Honey – A natural lip healer

Well you all knew honey was meant to be had for such things as coughs, colds, sugar replacements, etc, but how many of you knew that it provides the perfect remedy to cracked lips (or even heels for that matter!)?

All you have to do is take a lip brush (I’ll write more on the various makeup brushes in another article) and apply a slather of natural honey on your smoochies. Get and use plain honey on your body. There are those with synthetic flavors and preservatives, but the best is to go a la natural.

Applying honey to your lips also gives them a natural sheen, just as a lip gloss would.

If you’re going to take a nap on the ground in a spot where you know there are bitsy bugs and/ or ants, I’d advise you to wait on the honey application. Otherwise though, it’s a healthy, foolproof way to care for your lips.

Some popular brands of honey are: Dabur, BeeMaid, Honeywell, Honey Gold, etc. Dabur Honey was ranked the ‘best buy’ by the CERS (Consumer Education and Research Society) after testing 17 different brands in its in-house laboratory. However, any honey sans the synthetic/ chemicals add-ons will work well.

Use it and love it. See how well it works. Watch those eyes stare at your glowing, healthy lips all day long. Smooooooooch!

Body Piercing

Are you planning to get a body pierce sometime soon? Here are a few tips to make sure it's been done neatly and is infection-free.

1. Ask around for a referral. Is there someone that has been to one and would recommend their expertise? If not, and you're looking online, check for client reviews. That helps too.

2. Check that the person at the store has got clean hands and groomed nails before you allow them to insert that piercing needle into your skin.

3. Is it a fresh needle? If it's not in a fresh plastic-wrap, chances are, they're not new. You don't want to risk contamination and infection from a simple piercing. This is an important point!

4. Use surgical steel to allow your body the time it needs to adapt to the foreign object inside of it. You may be unknowingly allergic to gold or silver. Some people just are.

5. Keep your pierce clean. It doesn't HAVE TO get infected just because it's new. Keep it clean and avoid the pain and extra medications an infected pierce will bring.

6. Use a salt-water solution to bathe your pierce at least once a day. If you can, twice a day is ideal. This will keep it clean and infection-free.

7. Take extra vitamin C in your diet. Vitamin C is important with aiding your body in its fight against infection. Take up to 500 mg supplement in your daily diet.

8. Use an antiseptic powder to keep your pierce clean and dry.

9. Do not bandage it up. Piercings need air to dry and heal.

10. Move the ring in your pierce up and down at least twice in a day. This helps the skin around the area to be pliable and elastic, rather than closing up tightly in a scab around the ring inserted.

Piercings aren't hard to take care of. If you are dead-set on getting one, don't mind the pain and the extra care. It takes work, but if you've gotten one, you'll know, it's worth it.

Happy Piercing!

Avoid Monsoon Infection and Disease

The monsoon is here and shouts of joy can be heard through the streets! As the rain washes away the waves of heat, the crowds are simply loving the clear, clean, cold, windy weather.

This season is a risky one as far as infection and disease is concerned. Until now, I'd known that it was easy to get throat infections, colds, coughs, bronchitis, viral fevers and the like, in this rainy weather.

Yesterday however, I called up my tattoo-artist friend from Dragonfly Tattoo Studio (he's got a tattoo studio in G.K. Market, Delhi) to ask him about navel piercings. He advised me that this wasn't the right time to get that sort of stuff done, as the moisture in the air is perfect for infections to breed. He added that the best time during this season, would be in the end of August as the air is drier then and a piercing would heal quicker.

By the same token, my dentist advised me to allow extra recovery time for my scheduled surgery this weekend, as the rainy weather is perfecting for breeding infection.

So, be advised, and take care of your bodies this season. Now you know!

Treat your dandruff, treat your acne

It sounds simple, but it's really easier said than done. If you find that you're constantly breaking out with blackheads, pimples, boils, etc, try washing your hair every second day to keep oil and dander off of your face.

Earlier I'd written on how it's important to change your pillowcases and sheets often to cure dandruff. The same remedy can be applied to treating acne.

Rose water - natural make-up remover

Not many people know this, but rose water is an excellent natural make-up remover for both men and women. Not only does rose water act as a perfect tonic for your skin, it is also a natural remedy for making your skin look clear, fresh and alive. Using rose water on your skin at least once a day, leaves your skin looking healthy and glowing.

All you need is a cotton ball and a few dabs of rose water. Gently dab - not rub - it onto your skin and let it work its magic. The best way to use it is right before bed. That way it has all night to sink into your skin and leave it looking fresh and pure again.

Rose water is also a great skin 'healer' from the everyday wear and tear of dust, pollution, heat, etc.

Does drinking more milk prevent osteoporosis?

No, drinking more milk, scientific research has found that taking a more calcium-rich diet does NOT help to prevent the much dreaded old-age symptom of osteoporosis, which is more common among the women species. It is just an old myth.

To prepare against the eventualities of this deterioration disease, one must instead build up muscle mass which instead helps strengthen the bone.

Calcium rich diets will only help you to build bone mass up until you are fully grown. After this, your body no longer needs to have excess milk (especially cow's milk) pumped into it. It is good as a protein yes, but not as a way of building bone mass. Only resistance training can do that for you.

If you are trying to combat osteoporosis now, try seeking consultation from your doctor, or for going for some light aerobics and gradually working your way up to exercising with weights.

Take dancing classes if you have to, but do something rigorous that will get your heart pumping and those muscles building.