8 Ways to Style Your Hair This Season

After exploring a whole lot of boutiques and apparel markets, finally you’ve found the perfect New Year’s Eve party dress that would effortlessly manage to toe the line between sexy, shimmery, and girly in one pretty package. And now the prime concern comes on styling your hair. So, what are you going to do with your hair? What did you answer; no clue! If you seriously don’t have any clue on how to style your hair, then keep reading. Priya Singh brings you some of the most enduring and beautiful ways of managing your hair which would transform your look completely. Be it  a party evening or just an evening with friends, you can look your best just with a great hairstyle. Whether your hair is overgrown, cut too short, or completely fried, try the following hairstyling ideas to give yourself a completely new and trendy look.

1. Pick a plait – Braiding is again in trend. Either you can style it as a side plait, single or french plait. The trick is simple. Damp your hair using water spray as it makes it easier to plait. Now, brush your hair through to remove tangles. Sweep it back into the nape and divide it into 3 equal sections. Take 2 of the sections in your left hand separated with one of your fingers, and the third section in your right hand. Then take your right hand over the top of the middle section whilst at the same time passing the middle section to your right hand and the section originally in your right hand, to your left. This will leave you with 2 sections in your left hand as before. Now cross the outside section that is in your left hand over the new middle section. You can use your right hand to grab this and bring it across, leaving you with 2 sections in your right hand. Now pass the section from the outside right, over the middle. You should now have the beginnings of the plait. Keep on crossing right over center and then left over center. When you reach the ends of your hair, secure it with a covered band. Nwo to make it more eye catchy put some silver stones in between or go for paranda style, it wil leave you with shimmer party chic look.
2. Get wavy - This is one look that suits almost any kind of face. The best part is, it is not even hard to get wavy hair. All you got to do is braid and twist your hair at night, and then wake up in the morning with beautiful waves in your hair. Team them up with asymmetrical or angular bangs. Voila! You’ll find yourself looking like a million bucks in no time.
3. Keep them straight . As opposed to what people think, straight hair is very versatile because it can be styled in so many different ways. This is one great idea when you want to keep your look simple yet classy. Use a flat iron or a blow dryer to get a silky look. Glam it up by twisting the ends into flicks. You can wear this look daily to work or school as it looks very neat. Let the front part be cut into blunt or wispy bangs, and swept off to one side of your face, to compliment the shape of your face.
4. Choose a bob these are, undoubtedly, a great hit. Team them up with blunt and sleek bangs or fringes. Bobs highlight your beautiful features like long neck and high cheek bones. They can either be cut till the shoulder or chopped off shorter to end at your ears. They are ideal for straight hair, but they seem to do just fine for those with wavy locks as well.
5. Curl them This hairdo is seriously a breath of fresh air in the era of  elaborate hairdos. If you are just way too fed up of the so very conventional straight hair look, flirtatious curls will work in your favor. You can use curling irons or rollers to form sensual ringlets in your hair.
6. Wear a neat pony tail as they are always very stylish. They are perfect for those who don’t like to let their hair down and is more than perfect while traveling. If you’re finding it too simple and want to add an extra element of funk to your hair, try back-combing. You can use some hair-spray or gel to keep your hair in place. Use a cute elastic band to hold your hair back. You can also use pretty colored hair clips for your back combing.
7. Twisted bun Use a tail comb to create a middle parting, then gather your hair to one side and begin rolling back the strands along your hairline. Work up a tight twist, adding more hair as you work your way towards the back of your head. When done, wrap the two twists into a tight bun at the back of your head. Secure with pins and elastic. Rub your palms over the top of your head to free some hair for a more natural feel.
8. Top knot The top bun is remarkably easy to achieve, and totally on-trend this season (it’s a regular on red carpets). To do, pull hair into a high ponytail (right on top of your head) and secure with an elastic band. Next, wrap locks around the base of the pony to form a bun. Keep the style in place with plenty of pins—and a whole lotta hairspray!

Now with these 8 different ways of hair style, you go experimenting with each as per your mood and theme to give that breath taking diva look. And if you want, you can beautify your style even more by using attractive hair gears, bows or bands of your choice and as per your dress. Enjoy!

