Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

Beauty, at what cost?

Beauty comes easy these days, but be sure about what goes into every treatment

With beauty spas and parlours sprouting in every corner of the city, exotic beauty treatments are no longer the prerogative of the likes of Queen Cleopatra. With a mind-boggling range of options to choose from, and an equally incredible range of effects they promise, it is perhaps time to get ourselves acquainted with the basics of beauty treatments, the myths and facts of the scenario.

"There is no 100 per cent herbal bleach, at least none that can create instantaneous effects," says herbal beauty therapist Asha Gopikrishnan. The most trusted natural bleaching ingredients happen to be honey and lemon. The good news is these natural goodies work, but over a period of time. "As for the instantaneous bleaches, these concoctions contain ammonia and hydrogen peroxide, bleaching with which dries up the skin," Gopikrishnan adds. So, if you do opt for these instantaneous bleaches, be sure to follow it up with a facial, or at least with an application of a good toner or even ice (which happens to be a good, inexpensive toner). Do not directly apply moisturising lotions following a bleach. This will clog the skin's pores that had been opened while bleaching. In the kind of polluted environment that we live in today, these clogged pores trap dust and may spawn pimples.

Facial hair

Facial hair can be a painful nuisance, but never, ever, try to get rid of it by waxing your face. "Tearing off the wax strips from the face pulls your sensitive facial skin, and the skin never really gets right back in place as facial skin tends to loose collagen — the elasticity factor which keeps the skin supple, eventually resulting in sagging of facial skin," says beautician Nithya Raghuraman.

The most inexpensive and effective option to tackle facial hair is threading, which when done repeatedly over a period of time minimises the growth of facial hair. After threading, tone the skin with lotion based toners or ice. "Like instant herbal bleaches, instant herbal dyes are a myth (with the exception of henna and amla combination, which bestow a brown-red hue to hair over a period of time). All instantaneous dyes contain para phenelyne diamine (PPD), continuous use of which can lead to cancer," elaborates Asha Gopikrishnan. So, use these dyes judiciously. Sunscreen or no sunscreen, be sure to adequately cover your face when you have to step out into the sun. Avoid exposing your skin to sunlight between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

HEMA VIJAY

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail