 15 minutes, wash it off with cleanser, the mask is no longer purifying your skin. If you had washed it off with only water, it would; have. So you think you're getting more/better result? In my opinion that is just wrong. Because masks are not designed to work for a longer period of time. 5-20 minutes is all you need. So if you're washing your mask off with only water and happy with it, no problem. But if you experience redness, rash or even breakout after applying face masks. try it. Wash it off using a mild cleanser. It is a safer and much sanitary option

Remember my post on how to make home made DIY face mask...recap here

Here's a fun demonstration of one of my most fav recipee of summer: Watermelon and lemon AHA face mask.

The solution is really watery so you will need compressed face mask to apply it. By all means, you can simply splash the juice on your face but it will dry up in like 2-3 minutes and for AHA to work on your skin, that is to exfoloitae, to brighten up, to remove sun tan, to fade marks, to reduce the apperacnce of pores, to help with break outs, to help with anti-aging thing (yes AHA does all that...search google if you dont believe me) you need to give it a little more time...
Thats where the compressed face mask comes into play..you can drench it with the juice and apply the mask on your face and the skin will be in contact with the juice aka AHA. You can keep the face mask on for 30-40 minutes or until dry and AHA will have that much time to work on magic.

So here is your basic water melon lemon solution. I simply squeezed a piece of water melon (about 6-7 table spoon of juice) and one forth of a small lemon (1 table-spoon). Water melon is really mild, if your skin can not stand the strongher lime based fruit juice ( lemon, lime, orange) you should go with water melon. However, to get the full benefit of AHA, you would need strong acidic fruits ( again lime based fruit, grape even apple)...so this is a middle ground. You have your regular acidic fruit, lemon juice and mild highly hydrating fruit like water melon. I normally use a lot more lemon (about 50-50) because my skin can stand it...its conditioned to acidic juice...but for a beginners, I suggest to start slow, half or a table spoon of lemon juice.

I bought this last december but was stalling the review because there is just too many parts too many pictures to be taken and lets face it, when its steaming, its a bit hard to take pictures. But have been getting requests to share my opinions on the product so here they are.

I was never really regular at getting pro-facials, mostly because, this sounds weird, but I dont feel comfortable with random stranger touching my face. I also have problems whith who-knows-what they have been putting on my face. Finally I have always found the facials a bit painful, the stream is suffocating, they way they sometimes try pick one or two pimples downright hurts and the exfoliation is never upto my liking...its just never as good as doing it myself. So I thought to hell with it and ordered a home-steamer online...

Often, people shampoo their hair first and put on conditioner and then go about washing. scrubbing body, face etc to get the conditioner to stay on for the longest time possible. I used to do this to. Until I read the danger of it in one of the dermatology websites.

Hair Conditioner, is a super thick compound which has silicone, different kind of hair moisturizer (which may or may not be 100% oil free) plus other chemicals. It can not be totally removed only by water. This is the whole point of putting conditioner on your hair actually. Even after you wash it off very well with water, it will still be coating your hair to prevent it from damage and making it shiny, soft, etc.

Which is all good, except when you are washing your hair, some water will inevitably pass through your face. Conditioner diluted water. Just like your hair, it will also leave a residue on your skin, on your face and even on your neck and body. Now since the residue is not much, it should not create any problem for body, but for face it is a different story. Even a tiny bit of leftover residue can lead to break-outs.

So even after you are done washing your hair and everything, the conditioner residue on your face will still be there, since we already established that water alone can not remove conditioner residue completely. You will not see it, you may not even feel it, but it will be there.

I have really realy really oily skin. So naturally, I have large visible pores. These makes my skin look and feel kind of bumpy. They attract blackheads, white heads and other problems. These are the areas where my skin breaks out the most. Sometimes its ugly looking pimple, sometimes its just some rash or redness... Thing is, they create problems and they look weird. The pores are even more prominent with any face powder that I used, no matter if its translucent, mineral or compact.

Seriously, of all the skin complications, pores have always been my number one problem.

Previously I have used some pore-minimizing products like Murad T-Zone Pore Refining Gel with moderate success, but they are not available locally and they are darn costly. So I have been looking for a cheaper and preferably D-I-Y option forever, you know, me being such a D-I-Y freak :D

Recently, I have started to use D-I-Y Aspirin Masks, Witch Hazel Toner and Silica powder and together, within only a week or so, they have minimized my pores more than any product ever did!

