Looking delicious

Chocolate

Delicious chocolate has incredible skin softening properties. It can also help alleviate wrinkles, probably because it contains cocoa butter. It has powerful anti-oxidant properties and dark chocolate is considered a health food. Chocolate is a good moisturiser that’ll help rejuvenate your skin.

Chocolate makes for a powerful face mask as it has fibre, essential fatty acids, proteins, moisturising lipids and minerals for healthy cell growth and renewal. Best of all, it has a heady scent that can cure depression and lift the spirits.

Hot cocoa facial Mix together 1 tbsp cocoa powder and 1 tbsp hot (whole) milk. Apply it to your face in an even coat. Wait till it dries. Wipe it off with a damp towel.

Face mask for oily skin Mix together 1/3 cup cocoa powder, 1 tsp thick cream, 1 cup ripe papaya, 1/4 tsp honey and 3 tsp oatmeal powder. Apply to your face. After 10 minutes, wash your face with warm water.

Face cream Mix together 1/3 cup cocoa, 3 tsp oatmeal powder, 1/4 cup honey and 3 tbsp thick cream until you get a mask which has a creamy consistency. Gently apply and massage the cream so that the oatmeal is able to exfoliate the layer of dead skin on your face. Relax for 15 minutes. Rinse the cream off with lukewarm water.

Aloe Vera

Known to be a versatile medicinal plant, aloe vera has multifarious uses in skin care issues. While it can be had as a smoothie (on the advice of a nutritionist), it also acts as a good skin moisturiser and helps treat insect bites, acne, sunburn, rashes, dandruff and hair fall. It is excellent for oily and problem skin. Regular application of its juice and pulp can help remove the excess sebum on the face. Regular use of aloe vera will make skin smooth and soft. It can also hydrate the skin.

Hair loss Use aloe vera gel to treat the areas of the scalp where hair fall is in excess. The plant contains an enzyme that helps promote new hair growth. The gel can be applied directly to the scalp.

Astringent Mix together 2 tsp aloe vera juice and 1 tsp lemon juice. Apply it to open pores. It helps close them, giving you smoother skin.

Wrinkles Blend together 1 tsp aloe vera juice, 1 tsp lime juice, 2 tbsp buttermilk and the pulp of 1/4 of a pear to make a smooth paste. Using a cotton ball, dab the mixture around the eyes and wherever wrinkles have developed. Let it dry for about 10 minutes then rinse with warm water.

Sunburn and tan This plant is known to be the most natural cure for sunburn. Take a few leaves of the plant, mash or purée them. Add the juice of one lemon. Apply this jelly-like solution to the affected area. This will cleanse, clear and nourish the skin.

Potato

Potatoes contain a number of important vitamins like Vitamins C and B-complex and minerals like potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc. It heals burns, scalds and cuts and lightens the complexion. It also is great to get rid of scars and marks. They also remarkably tighten the skin and lighten sun tan. Mashed potatoes or even the water used to wash cut potatoes, can be used as a face wash.

It helps to soften and cleanse the skin, especially that of the elbows and hands. The juice of raw potatoes also helps clear skin blemishes. Pulp obtained from mashed/grated raw potatoes, mixed with honey, can serve as excellent skin and face packs. It can also help lighten spots on the skin.

Minor burns: Slice a raw potato and place the raw slices over the burn and bandage lightly. Keep the bandage on for about 20-30 minutes. This immediately cools the area down and helps in removal of scars.

Potato pack: Mix together one potato (grated) with 1/4 tsp honey and 1/2 tsp Fuller’s Earth. Apply on the face and neck area. Leave it on for 15 minutes and then wash it off with warm water.

Remedy for acne: Slice a raw potato and then rub it into your acne affected area. The vitamins present in the raw potato take away all the redness and give you a better skin.
For dry hands: Mix together 2 potatoes that are peeled, grated and juiced and 1/2 tsp honey. Apply all over the hands, especially over the knuckles and finger joints. It lightens dark areas, making your skin smooth.

Potato as a toner: Blend together 1 peeled potato with 3 tbsp rose water to make a smooth paste. Fill it in an ice-tray and freeze it. Use as a toner on dry and/or sunburnt skin.

Reducing puffy eyes: Grind together 1 raw potato, 1 cucumber and a small bunch of wheatgrass. Pour it over a cotton gauze and use it like a compress. Place this gauze over the eyes and relax. It should ideally be done on waking up as it helps reduce eye bags.

(Chandrika Khanchandani can be reached on radiantdubai@hotmail.com)

Blueberries

Blueberries are natural and rich sources of anti-oxidants including flavonoids, anthocyanin, beta-carotene and elegiac acid. They are very effective in neutralising the damage done by free radicals. Little wonder they are so good for the skin. They help the body manufacture collagen, which makes the skin supple and smooth. Blueberries are also known to be an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin E, riboflavin, and soluble and insoluble fibres.

Blueberries also act as a great astringent for oily skin and help tone and lighten the skin, delay and prevent wrinkles and also treat sunburn.

Blueberry juice can be used as an astringent. It can also help tighten pores and is high in phyto-nutrients.

Dry skin Mix together the pulp of 4 blueberries, 2 tsp almond powder and 1 tsp honey. Apply it all over the face. Leave it on for 10 minutes. Rinse with cold water.

Oily skin Mix together the pulp of 3-4 blueberries, 1 tsp oatmeal powder and 1 tsp cucumber juice. Apply it to the face. Leave it on for 10 minutes. Rinse with cold water.

Sunburn Grind together 4 blueberries, 2 tsp yoghurt and 2 tsp oatmeal powder. Apply the paste all over the face and neck. Wash off with buttermilk and then water after
10 minutes.

Rejuvenating toner Combine together 1 tsp honey, 2 tsp pureed berries and 1 tsp oatmeal. Splash water over your face and then apply this paste all over the forehead, face and neck. Let it remain for five minutes. Now scrub your face with your fingers in a circular motion for a minute. Rinse. The fruit acids in the berries shrink your pores, brighten your face and tone your skin.

Freckles Rub freshly crushed blueberries onto your face. Leave the juices on your face to dry then rinse with cold water. Regular use will lighten freckles.

(Chandrika Khanchandani is owner of Radiant Beauty Salon, Bur Dubai. She
can be reached by email at radiantdubai@hotmail.com)