Tips for glowing skin

Your skin is a clear indicator to your lifestyle and internal well being, here are a few popular beauty tips to give you that much elusive glowing skin.

Exercise: 

Exercising can do wonders to your skin. Indulge in some sort of physical activity on a regular basis and notice how it affects your skin for the better. Running, jogging, walking or swimming, take out around 30 minutes from your daily schedule and unwind.

Drink water: 

Probably one of the most advised beauty tips, keeping yourself hydrated on a daily basis is absolutely essential. Juices and other liquids are also highly beneficial. Drink around 10-15 glasses a day and it is sure to positively affect your skin. Additionally, excessive consumption of alcohol should also be avoided.

Go green: 

A healthy diet can do wonders to the quality of your skin. Incorporate a healthy dose of vitamins and proteins in your daily diet and notice the condition of your skin change for the tremendously. Figs, radishes, spinach etc are great for healthy, glowing skin. Nuts like almonds are also known to improve the quality of your skin.

Get perfect beach holiday skin

People love holidaying on beach, but they do not know how to keep their skin glowing. Expert gives tip to protect skin to have that beautiful beach holiday look.

Jill Zander, founder of the Jill Zander Skin Rejuvenation Clinic, shares tips to keep skin looking beautiful in the summer sun and beyond, reports femalefirst.co.uk:

Sun protection: 

Use a sunblock daily. Always include your neck, decollete and backs of hands and reapply frequently. Wear a hat and large lensed sunglasses.

Antioxidants: 

We become more sensitive as we get older to external stresses, as a result of free radicals produced by environmental pollution, car exhaust fumes, UVA and UVB and cigarette smoke. Invest in a scientifically proven home care regime to protect your skin with vital nutrients providing good antioxidant protection enriched with vitamins C and E.

Repair sun damage: 

When it comes to sun damage, vitamin A is the most valuable skin care nutrients applied to the skin. Vitamin A helps to smooth sun damage, giving less wrinkled skin and also helps to even out skin tone.

Use a good facial scrub: 

It is required to remove oil, dirt, impurities and dead cells to improve texture and restore natural glow. Do it at night only.

Summer scent: 

Never apply fragrance to the skin in the day. Oil of Bergamot, often used as a fixative, can cause photo sensitivity and pigmentary problems. Only apply in the evening.

Summer skin SOS

You will no longer hate the warm weather for the setbacks it can bring.We give you a list of the most common seasonal skin woes - and the solutions to prevent or fix them, to stay gorgeous all season

1. Sunburns

Reason: Exposure to UV rays during

Prevent it: For the face, use skincare products that contain SPF 30 or more. For the body, use garments such as scarves to guard against UV rays.

Solution: When skin is sun burnt, it is inflamed. So, burnt, it is inflamed. So, you first need to cool it; a cold shower is quite effective for this purpose. You can also soak a towel in cold water and place it on affected areas. Go for whitening/brightening skincare products and moisturise well.

2. Summer rash

Reason: Sweat makes the skin moist. Skin that is moist collects dust and impurities that block the sebaceous glands and cause summer rash and acne.

Prevent it: Never scratch your skin. Sweat contains salt that can irritate the skin, creating an itching sensation.

When you itch, your skin develops rashes.

Solution: Use a good-quality powder to prevent the skin from becoming too moist.
Make cleansing a part of your daily beauty regimen. Gently cleanse the skin with a cleanser, around two to three times a day. When outdoors or in office, apply moisturising lotion to a cotton pad and gently wipe the sweat off the skin instead of using a dry tow el. Moisturisof ing lotions to are mildly s acidic and do not irri tate the skin. ill 3 pm tate the skin.

3. Acne

Reason: Acne is the direct result of the direct result of dehydration due to sweating and excessive reproduc tion of bacteria. For adults, stress and lifestyle factors can disrupt the pH balance making the skin acne prone.

Prevent it: Change the way you cleanse. The key is to lather up the foam and cleanse gently, so that excess sebum is removed, but essential moisture is retained in the skin.

Solution: Gently wash the face with a cleanser, then apply a toner and a moisturiser (cream or emulsion) with a light texture. Sleep well, eat healthy, and avoid foods that are high in fats. Since your skin is very sensitive, apply products that can increase the `barrier function' of the skin.

4. Dry skin

Reason: Scrubbing can cause dry ness as it damages the stratum corneum (uppermost layer of the skin). Dif K t t ferences in humidity between indoors and outdoors and exposure to air conditioning are among other causes.

Prevent it: Maintaining an optimal moisture balance for your skin (balance between water, oil and moisturising elements in the skin) is important for healthy, beautiful skin. Most people with dry skin only use a cream. However, in order to restore the optimal moisture balance, apply a toner and an emulsion before applying a cream. This will create protective layers on your skin, thus increasing its barrier function.

