DIY

Okra (Bhindi) Hair Treatment and Conditioner

June 12, 2015 Nayantara Karnik 25 Comments

Whaaat?! Bhindi? Why would anyone put that in their hair…

In fact, it’s used by Rastafarians to make their dreadlocks and keep them healthy. Okra is one of numerous natural items that contain mucilage, which is the slimy stuff you must be familiar with when it’s cooked. Mucilage is good for the skin and hair, and even for your gut health. The reason I was even looking this into was because I’ve been trying to find a way to put less chemicals into my system. And I definitely see an improvement in the quality of my skin and hair since.

Okra’s also high in Vitamins A & C, folic acid, calcium, zinc, including biotin, all of which make it incredibly nourishing for the hair. That’s probably why it’s been used as an ingredient in various high end products including a conditioner by Lush. All this means it can be used in different ways to treat and condition hair – as a rinse-out conditioner, leave-in, de-tangler or even as a hair gel as it gives excellent curl definition. The best part is that it doesn’t have a weird smell, like many natural things you may be using in your hair already. It actually doesn’t have any noticeable smell.

So in case you’re in a really experimental mood, or just fed up with the same old stuff, take a look! I’m going to show you how to make a general conditioner using bhindi, with tweaks to adapt it to your needs.

INGREDIENTS (BASIC RECIPE)

6-8 okras, chopped or sliced length-wise
1 ½ cups water
1-2 tsp oil (I used sesame this time, you can also use grape seed oil, almond oil, coconut oil etc)

OPTIONAL ADD-ONS

Aloe vera gel
honey

#OneMonthtoHealthyHair – Activity 4 – Essential Oils for Hair Care!

March 6, 2015 Swati 24 Comments

I am extremely sorry for not turning up yesterday. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I just could not come online!!

Anyways, I had decided to keep holi free but since I skipped yesterday, I have an activity for you today 🙂

Btw, wish you all a very Happy Holi! Hope you are busy enjoying the festival of colors instead of reading the posts here 😉 So, lets get on with the activity.

Incorporate Essential Oils

If you are a regular reader, you would already know I am crazy about using essential oils. My first was lavender which I did not really become a fan of but then I went on to try rosemary and some other exotic ones and I am a fan for life. And, since then, I have tried my level best to tell you all how awesome they are. So, this is again one of the my trials.

There are a few essential oils which you must have in your house and they are multi-purpose so you can use them from healing your wounds to cleaning the air in your house! Let us check out which 5 essential oils I think are important to have in the house.

Rosemary

This one rules the roost. Since we are talking about hair care, rosemary is the one EO which stimulates hair follicles and actually helps in hair growth.

Peppermint

Though it helps the oily scalp more but it reduces dandruff and also helps in hair growth.

Tea Tree

This one helps in cleansing your scalp and reducing the dandruff. Also, helps with acne.

Lavender

This one is not really on my favourites list. But, it helps calm your senses and lulls you to sleep, helps with hair fall and is also said to help with hair growth. It definitely helps with wounds and burns, though!

And, finally, we have

Clove

Actually, there is a list of spice essential oils which are amazing for hair growth. But, clove is probably the most easily available. I would also like to include ginger and cinnamon leaf (not bark) but remember that overusing any of the spice essential oils can be irritating for the skin. But, the advantage of spice essential oils are that they stimulate the follicles and improve the blood circulation in the scalp which leads to better hair growth.

So, today’s activity is to at least get one of the these essential oils and infuse them with all of your hair products.

How to use the Essential Oils?

Pour 5-10 drops of any of the above EO in all your hair products like shampoo, conditioner, hair oil, leave-in treatment, hair masks, any DIY’s you do, and then use the products.

You can make your own Essential Oils as well!

This would not be exactly essential oil but definitely cheaper and effective treatment. This is specially easy for all the spices which are easily available in your kitchen. So, take a table spoon of your favourite spice (ginger, clove, turmeric, cinnamon, black pepper) either in ground form or you can just use your mortal and pestle and lightly break the spices to release the oils.

Put the spice in a clear bottle and cover with oil (apricot or almond are preferred as they are better at absorbing the plant nutrients) and leave for a week in direct sunlight.

Keep shaking the bottle in between to release the oils.

After a week, your customized EO is ready for use! Remember to make it in small batches and use it within a month.

Btw, since this is not exactly as potent as essential oils, you can use around two table spoons for each of your products. And, you can keep alternating using different spices every time.

So, do try out this fun DIY and I am sure you will love it!

References:

Earlier Posts from #OneMonthtoHealthyHair event:
#OneMonthtoHealthyHair – Activity 1 – Hot Oil Treatment
#OneMonthtoHealthyHair – Activity of the Week – 1
#OneMonthofHealthyHair – Activity 2 – Get a Hair Cut!
#OneMonthofHealthyHair – Activity 3 – Go for a Hair Wash!

