Natural skin glow for Diwali

Shahnaz Husain *

The festive season is here again. Diwali, "row of lamps" is just around the corner. Most of the women go busy for cleaning, shopping, decorating and lighting houses to celebrate the festival of lights with complete feasts and festivities.

The newly wed and youngsters go crazy looking for trendy and fashionable ideas to look their best in Diwali Pictures. This year diwali is being celebrated on October 19, the 15th day of Kartik, the holiest month in the Hindu lunar calendar.

Diwali, the festival of lights falls during winter season which brings on its own woes and pleasures. The dryness that comes with cold can wreak havoc on skin and hair. One needs to keep the skin moisturised and also protect it from sun-exposure. While most of the women want to enjoy it in their prettiest forms, some homely herbal remedies will ensure sparking pores and festival glow on skin.

Right there, on your kitchen shelf, are many ingredients that can add a glow to your skin. Tone the skin daily with chilled rose water, using cotton wool pads. Keep rose water in a bowl in the fridge with cotton wool pads soaking in them.

First use them to wipe the skin. Then, stroke the skin with them. On the cheeks, use outward and upward movements, ending each stroke at the temples and applying gentle pressure. On the forehead, start from the centre and go outwards on each side, again ending at the temples.

For the chin, use circular movements. Then, pat the skin briskly with the rosewater-soaked cotton wool pads. A "pick-me-up" face mask can leave your skin clean and glowing. Mix honey with egg white and apply it on the face. Wash off with water after 20 minutes.

For those with very dry skin, mix honey with egg yolk and a little milk. Leave on for 20 minutes. Rinse off with water. After washing off the pack, give the skin a compress with the rose water soaked cotton wool pads. Applying a compress on the face with cotton wool pads dipped in chilled rose water is extremely refreshing. It removes fatigue and adds a glow.

Use a facial scrub twice a week. It can work wonders on the skin, helping to remove dead skin cells and making the skin brighter. Mix ground almonds with yogurt. Add dried and powdered lemon and orange peels. Dried and powdered mint (pudina) leaves also help to add a glow. Apply the mixture on the face and leave on for a few minutes.

Then, rub gently, with small circular movements, washing off with water. Or, make a facial scrub with walnut powder, honey and lemon juice. Apply the same way. If your hair is looking dull give it a quick conditioning treatment before your shampoo. Mix one teaspoon each of vinegar and honey with one egg. Beat them together well.

Massage the mixture into the scalp. Then wrap the hair in a hot towel for twenty minutes, before washing the hair. Your hair will have more body and look shiny and manageable.Mix honey and lemon juice in equal quantities. Add egg white and apply daily on the face. Wash it off after 20 minutes. It leaves the skin very soft and glowing.

Fruit packs are great for adding radiance to the skin. They can also be applied daily. Mix grated apples with ripe papaya pulp and mashed banana. Yogurt or lemon juice can be added to the mixture. Apply it on the face and leave it on for half an hour. Wash off with plain water.

It not only adds a glow, but also removes tan and softens the skin.Dried and powdered curry leaves (kari patta) can also be added to face packs, as it is said to add a glow to the skin. It can be mixed with Fullers Earth (multani mitti) and rose water into a paste. Apply on the face and wash it off when it is dry.

Multani mitti also clarifies the skin and is particularly useful for oily skin.The skin is called the mirror of the body and rightly so. No other organ reflects the state of internal health as faithfully as the skin. An unhealthy lifestyle, lack of sleep and exercise, stress, nutritional deficiencies all reflect on the skin, in terms of dull lifeless skin.

Indeed, good health and physical fitness are imperative for radiant skin. It is also directly related to the kind of nutrition the body receives. Include a variety of natural foods, like fresh fruits, raw salads, sprouts, yogurt, fresh fruit juices, leafy green vegetables, "dalia", oats, green tea, in your diet.

Fresh fruit juices should be diluted with water. Drink plenty of water. Foods like these remove toxins and cleanse the system, adding a glow to the skin. Indeed, internal health and external beauty are two sides of the same coin.