Wanna Be Slim?? Swerve Your Curve With Yoga

What’s a woman without her curves? Placed at ‘strategic’ locations they make you look like a diva, but when they land up on trouble spots like butt, belly and arms they mercilessly discount your sex appeal. Swerve the curve in your favour with little help from yoga. Dr Deepak Sachdeva, Yoga Expert and Founder of Medical Yoga Centre, Delhi talks to Priya Singh on how to target your trouble spots. Here are 4 easy to do yoga asanas that play wonders in melting those obstinate fat spots.

1. Utkatasana (chair pose) to reshape hip, bottom and thigh – It is one of the best exercises for your hips, bottom and thighs. Stand with your feet shoulder-width distance apart, toes pointing slightly outwards and squat as though you were sitting into or standing out of a chair. Your knees should not extend beyond the line of your toes. Do 10-15 squats every other day. Raise the intensity by slowing down and holding the squat for 2 to 3 seconds.
Benefits: Tones and strengthen the lower back, legs and thigh. Chest and belly also gets stretched.

2. Ushtra asana (Camel pose) is good to flatten your stomach – Sit on the floor and fold your legs at the knees with knees kept apart at 6 inch distance. Now stand on your knees keeping your ankles and toes flexed and bend the waist back and neck backwards. Firmly hold the back of left ankle with left hand and back of the right ankle with right hand. Push the chest front upward as in the shape of a bow. Breathe normally. Stay in this position for 5 to 10 seconds and slowly come to normal position. As your practice increases, hold this asana for 30 to 60 seconds.
Benefits: Reduces fat on the stomach and strengthens knees, thighs, arms, waist, back and neck. Makes your spine flexible and cures the diseases of lungs, chest and heart.

3. Parivritta-parshvakona-asana (Turned side-angle pose) for slim waist: Inhale and spread your legs apart slightly further than shoulder distance (about 3-4 feet). Stretch your arms straight out from the shoulders parallel to the floor with your palms facing down. Exhale slowly and turn your right foot toward the right 90 degrees. Bend your right knee about 90 degrees. Place the palm of your left hand flat on the floor next to the outside of your right foot. Rest the right elbow on the outside of the right knee. Stretch the right arm over your head, parallel with the floor, with the inside of the elbow resting on the ear. Hold for about 30-60 seconds while breathing gently through the nostrils. Slowly return to a standing position and repeat on the other side reversing directions. Repeat 10-15 times on each side.
Benefits – Stretches the muscle group along the side of the torso and strengthens the ankles, calves and thighs as well as arms. Excellent posture to tone the muscles in the waist and hips

4. Banish bingo wings with Vasisthasana - From Plank Pose, shift your weight onto your right arm as you roll onto the outside of your right foot. Keeping both feet flexed, stack the left foot on top of the right with the legs very straight. Bring the left arm up to the ceiling and the gaze to the left fingertips. After several breaths, roll back the center and do the other side, resting in Downward Facing Dog between the two sides if you like.
Benefits: Strengthens the arms and spine. Good preparation for more challenging arm balances

While any style of yoga is good for your wellbeing, some styles burn more calories thereby resulting in less fat and more muscle, tell experts. So incorporate the suggested styles in your daily fitness regime. Start today to feel the difference. Stay Fit!

Priya Singh

Home Remedies to Banish Body Odour

Many guys and girls alike deal with body odour. It is a major turnoff for most people, and sometimes it can be a challenge to get rid of it. If you want to smell as fresh as a pansy without hassle, read on.
Banish body odour

