The need to look good, exists in just about every person, no matter who you are how old you are and where you spend most of your time! Whether you are at work, at home, partying with your friends or on a vacation. Looking your best can often make you feel good. It is a confidence booster for many and in today’s world of Instagram and Snapchat selfies, vanity isn’t really a sin anymore. Having radiant, glowing skin does wonders for your appearance and is perhaps the first and foremost step towards looking and feeling better.
Your skin, being the most crucial to how you look, especially facial skin, there are a number of factors that affect its health and appearance. Everything right from a stressful lifestyle, lack of sleep, an unhealthy diet and habits, all that dust and pollution outside and even the scorching sun can cause considerable damage to your skin, not to mention the early signs of ageing. Now, ageing isn’t a process we can reverse or even halt (although it can slow down), but there is certainly much that can be done with respect to all other factors, so as to get back the skin’s natural lustre.
The cosmetic industry is booming, with new products and trends emerging every second. From vampire facials that use the platelet-rich plasma from your own blood to K-beauty treatments involving ingredients such as snail slime, starfish extract, and even bee venom, there are a host of methods you could try to get the glow back. However, if you’re not very keen on trying the methods mentioned above (not everyone is comfortable with the outlandish), there are certain basic beauty tips for glowing skin, using ingredients easily found in the kitchen, that can go a long way in improving the health of your skin and in giving you youthful, glowing skin.
H2O—your skin’s best friend
When about two-thirds of your skin is made up of water, it is not difficult to realize why drinking water could be so important to the health of your skin. Dehydration can cause your body cells (including your skin cells) to shrivel up, accelerating the process of ageing and causing wrinkles to appear prematurely, a fact that does not bode well for its health or appearance. Not only does drinking water aid your skin in staying hydrated, but it also helps flush out the toxins from your body and skin. While the amount of water one ought to consume varies slightly from person to person, on an average, a person is ideally supposed to consume 8 glasses (about 2 litres) of water every day, so as to have healthy, radiant skin.
Eat right for glowing skin
A lot of the issues related to your skin, including breakouts and dull, lifeless skin, can be attributed to a dysfunctional digestive system, largely on account of an unhealthy diet. Obviously then, the answer to this problem is simple—a custom designed diet for glowing skin!
One of the first tasks, for those of you who wish to have healthy, glowing skin, is to maintain a wholesome, nutritious diet. It is important that you incorporate a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, preferably raw, in your diet since they’re a source of essential vitamins and minerals for your body and skin. Foods rich in protein and Omega-3 fatty acids, especially nuts and seeds, can help you improve your overall health, while also getting rid of a number of skin problems for you.
There are also certain juices that are extremely beneficial for your skin, such as the juice of carrots (with a hint of sliced or grated ginger), bitter gourds or vitamin-C rich oranges. Carrots are known to be rich in beta-carotene and vitamin-A, both of which help improve the texture of your skin, while the antioxidants present in them help rid your skin of free radicals. Ginger, on the other hand, is known to have antibacterial properties which can aid in treating and preventing certain skin infections. Bitter gourds are good for your skin as they help improve digestion, fight infections and even help purify the blood, resulting in a natural glow on your face. No matter how many products you apply to your skin, if you’re not healthy and hydrated from the inside, there’s not much that can help you ace glowing, healthy skin!
CTM for clear skin
Cleanse, Tone and Moisturise (CTM) is the cardinal rule of skincare. Cleansing helps you get rid of the dead skin cells, thereby making room for the nourishment of new and healthy ones. Toning, on the other hand, is a process essential for shrinking the skin pores and to maintain the elasticity of your skin while moisturizing gives you soft, supple and naturally radiant skin. There might be a number of chemical-ridden CTM products out there in the market, but it always helps to go for the natural remedies, or at least those products with natural ingredients in them.
Ingredients such as milk, honey and lemon juice are excellent cleansers, helping get rid of dead skin and keeping your face well hydrated, while powdered oatmeal, grated cucumbers, Fuller's earth and even sugar granules can act as pretty effective scrubs, exfoliating your skin to make your face appear fresh and glowing. There are certain oils such as castor oil, coconut oil or almond oil which can even act as cleansers for your skin, even for oily skin, giving you a glowing and acne-free complexion. These work much better than those soaps and chemically alkaline products that rid your skin of all its natural oils, further compounding your skin issues.
For toning, rose water (especially chilled) and even juice of aloe vera or pomegranates can help tone your skin, improving its elasticity and giving you soft, supple and lustrous skin. Aloe vera also has moisturizing properties and so do honey, almond oil, rose water, yoghurt and glycerin.
Masks and packs for the glow
Face packs have been used for improving skin complexion since ancient times, with references having been found in ancient texts of the Ayurveda as well. Face masks, on the other hand, seem to have become quite the rage these days, with different cosmetic brands creating them by putting together a variety of ingredients. There are certain combinations that are known to work brilliantly for your skin, such as gram flour and ginger, papaya and turmeric, sandalwood and saffron as well as honey and cinnamon. Each of these makes use of the natural moisturising and nourishing properties of the ingredients to help make your skin soft, supple and lustrous. So go ahead and have fun trying out different combos for your skin, for if clear, glowing skin is what you’re looking for, 'natural’ is certainly the way to go.
Written by Karan Dalvi on Feb 11, 2019
Author at BeBeautiful.