Solution: Religiously moisturise your skin every morning and before you go to bed. The right way to apply the cream is to use the palm of your hand and apply it in a slow motion.

5. Uneven skin tone

Reason: The reason is different for different areas. Decrease in blood circulation and d haemoglobin in the blood affects the area around the eyes, making them appear darker. Exposure to UV rays causes melanin to build up which changes the colour of your cheeks. And if you notice uneven skin tone on your entire face, it may be due to lack of translucence because of ageing.

Prevent it: Moisturisation, sun protection, and facial massage are keys to avoiding uneven skin tone.

Solution: When massaging the face, pay attention to using the correct amount of cream. For the 
area around the eyes, take a towel, soak it in warm water, squeeze it and place on your eyes for a few minutes. This will increase the blood circulation and refresh your eyes.

Beauty tips to keep in mind

• Lather the cleansing foam until it is thick and creamy, and then use it to gently cleanse the face. Do not scrub, as it will damage the skin. The foam will act as a cushion and collect dust and impurities from the skin.
• Do not apply heavy moisturisers on oily skin as the pores can get clogged with oil and lead to blackheads and pimples.
• Be beautiful from the "inside" by paying special attention to food. Opt for healthy, natural and light options like salads and take vitamin and mineral supplements.

• After cleansing, use a toner. This will replenish the moisture in your skin and make it supple and soft. A smart way of using the toner is to take several cotton pads and soak them in the toner. Place the cotton pads on dry areas like a mask for 10 minutes.
• Apply sandalwood paste on pimples, acne, rash and heat boils. If there is a rash, mix sandalwood paste with a little rose water and apply on the affected area. Wash it off with plain water after 20 minutes. You can also use talcum powder containing sandalwood for conditions like prickly heat or body rash.

(Inputs by Hiroko Watanabe, skin expert, Shiseido and beauty expert Shahnaz Husain)

How to get revitalised and youthful skin

Healthy hydrated cells are said to be the key to staying young, so get the flow on your face from inside. Glowing and youthful skin may not be far away.

Beauty expert Kathryn Danzey, favoured by celebrities for gaining that extra glow, gives advice to achieve that glow from the inside out in two weeks and says healthy hydrated cells are the key to staying young.

At the anti-ageing health and beauty show at London Olympia, Danzey said that it takes three-four weeks for the skin cells to be renewed and only five days for the stomach lining. So, one should use the food and drinks consumption to help promote our healthy skincare routine.

The beauty expert has a 3-dimensional approach to ageing:

• Hydrating and strengthening the cell wall is vital.
• Topical applications.
• Treatments to protect and reverse.

Cellular hydration diminishes with age and it's impossible to hydrate cells that are weak. Danzey advised that drinking collagen - a big beauty trend at the moment, could help one look young for long.

Collagen Shots have 10,000 mgs of marine extract collagen per serving. Collagen type I is a major protein found in connective tissues and skin, and plays an essential role in maintaining skin tone, suppleness and elasticity.

After the age of 25 collagen synthesis reduces at a rate of 1.5 per cent a year and by the age of 45 collagen levels fallen by as much as 30 per cent.

The visible effects of this process are the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines and dry skin. Collagen Shots will solve all of these problems, by consuming one shot per day.

H3O hydration is a revolution that provides all the minerals and ions that are essential for hydration at a cellular level to create healthy hydrated cells.

• Hypotonic hydration with hyaluronic acid for cell hydration.
• Key minerals to transfer nutrients into cells and waste products out of cells.
• Turn on the switch to convert dormant energy to active energy to encourage weight loss.
• Helps regulate the level of oxygen in blood.

Tips to look younger

Who does not want to look younger, and in a quick way that does not involve getting surgeries or needles?

And you always do not need expensive anti-wrinkle and night creams. When you wear the right clothes and accessories, practice a great skin care regime daily, and keep your wardrobe updated you can take years off you without the large financial burden that operations bring. Here are some simple tips to look younger.

Get glowing

Lifting your spirits can actually lift your complexion too — wear a bright colour that makes you feel good and cheery. A bright yellow T-shirt or a cheery pink top can make you feel great and that reflects on your personality.

Update a trusted outfit

Wear one of your favourite outfits and then accessorize with a large neck piece — it can make you look feminine and young.

Go for flawless skin

A little makeup can go a long way. Take a few dots of primer/ corrector/ concealor to hide your age spots. When your dark circles aren't too obvious you look young and fresh.

Try out a new trend

Take off those boring black pumps, instead opt for a fresh pair of pretty shoes in metallic or pop shades.

Minimize your pores

Visible pores on your skin can make your look older. Here is a quick remedy — brew green/ camomile/rose hip tea and pour it in an ice cube tray. Let it freeze. Now wrap a frozen tea cube in a soft cloth and lightly massage your face for an instantaneous fresh look.

