Put your best face forward!

With the wedding season just around the corner, experts tell Zeenia F Baria how you can look your best

It's that time of the year - when you're inundated with invitations for wedding functions, parties and other social engagements. And while you decide what you're going to wear, you also need to take care of your hair, skin and make-up, more so, since the weather has slowly started to change.

Skin care

According to cosmetologist Dr Jamuna Pai, with changes in the weather, increasing pollution and stress levels, your skin is bound to bear the brunt. "Keeping this in mind, your skin care regime should change as per climatic changes. The most common skin problems this time of the year include dry and flaky skin, cracked lips and heels. Treat your skin well by-

Pamper your skin

-Treat chapped lips with a lip balm or petroleum jelly. You could also apply ghee, which locks in moisture. Never lick your lips to wet them, this causes them to dry out even more.

-An oil massage for the body will give your entire body a glow. Use any oil of your preference - olive, coconut or baby oil.

-Mix a moisturiser with your sunscreen and apply it on your face to avoid skin getting dry and flaky.

-Anti-oxidants and Vitamin C taken on a regular basis will help you achieve healthy and glowing skin.

-Drink sufficient water and have juices of deep coloured vegetables. This helps your skin remain fresh.

-Using a sunscreen at least twice a day is a must. Apply it on your face and on all exposed areas of your body.

-Oily skin can benefit from an orange face wash, a gel containing vitamin C, bio sulphur, aloe vera, turmeric, witch hazel and AHA. For dry skin, use a gentle face wash containing vitamin C, milk, soya, sulphur, and aloe vera.

-Use a hydrating herbal mask, (to which you can add cucumber or papaya), a fruit mask, pearl, seaweed or silver mask, to give a glow to your face.

Body care

Dermatologist Dr Bindu Sthalekar says that following a simple skin regimen goes a long way in looking picture perfect. "What you put in your mouth is as important as what you put on your face. Your inner glow will add to your outer glow. Hence, pay attention to both. Drinking enough water, getting adequate sleep, identifying your skin type and using appropraite products, following a skin care routine of cleansing, moisturising, using a sunscreen and exfoliating should be a part of your beauty regimen."

Diet Limit consumption of maida, sugar, colas and oily food to a minimum. These are empty calories, which can cause acne, hormonal imbalances, increase in facial hair and hairfall.

Hands, feet and nail care Use a soapless cleanser for your hands, apply sunscreen, soak your feet in warm water, apply a moisturiser on your feet and nails at night. Avoid using too much nail polish and remover - it results in a yellowish tinge.

You could also opt for treatments in a skin clinic. These include microdermabrasion, chemical peels and hydradermabrasion, which exfoliate skin, improves tone and texture, and reduces pigmentation. Exfoliation of the back is another popular technique, as are chemical peels for dark elbows and knees, cellulite treatment, laser hair removal, etc.

Make-up

This is the time of the year when most social events take place. As a result, some amount of make-up becomes a must. It is important that you take it all off, so as not to end up with breakouts, clogged pores and whiteheads.

-Be gentle while removing make-up around the eyes.

-Take off your make-up or the day's grime with a cleansing milk, which contains milk and honey, and gently exfoliate dry skin with a natural strawberry scrub which contains tiny granules.

Hair care

With the change in weather, you need to pay extra attention to your tresses. Trichologist Dr Apoorva Shah says, "The cold air of winter is more drying and less humid and, therefore more abusive than other times of the year. Since we spend lesser time in the sun, the natural highlights nature paints into our hair become less noticeable and hair loses its healthy shimmering look."

Washing: Hair requires limited amount of washing, enough to cleanse your hair of dirt. Be extra careful so that your natural hair oils are not depleted due to excessive washing.

Moisturise: Apply jaborandi hair oil thrice a week.

Stay hydrated: Ensure a minimum intake of 10 to 12 glasses of water daily.

Conditioning: For healthy hair, a normal conditioner should suffice or for the last rinse, coconut milk can be used. Curly hair tends to be drier than straight hair. Don't rinse out all your conditioner, or re-apply a very light coat after towel-drying. For oily air, apply conditioner to the ends to keep hair healthy and prevent frizziness.

Reduce static: Hair static is caused by a lack of hair moisture. Brush with natural instead of plastic bristles.

Hair do's and don'ts:

-Towel dry your hair

-Never brush it when it is wet. This is a good season to eat healthy hair foods like dates, methi, spinach, walnuts and bajra.

www.effectivelivingclinic.com

Change attitude, not lifestyle

There are many who believe that to turn spiritual you have to change your wardrobe, diet and lifestyle and adopt a sombre and boring pattern.

This does not appeal to those who continue in their materialistic ways. A few inspired ones change everything except their thinking! They fail to benefit, get frustrated and give up. Rare is the wise one who focuses only on 'attitude'. And succeeds!

You have a fundamental choice in every situation, at every moment. You can be unhappy and complain. Or you can be happy and cheerful. It has nothing to do with the world or what it presents. You could have the best of things and still be miserable. You may have nothing and yet be deliriously happy. The difference is in your attitude.

In life, everyone is denied a few things. But all of us have been blessed with millions of gifts. If you focus on what you do not have, you will be unhappy. If you choose to focus on the things you have, you are grateful and you develop an irresistible desire to share, contribute, and give. This makes you happy. The most precious things come for free, which you do not even consider! Hence you live life feeling deprived and deficient when, in fact, you are could be totally fulfilled and abundant.

An object is red in colour because it reflects red. It gains what it gives and loses the other colours it takes. So shift your focus from 'what can I gain' to 'how can I add value to others' and success will be yours. Besides, all selfish people are unhappy. To the extent you turn unselfish you will be happy.

Do you have conflict with the people you love most? Do you blame the 'other person' for it? Maybe it has to do with your attitude. Do you have expectations of your family members? Do you make demands on your spouse and children? This is not love. It is attachment. Love tainted with selfishness is attachment. You only love yourself. You claim to love because they happen to cater to you in some way.

This causes conflict and untold suffering. In the end you lose them. Attachment is the single most important cause for breakdown in relationships. Physically hanging on to spouse and children does not make for meaningful relationships. You need to earn their love and respect. Shift your stance from 'hanging on' to 'letting go' -- from binding them to releasing them from your clutches; from focussing on your happiness to enabling their fulfilment. Accept them for what they are, not for what they can do for you.

The world and all that it offers is temporary, fleeting, passing. Understand the transient nature of the world while living in it and you will be happy. Transact with the world, enjoy it, but always remember that it will pass. Give it the right value, not the exaggerated value you have for it now. Begin the search for the permanent. The journey itself becomes thrilling. Then you will experience true happiness irrespective of what you have or do not have.

So change your attitude, not lifestyle. Your life will change from drudgery to revelry. From mediocrity to Excellence.