1. Bathe at least twice a day. Just don’t stand still below the shower, rather work up lather with a loofa all over your body in circular motion. You can use soap or body wash for the same. Scrubbing the body will help you get rid of the dead cells that clog the sweat pores. Pay special attention to the areas that sweat a lot, like underarms, neck, groin.
2. Towel yourself dry and use talcum powder generously to get rid of body odour. There are many products available in the market like anti-perspirant deodourants, colognes or perfumes to mask your body odour.
3. Underarms sweat a lot. Keep the arm pits clean so that sweat doesn’t get much of body surface to multiply the bacteria.
4. Generally, we believe that in summers go for sleeveless. But if you have a body odour problem wear dresses with sleeves.
5. Stop skimping on detergent and wash your clothes after you have worn them once.
6. Add a few drops of tea tree oil or eau-de-cologne in your bath water to let the refreshing smell envelop you.
7. One trick that seems to work to control body odour is to keep wet wipes handy. When ever you are wet with sweat a lot and are at risk of body odour wipe the sweaty surfaces including your underarms with fresh wet wipes and allow it to dry. You can also use drops of after shave in a tissue to wipe the area dry. Alcohol in after shave helps deodourize odour of your underarms.

Home Remedies
1. Baking soda—it not only helps deodourize refrigerators but humans as well. Make a paste and put it on your underarms. Allow it to dry and wash later.
2. Apple cider vinegar—dab your skin with apple cider vinegar to reduce the smell of body odour.
3. Wheat grass juice—any kind of odour emanating from the body indicates that the pH balance of the body has turned acidic. Once it shifts to alkaline, the offending odour will also be a thing of the past. Drink wheat grass juice or have wheat grass capsules to send body odour to exile.
4. Zen like approach—when you’re calm you sweat less. Now, you see the connect.
In addition to all these doable tips, you should drink ample of water too and keep distance from spicy foods, particularly strong smelling garlic

Clean Your Sensitive Skin Smoothly

Does your skin get red, blotchy, and irritated after you wash it? If so, you might have sensitive skin. If you are worried about the right technique to cleanse sensitive skin as you have tried almost everything but with getting only irritated skin in result then read on..Here we share easy to follow steps to clean sensitive skin smoothly.

• Use a gentle cleanser to remove oil: Wash your face each night to remove the surface oil and makeup that can contribute to acne. But save the bar soaps for your armpits and feet as these will get you squeaky clean, but they can strip your skin of its natural oils, leaving it dry, tight, and itchy. You can use cleansing milk as it contains 100 percent vegetable ingredients, including vegetable glycerin and natural plant oils to help soften dry, irritated skin. Olay Daily Facials Wet Cleansing Cloths is also recommended for sensitive skin. As they are soft in texture won’t scratch delicate skin.
• Use a new washcloth each day: cleanse your face with a soft, gentle washcloth made of lightweight terry cloth or soft cotton flannel. “It’s tempting to want to reuse your washcloth for several washes, but the best way to avoid adding unwanted bacteria to your skin is to start with a clean cloth every time you wash.
• To exfoliate try avoid harsh scrubs. Try not to use products that have alcohol, soap, acid, or fragrance. Instead, look on the label for calming ingredients like aloe, chamomile, green tea polyphenols, and oats.

Remember the fewer ingredients in a skincare product, the happier your face will be.

Breeze Through Summer Grandma Style

If the scorching heat has snatched your peachy complexion and dulled your skin, worry not. My Health Guardian brings to you best kept remedies of grandma style. To get your skin glowing and feeling as fresh as a flower, this summer give a try to Grandma’s Skin Care tips, cosmetic recipes that come straight from the kitchen. Read on.
For Soft and Supple Skin: Scrub your skin with one teaspoon of walnut powder, honey and lemon juice. Great way to have a super soft and supple skin.

Remedy for a glowing skin in 15 minutes Rub a piece of papaya to face and neck till 15 minutes and feel the difference on the tip of your fingers. Another best way for a golden glow in minutes is mix 2 tbsp orange juice with 2tbsp turmeric powder and use it as a scrub to face n neck for a golden glow. Leave on for 15-20 mins n wash off with water

Treat your skin  with tomatoes
Tomatoes are slightly acidic in nature and contain potassium and Vitamin C. Tomatoes are excellent for oily skins and help the skin feel cleaner and tighter, as well as reduce open pores and blackheads. Cut the tomato in half and rub on the skin. Leave on for at least fifteen minutes to let the skin feed on the juice, so that it saturates into the pores. Wash off with water.

