Post Durga Puja/ Navratri Skin and Hair Care Tips

Subho Bijoya and Happy Dusshera everyone,

It just breaks my heart to say that the biggest and much-awaited festival of the year has come to an end. The five long day festival concluded with the sindoor khela, misti mukh and thus bidding farewell to Maa Durga with a heavy heart and teary eyes.
But, but…in a hope to look like a perfect damsel in these five days, we have happily tortured our skin and hair beyond our knowledge and as the festival has come to an end, it is imperative that we take care of our skin and your hair, before all the layers of makeup, the chemicals in sindoor, woes of excessive hair styling and junk food start taking toll on us.

The excessive use of products and lack of proper care and sleep during these five days often causes trauma to the skin and hair; from rashes, pimples, dull skin, tired eyes to dandruff, frizzy hair, itches and hair fall, the after-effects can be really saddening to the already saddened “Pujo Sesh” soul.

The after-effects of Durga Puja may remain in our heart for another week or two, but if we do not take care of our skin and hair now, the celebration of Kali Pujo and Diwali might get hampered. So, it is high time to ward off all the woes and gear up for the next best celebration.

Avoid Excessive use of makeup:-
Yes, avoid makeup products as much as you can for the next few days. I am a makeup lover myself and I know how hard it is to stay away from them. But those who try, never fails; so keep the pallets and foundation tubes and bottles away. You can use basic kohl and lipsticks though; they are our saviors, always.

No going to bed with your makeup on:-
This isn’t only for these few days, removing makeup should be your “duty” before hitting the sack throughout your lifetime. I have lost count how many times I have been saying this to my readers. Please, please remove your makeup before going to sleep. No matter if you are wearing a full face of makeup or just a stroke of kajal or just a swipe of lipstick; you SHOULD remove every traces of your makeup.  No cheating.

Follow CTM routine, religiously:-
This is one process that you should religiously follow throughout the year. Always be regular with the CTM regime. Especially at night…always, I repeat ALWAYS go to your bed with a clean face, no matter how much tired you are. Remove your makeup, clean your face properly, tone and slather a good amount of moisturizer/night cream before conking out.

Eat Right, Drink and Sleep well:-
We have devoured and indulged in all those spicy, junk food throughout those 5 days; so, it is better to stay away from the same these few days. Keep your system clean. Drink plenty of water and get as much as sleep as you can. More than half of your problems will be sorted.

Pamper your skin and hair with homemade masks:-
If you ask me, there is nothing as good as homemade masks for skin and hair. Bid goodbye to over-the-counter products and indulge in self pampering with masks that you can make in a wink from things available in your kitchen. Choose ingredients as per your skin type, like multani mitti for oily/combination skin and curd based packs for normal or dry skin. Rest of the ingredients you can mix and match to suit your mood and need. Buttermilk, avocado, honey, olive oil, besan, lemon juice, turmeric, tomato puree, you can add anything you like. For hair, you can go for heena mask, curd, lemon and honey, banana mask, avocado mask, etc. If you don’t have time in the morning, you can apply the face masks at night after coming back from office/college. That’s what I do.

Get rid of Tired Eyes:-
Late night pandal hopping and adda often causes dark circles and baggy eyes. Grate a potato and place over a cotton pad. Now place the cotton pad on your eyes. Make sure the grated potato faces towards your eyes. Keep it as longer as you can. This works wonder on my dark circles. Cucumber, tomato juice, tea bags work well on under eye puffiness and dark circles too.

Spa speaks:- Get a nourishing spa done from somewhere professional. You can do it at home as well.

Facial:-
If you want to go for a facial, go for a deep cleansing one. Getting one done from parlor though is relaxing, but can be a pricey endeavor; so you can always do one at home. Don’t use bleaching products.

Oil your hair:-
Apply coconut oil; you can leave it for 1 or 2 hours before shampooing or even over night. Your mane will remain under control and you can leave the house even without styling. Once a week opt for hot oil treatments using equal proportions of coconut oil, castor oil and olive oil.

So say goodbye to those tired skin, dark circles, frizzy hair and other immediate adverse signs that show upon your skin and start pampering yourself for the Diwali. We just need excuses :P