Must say shoe boxes make amazing organizers...

keeping all my hair rollers, bumpits and other accessories in one, all the brush bags plus single brushes in another, all the face and hair masks in one, and all the unopened stuff that i hoard (mostly hair serums and conditioners) on another ..also great for keeping glass bottles and stuff...working great to utilize all the place ..seriously could never fit everything thats in those boxes even in double of this space.. :)
And dont even get me started about the mess and clutters :D

Before I begin, just one very very major point everyone. Every oil is not same. Remember our hair lessons about hair layers and shaft from here?

Every Oil is not same: 

Now only a handful of oils can actually penetrate our hair that is can reach the cortex. The oil molecules play an important part in it. Most of the oils molecules are too big to penetrate hair, so when you are applying oil to your hair, they are just sitting there outside your hair doing nothing. So it is important that you choose a hair oil that will penetrate and work on your cortex.

So I have been using oil cleansing method almost everyday these past week and time for an update. A very important update.

Tinted moisturizer can be an awesome product. It will moisturize your skin as well as help to brighten up and hide imperfections. Ever since I heard about it first, which is like 4-5 years ago, I have been dying to try one.

They are not available locally. I had to get them from aboard through third parties, so not a lot of option for first hand testing. I did my research, saw swatches, read reviews and bought a few of them over the period of last few years. Almost all of them had some kind of problem

• Not available locally 
• Not a lot of shades, specially for sub-continental skin tones. 
• Not suitable for my skin type…it is the worst of all. I have really oily skin which never even needs moisturizer during summer. Most of the tinted moisturizers I have used made my skin more oily, even the ones for oily skin. One or two of them were okay, but not as good as the moisturizer I have been using for my oily skin. I think this is the biggest problem of tinted moisturizer, you can never really find one as good as your current moisturizer. 

So I started thinking...why not make your own tinted moisturizer? It is quite simple actually; all you need is a moisturizer and a foundation. I mean what is tinted moisturizer really; it is just a moisturizer with a hint of tint/color.

I cant take credit for the idea though, it is really popular in net and blogs. I can just add my two cents.

Yesterday I went to a party and did a full face. Primer (milk of magnesia), skin corrector, concealer, foundation, translucent powder etc. That is a lot of product.

I have really oily skin but with dry and flaky patches around my nose and on my chin. This has always been a mystery to me. People with dry skin may have dry flaky patches but how could my extremely oily skin get them? It is even worse during the winter when no matter how much moisturizer or even thicker option like almond oil I apply it is always flaking....

It may not be really noticeable inside the layers of moisturizers but with the application of foundation brings the worst of it. Even during the hot summer days, foundation makes my face look really flaky, dry and peeling at places.

Now that you are acquainted with what is oil cleansing method? How does it work? The benefits of oil cleansing method lets move on the actual process shall we?

Why Different Processes?
There is no universal process for oil cleansing. Different people use different oils in different quantity. It all depends on the availability of the oil, skin type, skin condition and allergies. And also what works the most. It all comes down to that, the method that works the best for your skin. So what works best for me may not be the optimal one for you. If you are not getting all the benefits of oil cleansing, it may be that you just haven’t found your perfect blend of oil and process yet. So keep reading and researching until you manage the one. I can just show you how to start...

Standard Practice: 
The most common practice of oil cleansing method is perhaps to use a blend of castor oil and sunflower seed oil. It is described in the acclaimed The Oil Cleansing Method website by The Beauty Bottle. You can also use other oils like olive oil, almond oil, avocado oil, grape seed oil, hazel nut oil, hemp seed oil, essential oils depending on the availability, preference, allergic condition etc

That is a lot of oils, right? Notice any oil missing? A very common one? Yes, coconut oil. Do not use it for oil cleansing because it has a high probability of blocking pores and causing breakouts.

Oil Cleansing Method Recipe: 
So anyway, the recipe goes like this, use a blend of castor oil and sunflower/olive/whatever else oil you want for oil cleansing method. Now, castor oil plays an important part and thus mentioned specifically because even though it is oil, it works like an astringent. That is, it removes oil like nothing else. This is why you should never use castor oil alone on your skin, it will dry it out. But mixed with some other conditioning oil (olive/sunflower seed /and so on) it will take effectively clean up your pores; get rid of blackheads/whiteheads/cysts/pimple/dry patches/everything that’s stuck on your pores the whole ten yard.

