Basic Foot Care

If your feet could speak, they would probably complain that they do not get proper care and attention. So what do we do to keep them in tip-top shape? If you treat your feet with tender loving care and they will reward you with years of diligent, pain-free service. Just follow simple steps for happy, healthy feet forever.

Wash your feet daily. Make sure to clean between the toes and under the nails. Completely dry your feet after bathing. Dry the places between toes too. Damp feet are breeding ground for bacteria and odor.
To help prevent dry, cracked foot skin, massage a good thick lotion into your feet before you dress and again when you go to bed.
Add a little foot powder to your shoes each day to help absorb perspiration.
Wear fresh socks or hosiery daily.
Cut your toenail straight across to help avoid ingrown toenails. Afterward, smooth nail edge with an emery board or nail file.
Inspect your feet daily for blisters, corns, swelling. calluses or other any other problems. Get appropriate treatment. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Source: http://www.greendivamom.com/author/savneet/
Give your shoes a rest. Alternating pairs allows shoes to completely dry out and give the padding time to return to its normal shape. This makes shoes last loonger and keeps your feet healthier.
Drink lots of water.
Give yourself a weekly feet treatment. Massage your feet with warmed oil mixed with a few drops of essential oil of lavender, eucalyptus, or peppermint to de-stress and relax your sore feet.

If you are overweight, lose some pounds. Excess weight adds enormous pressure to your feet.

Walk, walk, walk.

Nine Homemade Beauty Masks for Healthy Skin

Glowing and clear skin does naturally what makeup tries to simulate artificially. Natural homemade masks can help bring a permanent glow and clarity to your skin. For acquiring beautiful and healthy skin you can apply any of the following easy, homemade masks.

Note: Make sure that before you apply any of the following masks, your hands are clean and the dish in which you are going to prepare the mixture is washed and dried properly. Wash your face before and after you apply any of the homemade skin products. Wash your face gently with a little bit more water and pat dry.

Egg Whites

Egg white has shown miraculous effects on many people’s skin. Apply an egg white over your face. Then let it dry for 15-18 minutes and wash your face with warm water for an instant glow to your skin.

Powdered Orange Peels

Do not throw orange peels. Dry them in shade and then grind them in a mixer to make powder. Take two spoonfuls of this powder and make a smooth paste with rose water, honey and milk. Apply this and wash off with cold after 20 minutes.

Almond Paste

Almonds are high in vitamin E content, which is very good for your skin and can eliminate facial blemishes. Soak 4-6 almonds overnight so that peel comes off. Grind their white flesh and add few drops of lemon juice and honey to make a smooth paste. Apply this on your face and wash after 30 minutes.

Chickpea Mask

Make a smooth paste with a tablespoon of Chickpea flour, a pinch of turmeric, 2 tablespoons of milk and a few drops of rose water. Apply this paste to your face and massage in a circular motion. Wash your face with water after 2-3 minutes. This brings shine to your face and eliminates dead skin tissue.

Rose Lime Tonic

Make a mixture of equal amount of lime juice and rose water, apply on your neck and face, keep it for 10 minutes and wash off with fresh water.

Autumn Fruits Mask

Take a small piece of pumpkin and puree it. To this, add a grated apple and a little olive oil. Apply this paste for 15-20 minutes followed by rinsing the face. This mask is particularly good for dry skin.

Quick and Easy Milk and Sugar Mask

Mix 1/4 cup of milk and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Apply this mixture on your face using a cotton swab. Leave it for 5 minutes; then wash the face. This provides a glow to the face.

Turmeric Oat Mask

Prepare a paste by mixing a tablespoon of oatmeal with turmeric and sugar. Then slowly massage the paste on your face. Leave it for 2 to 3 minutes and rinse it off. The skin acquires a soft and refreshing appearance.

Cucumber Sour Cream Mask

Apply a mask made from I tablespoon of grated cucumber with some sour cream for 12-15 minutes followed by washing with cold water. Use this mask twice a week for best results.

The Finishing Touch

Use ice cubes. Yes! Ice cubes. Massage your cheeks with an ice cube for an instant glow without rouge

Source:http://www.greendivamom.com/author/savneet/

Clear Skin From Within

Clear, glowing, gorgeous and blemish-free skin requires taking care of skin not only from the outside but also from inside. Skin glows if it is healthy, and if you are healthy. Lifestyle affects the appearance of our skin, particularly when it comes to acne.

Developing better skin habits like cleansing regularly, applying the right treatment products can prove to be helpful in maintaining your clear complexion clear to an extent, but it’s only when you target skin from both the outside and the inside that you’ll begin to see longer-lasting results. Healthy habits like eating the right foods, exercising consistently and taking out time for daily stress relief, are just a few measures to help your skin as well as your overall health.

Nutrient-Rich Diet

A healthy diet rich in fiber, minerals and vitamins - particularly vitamins A, C and E - is good for clear, smooth and softer skin. Vitamin A internally, helps to increase skin-cell turnover. Vitamin A is found in foods like broccoli, cantaloupe, cod, red peppers, spinach and watercress. The recommended dietary allowance is 700 micrograms. Limit intake of iodine-rich foods/medications like kelp and seafood like shrimp and other shellfish.

You can also help your skin by becoming a vegan or vegetarian. Fresh fruits and vegetables have a positive and long lasting effect on the skin, and are rich in vitamins that can have anti-aging properties.

Sleep well and have plenty of water. Water helps in detoxifying your body and eliminates all the toxins which brings natural glow to the skin.

How you Poison your morning with Personal Care Products

Let us look at a typical morning for many of us which starts with the alarm buzz. You sit up in bed, yawn and stretch and then glance at the clock. You wish to have a few more minutes of sleep. But, you know you can't stay in the bed longer, so you stagger into the bathroom. From here starts the whole process of poisoning our body with numerous chemicals.

The poisoning goes on till you get ready to move out of the house.

Read how you get toxic chemicals in you body: http://www.healthmad.com/Home-Health/How-You-Poison-Your-Morning-with-Personal-Care-Products.570841

Get Beautiful nails at Home

Take a look at your hands. What do they say about you and what they convey to others? Are your hands rough, red or irritated? Are your cuticles ragged? Or have you cut or pushed them back? Or, are your hands smooth and pampered? Hot pink, French tips, or clear-coated–it’s not the color you wear that matters. What really matters is the condition of your hands and nails.

Who doesn’t want to have such kind of hands? Is going to some professional salon and spending money and time the only way out? My answer is NO. You can improve the state of your nails by taking a few simple steps at home. Read on to find out how:
Scrub your hands and nails and clean the dirt underneath them. There is nothing uglier than a woman with dirt and soil under her nails. It is unhygienic and it is also unladylike. Dip a cotton-tipped swab in hydrogen-peroxide clean under the nails, to whiten them.

Continue to read on: http://www.greendivamom.com/2009/01/31/getting-beautiful-nails-the-eco-friendly-nail-care-formula/