Open up and brighten your eyes

Use a creamy eye shadow that is shimmery and bright. Swipe mascara on your lashes to open up your eyes. Avoid thick eyeliners, because if not applied well, they may make you look older than you are.

How to get luminous skin

This season one of the biggest beauty trends is natural and glowing skin, the foundation of which is a good skincare routine.

Skincare experts Rabia Malik and Preema Vig suggest that exfoliation and increasing hyaluronic acid in your skin can show great results, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Malik says that one can begin with some gentle exfoliation as this will ensure removal of surface debris from the skin.

"Following exfoliation, increase your skin's level of hyaluronic aid to achieve a more luminous, brighter complexion. This can be achieved with topicals that contain high levels of molecular weight hyaluronic acid. Try using homecare products that contain peptides too as these help to achieve a brighter complexion," said Malik.

Vig feels that hyaluronic acid helps to plump the skin and so does the intake of vitamin A.

"Vitamin A increases the skin cell cycle which brings new skin cells to the surface. Vitamin C helps in lightening, brightening and tightening the skin. Fruit acids at night exfoliate the top layer of skin," said Vig

Simple tips for healthy skin

While some women are blessed with clear, healthy skin, not everyone is so lucky. But with a with a conscientious regime, it isn't that difficult to get and maintain healthy and glowing skin.

- While your body needs water to stay hydrated, so does your skin. Drink at least 10 glasses of water daily. This will flush out toxins and make your skin healthy from within.

- No matter how fit you think you are, exercising is a must. When you work out, blood starts flowing faster, carrying more oxygen to the skin. Sweating flushes out toxins that block pores and cause acne. Exercising is also a great way to fight stress, which is known to wreak havoc on one's skin.

- Exfoliating once a week is a must in order to remove dead skin. And don't just stop at your face. Use a body exfoliator, too.

- Try and avoid processed foods, junk and street food since these do nothing good for your body or skin. Stick to fruits and green vegetables, which are packed with fibre, vitamins and minerals.

- Moisturising is an absolute must if you want healthy skin. Moisturisers restore the skin's complexion and elasticity.

- No matter how cloudy you think the day is, using a sunscreen is an absolute must. Skin damage caused by the sun's harmful rays include fine lines, wrinkles, skin darkening and pigmentation.

Get rid of tan naturally

Summers may mean lots of coolers and skimpy clothes but they also bring along with them a major tan, get rid of it to enjoy summers more

While some love a tan, for some others a tan just spells disaster and then starts the complex process of applying strange chemicals and doctor visits. Here are some home remedies that will take your tan off in a jiffy.

1. Lemon juice

While some suggest that you should not use lemon juice directly on face as it may ruin the delicate layer and dry it up, some others swear by its magical properties to make the darkest of tans disappear. It is however suggested that you dilute your lemon juice in a little water and then apply it on the face initially. Let it dry and wash it off with some cool water.

 

2. Tomato pulp

Tomatoes are great to eat during the summers but they also have tan removal properties that could put any facial cream to shame. Just apply the pulp of a tomato on the face and wash it off after 10-15 minutes. The effect isn't as instant as that of lemon, but its safer if you have very sensitive skin. Repeat this for a week.

3. Yogurt

A bowl of chilled yogurt and half a teaspoon of turmeric applied on the face will not only leave your skin dewy fresh but will also take that ugly tan off and even out the skin colour while providing it with moisture.

 

4. Potatoes

Raw potatoes rubbed onto the skin everyday will also help remove tan. Potato slices places over eyes also help remove dark circles and provide relief to tired eyes.

DIY skin detox for summer

Get rid of dry, flaky skin and be summer-ready by following these do-it-yourself (DIY) steps to make your body look beautiful.

Sweat it out: 

Sweating is our body's natural way to discard toxins. Take a brisk walk, go for a morning jog, take up power yoga, exercise in your local gym — do whatever it takes to make sure you sweat. Lazy girls can opt for the sauna or steam room at the gym.

Eat right: 

Dump those packaged and processed foods from your fridge. Stock up instead on fresh vegetables and fruits. At least once a week, make sure you eat only fresh veggies and fruits of different colours —oranges, cucumber, guava, apples, broccoli, zucchini, red and yellow pepper, carrots and watermelon to name a few. Including different coloured items in your diet ensures that various vitamins and minerals are consumed.

 

Scrub off dead cells: 

Use a mixture of honey, oatmeal, curd and fine sugar as a mask on your body. Leave it on for at least 30 minutes and then scrub off gently. You could also use a pre-packaged body scrub. Squeeze a small quantity on a loofah and use gentle circular movements all over your body to scrub off dead skin cells. Follow it up with a shower and apply an intensely nourishing but non-sticky moisturising lotion. Avoid going out in the sun directly after a thorough scrub. It's best to scrub before you retire for the night.

