Aloe Veda

My Skin Care Routine {Skin Care}

Swati · November 2, 2012 · 30 Comments

Being a beauty blogger, many of you would be thinking that I have a very elaborate routine and am very diligent about it. Nothing could be farther than truth. I am the most lazy person you will ever come across and I can ignore my skin or hair for a long time.

The maximum I have ignored my hair is a week, after that I have to at least wash it. I do many times skip conditioning or oiling as well. And, skin, I can ignore for months together except for basic cleansing and moisturizing. Right now, I am passing through that kind of lazy phase.

Cleansing
Obviously, can’t ignore it. Ok, there have been days I have done that. But, these days, I do follow that coz I am having my bath twice a day. Having a geyser at my disposal is actually harming my skin more. Why? I used to stay in a hostel earlier which had just one common geyser for the entire floor.

I used to use a heating rod to heat the water [was too lazy to carry buckets of water from the bathroom to my room!] But, now, the geyser is right there in my bathroom. I like hot baths and, now, I am trying to control the temperature of the water I use so that it doesn’t dry my skin too much.

Moisturizing
I am using the Lotus White Glow Emulsion for day time and for night, I generally use Rustic Art Aloevera Gel and follow with a drop or two of any facial oil. Sometimes, I prepare my own. Yup, I know I haven’t done any DIY in a long while but I lack inspiration and patience both!!!

Sunscreen
If I actually see the pattern of last month, there have been many many days when I have blatantly skipped the sun protection. Ok, let me confess, I don’t really like applying it and it takes too much of time and effort and it increases my getting-ready time exponentially.

But, let me also add that when I skipped the sunscreen, my skin has perceptibly darkened and since I have started it again, I have seen my skin come back to its original color gradually. So, yup, its an unavoidable nuisance. I use Neutrogena Ultra Sheer.

Lips
I have been using Nivea Pomegranate for lips in the morning and at night, I have been using Aloe Veda lip balm. But, my lips are really getting dry coz I miss out using lip balms generally and in the office, its really difficult for me to remember. AC is also taking a toll.

Body Care
I do tend to skip the morning miniaturization coz of the scarcity of time. Currently, I am using the Nivea Express Hydration lotion. And, at night also, many times, I skip but do not do that!!! Otherwise, I am using The Body Shop Polynesian Monoi Oil. And, if need be, follow with the nivea lotion again.

That’s it!! Yup, there are a lot of things missing. Exfoliation or Dry Brush which I totally love. I haven’t exfoliated my face since like ages and dry brush, trust me, I am missing it desperately but I misplaced it while shifting and I am afraid I lost it!!!

Anyways, so you have seen my routine, you would want to ask how is my skin feeling? Its become dry since August and I can’t really do without moisturizing. I have to be a regular at it. Otherwise, my skin is soft and good enough. So, what’s your skin care routine?

Aloe Veda Herbal Hair Oil {Product Review}

Swati · July 31, 2012 · 24 Comments

Price: Rs 125 for 200ml (pretty decent)

Ingredients

Absolutely love the ingredients!!! Sesame oil is one of my fav oils for hair as its not very thick and heavy and is extremely nourishing and also prevents gray hair. A little information about Allantoin:

Allantoin is also used in medications for dermatological conditions including acne, impetigo, eczema, and psoriasis. Allantoin is moisturizing and keratolytic, meaning that it causes keratin in the skin to soften. This property helps skin to heal more quickly and to bind moisture more effectively, making products containing allantoin useful for dry skin and for healing wounds, burns, and scars. It is also effective against sunburn, chapped lips, cold sores, diaper rash, and similar skin irritations. (Source)

Pros

– made of amazing ingredients

– gives a bit of shine to the hair

– isn’t a heavy hair oil

Cons

– smells too sweet for my nose

– has some green color added to it perhaps

My Experience

I have been using this hair oil since almost a month after I have left the treatment. I have talked about this in my June hair diary. So, to start with its a green colored oil which has a really sweet smell. I am not a fan of strong smells and I am not a fan of this either.

Moving on, I have applied this with the help of cotton as well as I have mentioned here. Incidentally, the usage on the website talks about the same method.

For best results, oil your hair with Aloe Veda’s Herbal Hair Oil at least twice in a week. The best time to oil your hair is in the night. Leave the oil overnight and wash it next morning as this allows deeper penetration. If possible use heated oil as hot oil penetrates scalp better and carries the active ingredients to the hair roots. If done appropriately using a cotton ball directly on scalp this can give amazing results. To ensure that you do not damage the properties of the hair oil place the bowl over boiling water to heat the oil. It is advisable to apply oil in the night and leave your hair oiled overnight. Massage your scalp for few minutes even while shampooing and finish off with a light conditioner. Regular application stimulates the scalp and activates the hair follicles which leads to better hair growth.

it comes in a flip top bottle

So, I can say that yes, it does give shine to the hair. But, to be honest, the shine is less compared to the treatment I was on which really strengthened my belief in the treatment. I did not face any major hair fall or any other problem while using this oil.