Red Wine + Honey Skin Facial {DIY}

December 12, 2014 Swati 2 Comments

Tags : Home >> Skin Care >> Home Remedies >> DIY

I have always wondered how it would be to apply exotic ingredients to skin. But, always fail to experience it when it really comes to them. Because I love to eat those fruits than apply them on the face! So, when it came to using red wine, I made sure that I would experience it. So, let us check out how this DIY turned out!!

Before that, lets talk a bit about red wine. We know it is made from grapes which are basically acidic and rich in Vitamin C and loaded with anti-oxidants. So, the wine, Refosco dal Peduncolo Russo (every wine has its own properties), we have today is quite deep in color and high in acidity. Since it is highly acidic, it is good for acne prone skin and drying as well. So, let us check out how it fares for us.

Red Wine DIY Facial for Anti-aging skin care @ http://goo.gl/iJcYGX via @skyiseternal #perfectskincareforyou
[Click to Tweet This!]

Ingredients

1tbsp red wine

1tbsp honey (to combat dryness)

Method

Wash your face. Scrub it, if necessary. Steam your face, neck and décolletage for 5 minutes to open the pores.

Take the mixture of wine and honey and massage your face with it the way it is done during a facial. You can get your sister or best friend to do it as well!!

Since there is honey, the mix tends to get sticky so keep the steamer on in the interims so that the liquid gets penetrated into the skin and does not dry up.

Keep massaging for 30 minutes in this way. Cover your neck and décolletage as well. Do not forget your ears and lips!!

You can wash it off immediately or let it sit on your skin for as long as you can as a mask. Whatever you do, wash off with cold water and apply moisturiser.

Results

There would not be an immediate glow on the face! But, the skin definitely looks plumpier and firmer. And, it helps with making the skin soft and smooth. The lines are less visible. Basically, you can say the anti-aging effects of the red wine shows up. And, the glow comes later on. So, I loved it and now it is your turn!

Have you ever tried red wine DIY? How did you like it? Or, would you like to try it out?

Other DIY’s to try out:
Green Tea Hair Spray
Homemade Vanilla Oil
Henna Gloss Recipe

Kama Soap-free Face Cleanser Mridul Dupe {DIY}

November 28, 2014 Swati 18 Comments

So, it has been ages since I have done any DIY. In fact, this recipe is also very old and should have been published long long back but I was too lazy to click the pics and put them on the blog.

Anyways, while in the Kama shop, I picked up their face cleanser and checked out the ingredients. They were all available at home so I decided to note them down and recreate the product at home!

And, yes, it was pretty much same. Only the Kama product was more finely ground and not as scrubby in texture. So, lets check out the ingredients first.

Ingredients

Chickpeas
Fennel
Almond
Turmeric
Camphor
Green gram dal
Oatmeal
Cinnamon
Rose
Neem

Method

Ok, so, the percentage of these ingredients is not really mentioned so we assume our own quantities and proceed with the recipe. So, the first ingredient is generally 80% of the product. So, you have a cup of besan / chickpea flour and 2% of all the other ingredients on a rough estimate.

I think what my mom did was she did not take as much of besan as was required. Instead, she made them all equal portions. Anyways, put all the ingredients in a huge plate (except camphor) and let them dry in shade for half a day or more. And, then, grind them as fine as possible.

Add camphor in the end and run the grinder once more. That’s it! Your homemade soap free face cleanser Mridul is ready! And, it smells more or less camphor-y and since we have a lot roses in it, a lot rose-y. But, yes, we need more of chickpea flour over there. I have just started using this DIY so will let you know the results in some time 🙂

Till then, you might also check out the product and try it on your own in the house, what say?

Tea Tree Oil for Pests and Mosquitoes {DIY}

September 8, 2014 Swati 2 Comments

Hey Everyone! This is one of the best Mondays for me which I am absolutely enjoying!! Why? Well, I shall reveal that soon enough. Till then, let me talk about a little trick which I used when there was a barrage of mosquitoes at my home.

To get rid of mosquitoes and flies and bugs in the house, use tea tree oil. You can either take a few drops and apply it on the exposed sections of your body (I did this) or you could take a spray bottle and mix a few drops of tea tree in water and spray it on the windows and doors to keep away the pests. May be a repeated procedure would be necessary for a airy place so spray it once an hour or so.

Or, light a diffuser with tea tree or lemongrass in the house. And, use tea tree while mopping the house as well!!! I use tea tree sometimes and sometimes its just ylang ylang or rosemary. But, whichever EO I use, the house smells amazing for quite sometime!

Have you used tea tree oil as a bug and insect repellant?