Drink to cleanse: 

Make water your best friend. Avoid drinking packaged fruit and vegetables juices — even if they promise to be sugar-free and preservative-free. For your fix of natural juice, take a few pieces of beetroot, cucumber, bottle gourd and a few leaves of spinach and blend in the juicer.

Have a shot of wheatgrass juice every morning if possible. Try combinations of different vegetables and fruits in your juice to suit your taste. You'll see a noticeable difference in your body, skin, hair and nails when you drink two glasses of mixed juices every day for two weeks.

Tips to banish large pores

Large pores on the face are common problem of women. Use ice cubes, cleansers containing ingredients like geranium, chamomile and witch hazel to lessen the appearance of the pores.

Celebrity make-up artist and skincare expert Caroline Frazer helps to banish beauty myths about pesky enlarged pores, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

"Products or DIY (do it yourself) remedies such as an ice cube used on the face can help lessen the appearance of open or enlarged pores but only for a very short while - enlarged pores won't disappear or shrink overnight. However, there are things you can do to make them look less visible," said Frazer.

Here are the tips one can follow:

Most people who have larger pores have greasier skin. Look out for cleansers that will help de-clog the pores which contain ingredients such as geranium, chamomile and witch hazel to clarify and refresh skin and help visibly reduce the size of pores.

This helps reduce the dead skin cells which can get stuck in the pores. It will also help lessen the oil on the skin, which can make the pores look bigger.

One can also try pore strips to help unblock the hard to shift areas on the nose etc.

Exfoliation, using mask and staying hydrated also help.

Exfoliating on a regular basis will definitely give the appearance of shrinking pores. If one is routinely getting off the dead skin cells, which get clogged in the pores, the pores will avoid getting stretched out daily. If one wants to splurge, try a sonic face brush to help with the exfoliating.

Masks with Kaolin clay in them are great for those with large and clogged pores. One needs to use them once or twice a week for noticeable benefits.

Drink plenty of water to keep oneself hydrated, which will enhance the appearance of the skin, reduce pore size, and help flush out toxins from the body.

Microdermabrasion can really help when it comes to treating open pores with the sort of intensity guaranteed to keep unwanted attacks of acne and spots at bay.

Love the skin you are in

How your skin looks is directly proportionate to your dedication to pampering it everyday. Here are simple steps towards radiant skin...

Who needs makeup if you can flaunt flawless skin? But that, sometimes, is elusive, thanks to all the pollution and the stress that we go through every day. However, there are some skincare programmes, which if followed regularly, could make a difference and make your skin look youthful and radiant.

You need to keep in mind that great skin is a reward you can get only when you are diligently looking after it daily. How your skin looks is directly proportionate to your dedication to pampering it everyday. And if you are really at it — results are bound to show, albeit in a few weeks.

 

Check out this simple easy to follow routine that comprises cleansing, exfoliating, mositursing, sunscreening, eating right, and keeping hydrated...

Cleanse

Begin with a thorough cleansing. Aesthetician Ritu Tanwar says, "Choose a cleanser according to your skin type. Gently rub it in a circular motion on your face, but don't stretch or pull your facial skin, especially the areas around your eyes." She advises washing off with normal or cold water and warns against using hot water.

Dermatologist Dr Apratim Goel says, "Before your retire for the night, make sure that you remove all traces of makeup with a make-up remover and then cleanse your skin with a facial cleanser." Dr Apratim recommends using a toner and then a nourishing moisturiser. "Do this without fail, every day. Don't ever skip this routine, because unclean skin can cause a host of skin problems," she cautions.

 

Exfoliate

Use a mild exfoliator to get rid of dead skin cells. Do not overdo the exfoliation bit on your face as you may end up with damaged skin, advise skincare experts. Facial exfoliation, even with a mild one, should not be done more than twice a week. Dr Jamuna Pai, cosmetologist says, "Use exfoliating agents on your knees and elbows too."

Moisturise and screen it

Toning and mositurising should be like a daily habit for you if you want to retain youthful skin. Use a sunscreen, two to three times a day. Ritu says, "Harmful sun rays can damage skin irreversibly sometimes, so avoid all excuses to skip the sunscreen. Even if you are indoor and the sky is overcast, apply at least an SPF 30 or above sunscreen."

Eat right

Eating the right kind of food is extremely essential if you want glowing healthy skin. Dietitian Deepshikha says, "Antioxidants present in berries — blueberries, and cranberries and also in aloe vera can help keep you skin vibrant." Dr Pai says taking nutritional supplements can help tackle free radicals that cause premature aging.

Drink water and juices

The idea is to keep your body hydrated all the time — if you are not too fond of water you can have fruit smoothies, chaas, vegetable soups, unsweetened natural fruit juice, low-fat milk and soy milk advises dietitian Deepshikha Aggarwal.