10 Tips for Skin and Hair Care this Season

1. Know your skin type

Dry/ Oily/ Normal to dry/ Normal to oily/ Sensitive. This can change with the seasons, age, and even the menstrual cycle.

2. Follow a skin care routine twice a day.

Daytime: cleanser- toner- moisturizer- sunscreen Night: cleanser- toner- serum/ moisturizer/ night cream/ face oil- under eye cream Of course, this needs to be individualized according to your skin type. It is absolutely fine to use natural and homemade products (like rosewater toner, coconut oil etc.) and that brings me to my next point:

3. NO EXPERIMENTATION ON YOUR SKIN OR HAIR

We hear about a revolutionary home-made pack, or see the ad for a new face cream or hair product, and rush out to buy it, use it twice and decide it's not working. First of all, applying products without understanding their ingredients can be harmful to your skin. Secondly, any change in diet, lifestyle, and skin care needs to be followed routinely for at least a month to notice apparent changes.

4. Exfoliate twice a week

Again, it is absolutely fine to use home-made packs and scrubs, as long as you keep point 3 in mind.

5. Avoid sunlight

Since the sun is the biggest cause of skin problems, it is best to get your Vitamin D before 10 AM. The rest of the day, you should apply and reapply sunscreen- even when it's cloudy.

6. Do not use hot water to wash your face or hair

In the cold weather, or if you have a cold or ill, it's fine to use lukewarm or warm water

7. Do not shampoo or wet your hair more than twice a week.

8. Be gentle with your skin and hair.

Only gentle massage (and only when needed). Do not vigorously massage if you have hairfall or sensitive skin.

9. Treat the underlying cause

Problems such as dandruff, cystic acne, chloasma (butterfly pigmentation), fungal infections, vitiligo, hyperpigmentation due to scarring, keloids, warts, allergies, alopecia areata etc. require medical intervention for cure. Homeopathy has the best results for all these and more. Do talk to your Homeopathic physician if you suffer from any of these.

10. And now comes the most important tip of the day:

Follow a healthy lifestyle and eating habits. Avoid oily, processed food most days in the week (and never have it for dinner), and eat seasonal, regional foods. Drink 3-4 litres of plain water in a day. Exercise and meditate daily to keep away from stress. Sleep on time and for 7-8 hrs every night. All these things matter the most but are sadly most neglected by us since we run after the things that feel good. We all have experienced skin eruptions or rashes after eating spicy food, or puffy eyes the day after eating processed, salty foods, and dark circles after late nights! In conclusion, to look our best, we need to be our best. Do everything on this list for at least a month and I guarantee you'll never want to go back!

Do instill all these habits in your teenagers as well. If they take care of their skin and hair when they are young, they will not need to rely on chemical products or surgical interventions when they are older. If you have questions, or need further details about any point, feel free to drop me a message through the contact form or WhatsApp.