Try at home these skincare shortcuts

Experts suggest ways you can take care of your skin and hair with easily available items

Although skincare is of utmost importance, the price that you see on skincare products will make you put them back in the aisle. To make things easier for your broke soul, three Bengaluru start-up organic skincare brands suggest a few ways in which you can take care of your hair and your skin.

Increased pollution means more skincare

Bengalurean Safa Khan’s start-up ‘Glow Envy’ provides organic and handcrafted skincare products all over India. A firm believer in the importance of skincare, she says the city’s heavy pollution calls for more care for your skin. This is what she thinks you should do:

Rose water and exfoliation for the face

Good old rose water was what queens and princesses used for their skin. Spray it on your face to refresh and soften your skin. Keep rose water in your fridge to enhance its soothing effects.

Exfoliating your face is a necessity. The best home made exfoliating agent is coffee. Add coffee to honey and yogurt and see the difference in your skin. Coffee reduces puffiness, cellulite, removes dead skin cells and adds an extra glow.

Banana hair masks

The most simple hair mask recipe I recommend is the banana hair mask. All you need is a banana, honey and milk. These ingredients together make your hair very soft and silky, this mixture also gives that extra boost of volume and increases your hair growth.

‘Kitchen ingredients work best on skin’

Mayura Kadura, founder of the start-up ‘DoBandar’, a website that sells luxurious organic body-care products, believes “the best skin care recipe is to apply on your face what you are going to cook with”.

Fruits work magic on the skin

Fruits. When you’re cutting a fruit to eat it, keep some of it aside and use it later to apply on your face; the same goes with tomatoes. Another way to good skin is a mixture of curd, honey and turmeric: make sure to use two tablespoons of each. Mix, apply and wash after 20 minutes.

Simple hair mask

This hair mask can be applied once a week for shiny, frizz-free and super-soft hair. Prepare a mixture of curd, honey and coconut oil and apply it on your hair. Let it sit for a while and then wash it off.

Clay masks are good for oily skin

Uttara Ramkumar and Nishi Bhuvandas, founder and co-founder of the organic soaps start-up ‘Soulpure Soaps’, specialise in making pure and natural hand-made soaps and luxury skincare formulations.

“Clay masks are generally great for oily skin and the oily part of the skin tend to be acne-prone because the sebaceous glands in the skin makes too much sebum, which lead to clogged pores and thus acne. Clay masks absorb the excess oils that leave your skin balanced and keeps your pores clean and acne free,” Nishi says. She suggests some face masks for dry skin:

Option 1

Ingredients: 2 teaspoons fullers earth (multani mitti), 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon honey, 1 drop tea tree essential oil (optional)

Method: Mix the ingredients with a few drops of water or rose water to make a lump-free paste. Clean your face with normal water. Apply a thin coat of the mask and leave it for 15-20 minutes. Wash with cold water. Pat dry with a tissue and moisturise gently.

Apply twice a week.

Option 2

Ingredients: 1 tablespoon aloe vera gel, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder, 2 teaspoons honey.

Method: Mix the above ingredients with a few drops of water or green tea to make a lump-free paste. Clean your face with normal water. Apply a thin coat of the mask and leave it for 10-15 minutes. Wash with cold water. Pat dry with a tissue and moisturise gently. Use twice a week.

Pro tip from Nishi: Use milder clays if clay masks make your skin drier.

Option 3:

Ingredients: 2 teaspoons kaolin clay, 2-3 teaspoons olive oil, 2 drops lavender essential oil

Method: Mix the above ingredients well to make a lump-free paste. Clean your face with normal water. Apply a thin coat of the mask and leave it for 10 minutes, do not let it dry completely. Wash with cold water. Pat dry with a tissue and moisturise gently. Use once a week.
Juveria Fathima