Moisturizers
Creams
Skin Lightening/ Whitening
1. Milk and lemon skin lightening mask: Mix together 1 teaspoon each of milk powder, lemon juice and almond oil in a bowl. Make sure that no lumps are formed. Apply this concoction on your skin; massage for few minutes and then leave it on for 15 minutes. Rinse thoroughly with normal water. Apply this mask religiously for 3 times a week to get refreshing, glowing skin.
2. Skin Lightening Face Pack: Take 1 tbsp rice flour, 1 tbsp kasturi manjal (Ambi haldi) powder, 1 tbsp green tea, 1 tbsp milk with cream and 1 tbsp honey. Pour all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well until you get a smooth paste. Apply a layer on your face and allow it to dry fully before washing off thoroughly with lukewarm water. Splash some cold water on your face in the end. Pat your skin dry and moisturise as usual. Use this pack thrice a week to see noticeable difference in your skin.
Homemade Ubtan Face Packs:
1. Homemade Besan and Milk Ubtan For Summers: Take a clean and dry airtight container. Take 8 tablespoons of besan (chick pea flour). Take 3 big lemons and squeeze out the juice into the besan. Take one cup of milk and pour it into the besan to make a nice paste. Add in a pinch of turmeric powder. Ubtan is ready. Use it on your face and body an hour before taking bath and wash off.
2. Homemade Ubtan For Babies: Mix 1/2 kg masoor dal (split red lentil) with 250 gm of Kapur-Kachri Powder (available at stores selling dried herbs), 250 gm Ambi Haldi powder (Kasturi manjal or curcuma aromatica), and 100 gm of sandalwood powder. Store the mixture of all these powders in a dry, airtight container. Take 2 tablespoons of this powder in a bowl and add in a tablespoon of pure almond oil and 1 tablespoon of milk cream (malai) to make a paste. The consistency of the paste should not be very runny. Use this on babies who are one month or older. Apply half an hour to an hour before taking bath and wash off.
Homemade Treatments To Whiten Dark Underarms:
1. Use a combination of lime and cucumber juice with a pinch of turmeric.
2. Use besan (chick pea flour) with yogurt or sandalwood paste with rose water.
Homemade Products for Lips
Homemade Lip Glosses
1. How To Make Lip Gloss Using Lipstick: Take an empty pot. Cut down the lipsticks you don’t use anymore. Add 3 to 4 drops of olive oil, almond oil. Mix all the ingredients with a spatula. Store in refrigerator.
Homemade Lip Scrubs
1. How To Make Mint Lip Scrub At Home: Take an empty pot. Take some brown sugar. Add some almond powder. Add peppermint oil and olive oil. Mix a teaspoon of honey into this. Mix and store in the refrigerator (can be stored for around 4 weeks) and use as and when required for exfoliating lips to get smooth and soft lips.
2. How To Make Vanilla and Chocolate Sugar Lip Scrub: In a clean, empty bowl, take sugar and cocoa powder in appropriate quantities and mix them. Add a few drops of vanilla essence to the mixture. Add in a teaspoonful of honey for its therapeutic property. You can add jojoba oil or almond oil to this mixture. Store in an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator (can be stored for 4 weeks) and use as and when required for exfoliating lips to get smooth and soft lips.
3. Lip Scrub For Soft Lips: In one small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon of sugar with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Stir the mixture and start applying the mixture with your fingers to your lips and scrub until some of the sugar granules get dissolved. After 5 minutes of scrubbing, rinse off the mixture with water and pat dry with towel. Apply raw milk over lips and use a baby toothbrush to gently exfoliate the lips for 2 minutes. Rinse off with water and get soft and smooth lips. Do this once in a week.
Homemade Lip Balms:
1. Homemade Cocoa Almond Lip Butter/ Balm: Melt petroleum jelly and clarified butter (ghee) in a pan/ microwave. After that, mix in cocoa powder, almond meal/ powder, sugar and honey. Keep in the freezer for 10 minutes so that it sets. Cocoa Lip butter/ balm is ready.
2. How To Make Tinted Lip Balm: Scoop out a teaspoon of lip balm in a bowl. Mix a pinch of permitted food colour into the lip balm. You can also add olive oil, shea butter, or cocoa butter. Pour into an empty pot. Let the mixture stand in the refrigerator for 2 hours. The tinted lip balm is ready for use.
3. How To Make Tinted Organic Lip Balm: Melt a teaspoon of shea butter in a bowl. Melt a teaspoon of cocoa butter and mix the two. Add a teaspoon of cocoa butter (optional). Stir the mixture, add 2 to 3 drops of vanilla essence. Pour the mixture into an empty lip balm pot. Keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours and thereafter its ready to use.
Home Remedies To Make Lips Pink Naturally
1. Apply beetroot juice on your lips at night before sleeping, and you will notice a reddish pink stain next day. This should last you a good few days.
2. Crush rose petals, mix with fresh cream and use. This makes your lips naturally soft and pink. Alternatively, you may want to dip a cotton ball in rosewater and smooth it over your lips.
