I'll begin this beauty blog with an overview of how I became a stickler for everything natural with regards to beauty regime.
As common in every Indian household, I was deeply influenced by my maternal grandmother. She was the first person, who impressed on me the importance of taking care of my skin and hair, using regular natural products, easily available in an Indian kitchen. And I took her advice seriously, since she always had a radiant skin, which is a result of her little beauty regime.
She would cite instances from her childhood about the beauty regime she had to follow and how it was a rule for all the young girls of her time, to keep their skin and hair squeaky clean! Let me share with you, how her skin was taken care of, during her childhood. My grandmother who is aged 75 now, is blessed with a very fair complexion and a glowing skin. Being a zamindar's daughter, the servants at her home were strictly ordered to take special care of the two little sisters - my grandmother and her elder sister.
So every Sunday, a lady servant obediently made a paste of besan (bengal gram powder) and malai (milk cream) and applied it all over their faces, neck, back, hands and legs. They they would sit in the roof (what luxury! we have to adjust with the balcony, if we are not shy) in the sun, to dry the paste. Once dried, the maid would remove the besan paste in slow rotating movements with dampened hands, and send them for a bath.
For shampoo, my grandmother and her elder sister would apply a concoction made out of reetha (soap nut), amla/awla (Indian gooseberry) and shikakai which not only cleans your hair nicely, but also helps in keeping dandruff and hair fall at bay. It also adds shine and bounce and makes your healthy and strong. And the best part is, even if you don't rinse your hair well, it does not damage the roots and the scalp at all! In case, you do not get reetha, amla/awla and shikakai, at the nearest grocery store, you can buy these in powder form.
The second person who permanently made me an addict of natural and herbal way of managing skin, hair and general health, is beautician and columnist Suparna Trikha Dewan. Not many of you have heard about her I bet, but people from West Bengal, Jharkand, Orissa and New Delhi might know about her, as she writes regularly in The Telegraph.She advises you to follow a holistic approach towards health, in general. Her tips are always handy and she tells women to spare only 20 minutes out of their busy schedule, for their beauty regime. I have followed most of her tips and have seen great results.
And finally, I did learn that rather than resorting to quick and instant ways, it's better to adopt a practical, holistic and natural approach towards your beauty regime. It not only leads to wonderful results but also ensures that you look radiant and flaunt a glowing skin in the long run.
Do you believe in using natural skin care products to take care of your skin? Please put in your comments to talk about your favourite natural ingredients.
-Love,
N
PS:
1. I am no PR person working for Suparna Trikha Dewan or any other branded companies. I am a common working (wo)man expressing my views and penning my experiences.
2. As a general rule, I have marked Hindi terms in italics and in a different font color, and provided their English names in brackets. Wherever I have not provided the English terms in brackets, it means the Hindi term is used in English as well.
3. All the images are sourced from Google.
As common in every Indian household, I was deeply influenced by my maternal grandmother. She was the first person, who impressed on me the importance of taking care of my skin and hair, using regular natural products, easily available in an Indian kitchen. And I took her advice seriously, since she always had a radiant skin, which is a result of her little beauty regime.
She would cite instances from her childhood about the beauty regime she had to follow and how it was a rule for all the young girls of her time, to keep their skin and hair squeaky clean! Let me share with you, how her skin was taken care of, during her childhood. My grandmother who is aged 75 now, is blessed with a very fair complexion and a glowing skin. Being a zamindar's daughter, the servants at her home were strictly ordered to take special care of the two little sisters - my grandmother and her elder sister.
So every Sunday, a lady servant obediently made a paste of besan (bengal gram powder) and malai (milk cream) and applied it all over their faces, neck, back, hands and legs. They they would sit in the roof (what luxury! we have to adjust with the balcony, if we are not shy) in the sun, to dry the paste. Once dried, the maid would remove the besan paste in slow rotating movements with dampened hands, and send them for a bath.
For shampoo, my grandmother and her elder sister would apply a concoction made out of reetha (soap nut), amla/awla (Indian gooseberry) and shikakai which not only cleans your hair nicely, but also helps in keeping dandruff and hair fall at bay. It also adds shine and bounce and makes your healthy and strong. And the best part is, even if you don't rinse your hair well, it does not damage the roots and the scalp at all! In case, you do not get reetha, amla/awla and shikakai, at the nearest grocery store, you can buy these in powder form.
The second person who permanently made me an addict of natural and herbal way of managing skin, hair and general health, is beautician and columnist Suparna Trikha Dewan. Not many of you have heard about her I bet, but people from West Bengal, Jharkand, Orissa and New Delhi might know about her, as she writes regularly in The Telegraph.She advises you to follow a holistic approach towards health, in general. Her tips are always handy and she tells women to spare only 20 minutes out of their busy schedule, for their beauty regime. I have followed most of her tips and have seen great results.
And finally, I did learn that rather than resorting to quick and instant ways, it's better to adopt a practical, holistic and natural approach towards your beauty regime. It not only leads to wonderful results but also ensures that you look radiant and flaunt a glowing skin in the long run.
Do you believe in using natural skin care products to take care of your skin? Please put in your comments to talk about your favourite natural ingredients.
-Love,
N
PS:
1. I am no PR person working for Suparna Trikha Dewan or any other branded companies. I am a common working (wo)man expressing my views and penning my experiences.
2. As a general rule, I have marked Hindi terms in italics and in a different font color, and provided their English names in brackets. Wherever I have not provided the English terms in brackets, it means the Hindi term is used in English as well.
3. All the images are sourced from Google.
hey nivedita, nice post, i always love knowing what beauty rituals were followed in generations before us. how they carried these out.
ReplyDeleteHey thank you... yeah I find the beauty rituals interesting too.
DeleteI am happy to know that your skin and hair smiles with your belief in Nature. It is a science carefully worked on for hundreds of years. Love you all who follow my movement back to Nature
ReplyDelete