Care for your sun damaged skin: If you have overexposed yourself to sun, to soothe your skin, take a lukewarm bath with 5-6 drops of Camomile Essence diluted in a tablespoon of Carrier Oil.
Repeat this at intervals of a few hours until the burning subsides.

Get smoother skin with cabbage Cabbage is rich in minerals and vitamins. Next time you are boiling cabbage, don’t throw away the left over water. Wash your face with this water and you will feel your skin growing smoother.

Natural Face Smoothies for all skin types- Fruit acids help get rid of excess amounts of the protein keratin and those dead skin cells that may otherwise clog pores. Look for fruits like grapes and strawberries or pineapple husk and blend it in smooth paste. Apply the mixture like a mask: leave on for 10 to 15 minutes, and wash off. You can feel soft, smooth and gentle skin just using for the first time.

Natural Skin Gel for Supple & Soft Skin: Glycerin is an emollient, or softening agent, and is excellent for dry skin. Dissolve 5 teaspoons gelatin in 2 1/4 cups hot water, allow it to cool to lukewarm and add 3 tablespoons glycerin. Add few drops of essential aromatic oil, such as rose oil or oil of rosemary. Apply this mixture all over your body 10 mins before taking bath. You can also apply at night before going to bed.

Homemade Cleanser: Mix fresh aloe vera gel, 1 tsp. almond Oil, 1 tsp. glycerin and and Vitamin E oil to prepare a gel. Gently apply this gel on face and leave it for few minutes. Remove with damp washcloth or tissue after 5 minutes. It cleanses your skin from deep inside and helps to remove clogs from your pore.
So now with so many homemade skin care recipes get ready to glow in the sun.

Priya Singh

Lift Your Face With Stem Cell Therapy

Possibly one thing that can be easily summed up as the mantra of our age is the keen desire to look and feel young. While feeling young has everything to do with your mindset, looking young as years roll by needs help. Just turn around and there is enough of it—anti-ageing creams, treatments to iron out wrinkles like Botox and face lift surgery.

Less enterprising one’s have remained content with anti-ageing creams and accepted ageing but brave hearts refuse to sag before the diktats of time. Until now the option available was face lift surgery, where cosmetic surgeon would remove excess skin and fat and tuck it behind your ears or inside your skull. This explains why many actors or actresses have a face that looks like it has been freshly ironed and an expression that’s always surprised or wind swept. Then there was Botox. Yes, the procedure was simple, you would go to your cosmetologist who would give you a shot of botulinum, a toxin that would paralyse your facial muscles and ‘come-what-may’ in life, your expression would remain wooden, like frozen in time. Good for CEO’s who wouldn’t like their face to give-away their mood during power-lunches or business meetings, but for normal people who just wished to defy ageing this wasn’t suited at all.

What’s a stem-cell face lift
Looks like in 2010 God has granted the wishes of people like me who would like to have a youthful face and are not willingly to go under the knife. The remedy available is Stem cell facelift and it is carried under local anaesthesia. As we age our face loses collagen, which gives it youthful fullness and our features become bony. This procedure harvests fat from the body part where it is in abundance like lower abdomen using a syringe. “The fat is then processed through a machine that cleans the cells, which the practitioner injects with the fat and stem cells around the muscles, into the soft skin tissues in the face,” informed senior cosmetic surgeon Dr Anup Dhir with Apollo Hospitals.

The magical ingredient in this therapy is stem cell. Because they are body’s basic building block; everything else can grow from stem cells. Results? Badly wrinkled foreheads, sagging cheeks, hollow places under eyes, thinned lips and drooping jaw lines are rejuvenated.

Benefits

• No risk of damaging facial nerves, arteries or veins
• No allergies in your own donated fat
• Less recovery time
• Also being available to rejuvenate for bony, aged hands

Dhir said the procedure is getting popular in India and people aged 35 years and above can opt for it. Gaining youthful look can dent your wallet by Rs 50,000 to 65,000. And like all cosmetic procedures go to an experienced and qualified cosmetic surgeon, warns Dhir.