So since it can be kind of drying, the ratio of castor oil to other oil will depend on your skin type. It is a trail an error process really. But according to most of the skin care website/blogs etc the standard ratio is something like that

• For oily skin use 30% castor oil and 70% other oil
• For normal and combination skin use 20% castor oil and 80% other oil 
• For dry skin use 10% castor oil and 90% other oil.

That is unless you are allergic to castor oil, in that case feel free to use any other oil/blend of oils. Like I said trial and error. For example, I do not like sunflower seed oil so I opted for olive oil instead.

 

Keep an open mind girls. I know washing face with oil sounds insane but bear with me. It will all make sense.
Remember chemistry lesson? I don’t. But anyway, simple rule of chemistry, like dissolves likes. Oil dissolves oil.

Face Cleansing 101
Now when we clean our face, the main objective is to clean the oil/sebum produced by our skin and all the make-up/ dirt/blackheads/whiteheads/cysts/other problems etc that comes with it. All the commercially available facial cleanser strips our skin off that all that natural oil and can never really take off all the make-up/dirt/blackheads/whiteheads/cysts/other unless it is like really strong which is of course not something you would want to use regularly. If you value your skin that is.

Oil Cleansing method:
Now the oil cleansing will do the opposite, it will take care of all the make-up residue/ dirt/blackheads/whiteheads/cysts/pimples/ other stuff  to100% but will not remove 100% of the natural oil and sebum from your face.

(Image Collected from Net)

I often forget or feel lazy to put some lotion/moisturizer on everytime I wash my hands, that is until I came up with this idea!

Sometimes people feel that they should start taking care of their hands only after 35 or 40 since it wont start showing signs of aging till then. But I believe prevention is always better than cure. Besides its winter, every-time water comes in contact with your hand, it is vulnerable to dryness, regardless of age or anything.

Just see how you feel before and after you put some moisturizer on, you will know its making a difference.

And it doesn't have to put any expensive hand creams which advertises to moisturize your hands for 24 hours or something. Just some regular moisturizer will do. because what are the odds that you will not wash your hand in 24 hours? No matter how good the hand creams are, they will not last after coming in contact with hand wash or cleansing agent. So I'd rather go with an inexpensive option like Johnson and Johnson (it comes with a plump which helps) rather than body butter or expensive brands because I'll be using it a lot and it does the work.

Take care of your hands. Its one of the first things people notice about you. Happy winter :)

You may often find hair described as 1a, 1b, 2c, 3a etc in different hair website, blogs, forum etc. This hair type detection process was described by Andre Walker therefore it is widely known as Andre Walker System. The whole characterization is based on the texture and curl pattern of your hair.

Why must you know your hair type:

• It will help you to characterize the need and process of your hair. For example, often specialized shampoo, conditioner, styling products target different kind of hair pattern and texture.
• It will also help you to process your hair. Different kind of hair requires different time, products and procedure for curling, coloring, straightening etc. 
• It will aid to styling as well. From selecting an easy to maintain haircut to the appropriate styling product, you will need to know your hair type. 
• Most importantly, if you want to communicate about your hair, for example, asking expert opinions in hair based blogs, online community like Long Hair Community, Long Hair Care Forum, Naturally Curly, Curly Nikki etc, you will be asked to state your hair type. It is the first and foremost requirement.

So are you ready to determine your hair type? It is quite simple actually. According to Andre Walker System, hair can be divided to 4 types and subtypes.

1. Type -1: Straight
2. Type-2: Wavy 
3. Type-3: Curly 
4. Type-4: Super Curly

 

 (Image collected from net)

Quick tip girls: use conditioner to shave for amazing result..

Using soap or shower gel for shaving is not recommended because the foam from these products are not suitable and the commercial female shaving products are pretty darn costly but conditioner comes really close texture and effect wise...in fact, i buy really cheap conditioner like sauve or V05 only for this purpose :)

• It is cheaper than commercial products
• It is always available
• Using soap, shower gel or anything kind of skin cleansing products will lead to foams which may cause problems while shaving
• conditioners will soften the hair and prepare them for easy shaving
• they are highly enriched with oil and moisturizer therefore can and will protect your skin during and after shaving     

So next time you are about to shave, reach for your conditioner and give it a try. I promise you will never look back again!