Greatest kept beauty secret that pass the
test of time? Everybody hates being told, “I told you so,” and the majority
women also hate thoughts their mother was right. However, on stepping upon the door sill of thirty, and with my South Asian mother now in her early sixties, I can’t
help but observe that on a good day, she looks not more than perhaps only five
or ten years older.
And with each screw up,
thinned out skin or spot I notice, I hear her quite factually deep voice
telling me “I told you so.” So what was it precisely that she used to always
harp on about while rising up?
Quite simply: continual
beauty tips that at that time seemed to have been carved on stone tablets next
to Moses’ Ten Commandments. But these then-thought-of-as-prehistoric beauty
routines now seem charming and simple in an age where we’re continually fed a
barrage of beauty ads and overly photo-shopped images of excellence.
In my own frantic effort
to look great, I have venture down every possible winding road that in the end
lead me nowhere, pick-pocketing my hard earned dollars with daylight robbery
rates and empty promises of youth and beauty. I finally determined to fling in
the towel and relapse to the “old ways” of doing things…
1. For smooth skin, crush four uncoated aspirins and mix 1 cup distilled water
and 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar. Use this 2-3 times a day for extremely smooth skin and as
an option to washing your face in the morning.
2. Once a week, use a
natural honey face mask for
softer skin and cleansed pores. Honey is a natural anti-bacterial and the best
type to use is a raw honey, which frequently has a sugary texture and doesn’t
drip like processed honey.
3. If you have responsive
acne-prone skin, stay away from rich spicy foods, which only irritate and
inflame your system.
4. Sleep. Staying up too late or not receiving
enough sleep wreaks havoc on your skin, causing it to look dull, tired, and
likely leading to breakouts.
5. Use patchouli oil to
quickly get rid of acne. Mix ten drops of this strong smelling oil with ten
ounces of almond oil as a nightly moisturizer and anti-wrinkle conduct.
6. For soft hair,
massage your head with rich coconut oil once a week, working it into your hair.
Leave it in there for about three hours prior to washing it out with shampoo.
Use just a dab of conditioner at the ends.
7. For shiny hair, mix
one egg with a mashed up banana and apply it as a thick paste to your hair.
Leave it on for 10-30 minutes, depending on your hair texture. Then, wash it out
as usual and use conditioner only at the ends.
8. For natural hair dye, use henna and
add in a bit of lemon to the paste. Leave it in your hair for about thirty
minutes to one hair for a natural reddish/auburn tint.
9. To eliminate build
up, rinse your hair with one cup of apple cider vinegar, followed by a minimal
use of shampoo.
10. Washing your hair
with boiled rice water is also a great alternative for shiny hair.
11. Use a mixture of
pure olive oil with 1/2 parts sea salt as an in-shower body scrub. This
combo completely eliminates the need for lotion and is great for winter
weather.
12. Make sure you get in
some sort of physical activity. Our mothers and grandmothers stayed in shape
with simple stretches, and not grueling hours at the gym. Try reaping the
benefits of yoga as a way to maintain your girlish figure.