One thing which I would say is that it seems to have some green color added to the oil. Why? I apply the oil from a silver bowl so there is always some quantity of oil which remains in the bowl and I don’t wash it unless I apply the ginger tonic as well (which is generally next morning, I apply oil at night). And, I always noticed some green color spots on the place where oil was present.

As to how much it helps with hair growth, I am not really sure coz its too early to say something like that. Overall, I found it to be a decent hair oil which gets washed off easily and doesn’t weigh down the hair!!! It leaves the hair shinier and softer if you haven’t used a better product than that.

Availability

Online – Aloe Veda Websites

PS: Product sent by brand for consideration.

Other products from Aloe Veda:

Aloeveda Moisturising Bathing Bar Indian Khus with Kewda Extracts

Aloe Veda Chocolate Vanilla Lip Butter

Aloe Veda Chocolate Vanilla Lip Butter {Product Review}

Swati · July 4, 2012 · 8 Comments

Price: Rs 115 for 10gms

Ingredients

Since the pic is not really clear, I will mention the ingredients here:

Sunflower oil, Soyabean oil, Beeswax, Sweet Almond oil, Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Vitamin E, Chocolate Flavor & Vanilla Flavor, Octyl methoxycinnamate

Pros

– its really buttery!!!

– spreads easily on the lips
– moisturizes the lips very well
– staying power is good
– stays all night long and makes the lips soft and supple

Cons

– tub packaging 🙁

– does get a little washed off when you eat something which happens with all lip balms
– it doesn’t repair the lips in a long term which is sad

My Experience

The product is brown in color but obviously goes transparent on the lips. Its really buttery and melts easily with body temperature and spreads easily on the lips. But, I have noticed that it didn’t help me with cracked and chapped lips. It just keeps my lips soft and moisturized till the time it is on the lips.

Ok, all lip balms do get washed off when I eat something or drink water. Though, it does have resistance towards water a little. But, I absolutely hate the tub packaging. No, I am not such a huge hygiene fanatic because I always make sure that no one else uses my products and my hands are clean when I am using them.

But, the product does tend to get in the nails and nail bed and also lip balms are more easily applied from a tube application. When I apply this lip balm with my fingers, it always spreads around my lips 🙁 The product might seem expensive but it lasts really long. I have been using it since a month and I have finished only a little.

PS: Product sent by brand.

Other products from Aloe Veda:

Aloeveda Moisturising Bathing Bar Indian Khus with Kewda Extracts

My Hair Diaries – June 2012

Swati · July 3, 2012 · 12 Comments

that’s my hair last month after the treatment

Verdict on the Kamini Hair Treatment

Well, the results are, as far as I can notice, positive. I have noticed my hair line on the crown become fuller and my hair is definitely more shiny and really soft which I am absolutely loving. But, I still need to work on the weighing down issues. Now, regarding the volume, I really wish my hair would grow overnight but since that doesn’t happen except for Rapunzel, I need to wait and watch!!!

Current Routine

this is my hair after leaving the treatment this week

My mom said that we should check it out for 6 months before finalizing. But, now, I have temporarily stopped the treatment because I wanted to see if I follow the same routine with over-the-counter products, will I get the same results. So, I have started using the Aloe Veda Herbal Oil but continuing with the ginger tonic and the shampoo. Right now, I am using L’Oreal Total Repair 5 hair mask as a conditioner and Dove Nourishing Oil Serum as a leave-in serum.

So far, I have been using the changed routine for the past one week and the one thing which I was afraid of was that sudden change from the treatment might result in hair fall. Thankfully, that did not happen. And, even now, my hair is extremely soft and shinier but the shine is lot less as compared to the treatment oil which was amazing!!! So, that was my hair this month. Let’s hope I have positive things to say about the Aloe Veda oil as well.

Aloeveda Moisturising Bathing Bar Indian Khus with Kewda Extracts {Product Review}

Swati · June 22, 2012 · 2 Comments

Price: Rs 65 for 100gms

Ingredients

Aloeveda Soap @ Perfect Skin Care for you

Soap noodles transparent (80%), Merquat Plus 3330, Sodium PCA (3%), Sorbitol (2%), Aloevera Gel (2%), Vitamin E, Green Paste, Indian Khus with Kewda extracts.

Pros

– it smells really good!! I don’t know if its Kewda smell or what but if that’s what Kewda smells like, I would love to get an attar of Kewda (I don’t know what Kewda is but I do know that its one of the most famous perfume fragrances of India).

Cons

– it doesn’t do well on the moisturizing front but then it doesn’t really leave the skin scaly dry either so its good for summers.

– I personally don’t like transparent soaps (so this is not exactly a con).

PS: Product sent by brand.