5 Practical Tips on Dry Skin Care dry-skin5

Battling dry skin or dry skin patches is a constant challenge for most of us. And it gets worst especially in the colder seasons. But, what causes dry skin and how to attain that perfect glow is the actual concern. Worry no more, as My Health Guardian comes to your rescue.
Priya Singh interviews Dr Sheilly Kapoor, Consultant Dermatology with Medanta the Medicity and brings to you 5 practical tips on dry skin care. Keep reading to know the tact for that shiny skin.

Moisturizers and essential oils must be applied religiously. Moisturize your complete body every morning and night, without any laziness. Use a good nourishing cream on your face which has ingredients like jojoba oil, glycerin. And do not forget sunscreen. And be liberal to pour in while your skin is damp. Thick greasy moisturizers or oil-based creams are good dry skin lotions, especially during change of seasons. So when choosing a moisturizer or lotion, try to find a rich cream based lotion. Yves Rocher’s ADN Moisturizing lotion, Oriflame range of moisturizers, and many others likes Aroma Magic, Ponds are some of the best options to select. You can also your beauty consultant for the best lotion for your actual skin type. Body oil (or baby oil) even plays wonders on itchy skin or severely dry skin. Apply after a bath regularly.
Avoid using harsh soaps, handmade natural soaps are best for skin care. When cleaning your body, avoid using harsh alkaline soaps or products that contain alcohol or detergents. Instead use mild cleansers, mild soaps or natural-pH products. Try Guardian Xtracare range of handmade soaps.
Don’t miss on supplements for that supple and soft touch. Primrose oil supplements, Omega 3, antioxidants and multivitamins helps to keep your skin healthy. Include vitamins in your diet, as it is excellent for dry skin care. Moreover, you can apply vitamins C and E on to your face.
Ensure your skin is kept hydrated. Drink plenty of water (at least eight glasses a day). Give your face a sauna by filling a bowl with boiling water and take the steam over your face. Add some essential oils or herbs to the boiling water. (Chamomile, lavender and peppermint are good in a facial sauna for dry skin.)
Try these best kept home remedies too.

• Egg yolk is great for dry flaking skin. Apply all over the dry area and then when it becomes hard, wash off with warm water.
  Mash a ripe banana and apply to the dry skin, leave for at least 10 minutes and rinse off with warm water.
• Coconut oil, sesame oil or avocado oil can be massaged into dry skin.
• Honey is an excellent moisturizer and can be applied to the skin just as is, leave on for as long as you can (at least 15 minutes) Rinse off with warm water. Honey stimulates the renewal of skin cells and is a well know cure for dry skin.
• Aloe Vera gel applied to the dry areas will help with dry flakey skin
• Full cream milk can be dabbed on dry skin with a cotton ball. Leave for 15 minutes then rinse off.

Now, the mantra is made simple for you. Just start following the suggested beauty regime accompanied with good food habit to feel the difference in your skin texture. And yes, don’t ever miss your 8 hours of beauty sleep.

Get Beautiful You Naturally

Beautiful You Naturally

Hundreds of expensive products and procedures exist for beautifying the skin and keeping it looking young and fresh, some of which may also pose dangers to your health. So why not try some of these all-natural, do-it-yourself beauty recipes to keep your skin young and glowing—at a fraction of the cost. Yes, Dr Preeti Chabbra Ayurveda Consultant Sir Ganga Ram Hospital New Delhi brings to you some easy to engage home remedies for a beautiful you naturally. Read on
A skin peel from nature
Probably one of the fastest ways to look younger is to have a skin peel. While the Retin-A, high-concentration glycolic acid, and harsh chemical peels that cosmetic dermatologists prescribe can decrease lines and result in a smooth skin finish, they also strip your skin’s protective layer, increasing your chance of sun damage, skin aging, and skin cancer. In fact, the FDA warns that a high concentration of various skin-peel agents may thin the skin texture. So what‘s the alternative? Simply make a natural skin peel right from your refrigerator. You can use eggplant, tomatoes, pineapple or any other fruits and veggies that contain other natural acids. Thinly slice the ingredients and place them on your face, covering the skin thoroughly. Leave on for 20 minutes, remove the fruit and veggie pieces and wash with warm water. For the first few minutes, your skin may look red, but this should clear up quickly. Follow with a natural moisturizer.
Cucumber to remedy Rosacea
Rosacea is a chronic skin problem that reddens the forehead, nose, cheeks, and sometimes the chin. Some of the outbreak triggers include alcohol, sunlight, temperature extremes, caffeine, spicy food, among other culprits. In herbal treatment of rosacea, experts focus on soothing the spirit, clearing heat, and using natural remedies to remove skin blockages. A perfect natural remedy is a cucumber mask. Peel the skin off of a fresh cucumber and puree the insides in a blender with one egg white. Coat your face with this mixture, leave on for 30 minutes. And then wash off with cold water. Use this mask daily and you should notice improvement within a month.
Yogurt for a smooth skin texture
Yogurt is a traditional ingredient for healthy skin. It contains lactic acid, a naturally occurring alpha-hydroxy acid that gently peels off the dead skin layer, giving you a smooth skin texture. For sensitive skin that cannot withstand commercial alpha-hydroxy acid preparations, yogurt is especially beneficial. Over time, yogurt can also lighten spots and even out a patchy skin tone. To get these results, wash your face and apply organic plain yogurt as a facial cream. Leave on for 15 minutes, wash off with cold water, and finish with a moisturizer. Afterwards, to reduce any redness, apply a cold pack for 10 minutes.
Tone with apple cider vinegar
Apple cider vinegar can be used as a natural and effective toner for your skin. The malic acid in vinegar helps renew your skin by ridding the epidermis of dead skin cells. Dilute one part cider vinegar in two parts distilled water. After washing your skin, apply the diluted vinegar solution with a cotton pad to your face and neck. Follow with a natural moisturizing lotion.
Try nature’s “facelift”

Looks youthful with acupuncture face-lift. We have been treating patients with facial-toning acupuncture at our wellness center for over 25 years. Research has shown that acupuncture increases blood flow in the tiny capillaries of the skin and muscles and stimulates collagen production in the dermis layer, which increases skin elasticity. Consult an acupuncturist for a natural face-lift or.

Do-it-yourself “facelift”: Using your fingers, you can tone your facial muscles and stimulate the natural production of collagen in the skin. Press firmly with your fingers, working your way methodically along the following points:

• Point 1: relax the forehead with slight fingertip movements
• Point 2: ease furrow between the brows
• Point 3: soothe your crow’s feet around the eye

Remember, in all these points you need to press the area concerns with smooth flow of your fingertips for 5 to 10 minutes in clock wise and anti-clock wise, simultaneously.
To minimize smile lines stimulate these points in the morning and at night for beautiful skin tone.
Eat tasty super skin foods
While many of the tips above use super foods directly on the skin, some you should also eat to retreat your skin. Super skin foods include cherries, peanuts, black soybeans, walnuts, and jujube dates. Citrus fruits are packed with antioxidants that benefit your skin’s health.

• Eat flaxseed oil, sesame oil, olive oil, and virgin coconut oil and avocado every day to treat dry skin. And eat a daily handful of nuts and seeds, especially almonds nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, and sunflower seeds.
• Peaches, an excellent source of potassium and vitamins A and C, have been used in beauty tonics throughout Chinese history. One beauty recipe recommends baked peaches with honey and lavender. A nutrient found in anchovies and sardines, DMAE (dimethyl-amino-ethanol), is a powerful membrane stabilizer that can reverse age spots on your skin.
• Eat pears to lighten dark circles and minimize skin damage from free radicals. These are packed with copper and vitamin C, antioxidant nutrients that help protect you from cellular damage caused by free radicals, preserving your skin’s beauty and vitality.

All these natural recipes will surely bring you beautiful skin well into your late years. But with all these, one thing that is must is sleeping early. Believe it is one of the oldest age defying tips of all time – yet most don’t follow this! So do not ignore it at any cost. Just remember to stay forever young your entire body needs ease to restore itself.