3. Use a menthol-based lip balm on your lips and leave it on for 5 minutes. With a wet soft-bristled toothbrush exfoliate your lips. Don’t graze the skin too much, as lips are very tender.
4. Break a vitamin E capsule and apply on your lips before sleeping. You can mix vitamin E oil in some Vaseline to make your own lip balm.
5. If you have pale colourless lips, ask your doctor about iron supplements. Being even slightly anaemic may cause colour to drain from your lips. Taking iron supplements will add a natural flush to your face and lips will appear more rosy.
6. Apply fresh mint leaf juice or coriander leaf juice daily on your lips to make them rosy and smooth.
7. Mix together some lemon juice and glycerine and smear on your lips before sleeping at night. Leaving it on overnight helps to activate lemon’s lightening properties and the glycerin acts as an excellent moisturizer. This is especially useful for those who wish to remove tan from their lips.
8. Grate raw coconut and press out some milk. Apply on lips.
9. Eat plenty of raw cucumber and carrots to smoothen out uneven lip colouration.
10. Mix a pinch of turmeric into 1 tsp of cold milk cream. Massage lips with this paste daily for 5 mins. This results in supple pink lips.
11. Mix lemon juice with a little honey and apply at night before sleeping. Lemon takes off the tan and honey moisturizes and nourishes the lips, restoring natural pinkness.
12. Mix 1 tsp almond oil with lemon juice and rub on on lips every day. Leave on till dry and wash off with cold water.
13. Sprinkle powdered sugar on a lemon wedge and rub over lips gently. This is a good way to naturally exfoliate and bleach lips, making them look smoother and redder.
14. Apply a little clarified butter (desi ghee) on lips to naturally redden their color and provide moisture.
15. Soak four almonds in 1/2 cup milk overnight and grind to a fine smooth paste next morning. Apply the paste on your lips daily to help them regain their natural pink color in a few months.
16. Mix gram flour, 1 tsp honey, 1 tsp yoghurt and a few drops of lemon juice and apply regularly on the lips to make them more pink.
Homemade Haircare Products
Homemade Hair Packs
1. Revitalising Hair Mask For Dry/Dull Hair
Mix 1 egg yolk, 1 tbsp beer, 1 tbsp castor oil, 1 tbsp honey and cover hair from root to tips. Put on a plastic shower cap and wrap your head with a towel. Wash off after half an hour and do a final rinse with apple cider vinegar. Using this mask thrice a week gives excellent results.
2. Strengthening Banana Mask.
Peel two ripe bananas and puree them in the mixer. Add 3 tbsp mayonnaise, 3 drops of lavendar essential oil and 1 tbsp olive oil. Mix well. Apply and leave on hair for 30 mins. Wash hair with lukewarm water. This mask may be refrigerated for future use.
3. Potato Hair Pack for Hair Loss.
Peel one large potato and grate it. Squeeze juice from the grated potato into a bowl. Mix 2 tbsp aloe vera gel and 2 tbsp honey to this. Mix well this all the honey dissolves into the solution. Massage onto hair roots for a few minutes. Cover head with a shower cap and towel. Leave on for 2 hours and then wash off with warm water. Use the mask twice weekly.
4. Milk and Honey Hydrating Mask.
Mix 1 tsp honey into a glass of raw whole milk then massage it into the hair from root to tip. Shampoo hair with lukewarm water after 25 minutes.
5. Coconut Cream Mask For Dry Hair
Scrape out all the coconut cream at the bottom of a tender green coconut. Put it in a dish and microwave for 7-8 seconds to just warm it slightly. Slowly massage it into your hair from root to tip. Wrap your hair in a warm towel and sit put for an hour. Wash with a mild shampoo and air-dry hair naturally.
6. Banana-Almond Nutrient Hair Pack.
Mash 1 ripe banana and add to it 8 drops of pure almond oil (badam roghan). Mix very well and massage into your hair. Leave on for 25 minutes, and rinse off with apple cider vinegar or flat beer.
7. Strawberry Antioxidant Pack For Hair Growth.
Sometimes strawberries can become overripe and unsuitable for eating or blending into milkshake. This is when you can use them in this marvelous hair pack. Take 1 cup of strawberries pureed in the mixer, and add 1 egg yolk, and 2 tbsp olive oil. Mix well till the concoction is uniform in texture. Work into the hair and cover with a plastic cap. Leave on for 20 mins. Wash off with a mild shampoo.
8. Black Tea and Rum Hair Pack.
Four tbsp strongly brewed black tea is to be mixed with 1 tbsp rum. Apply to hair roots and work outwards. Leave on for 1 hour before washing.
9. Mayo-Avocado Moisturizing Pack For Damaged Hair
Mix mashed avocado pulp to full fat mayonnaise in the ratio 1:2 and apply through your hair, with special attention to the roots and ends. Wash off with cold water after 30 minutes.
10. Fenugreek Hair Mask For Dandruff/Hair Fall.
Soak fenugreek (methi) seeds in water overnight. Grind into a paste the next day and massage into scalp and hair. Leave on for 20 minutes before washing off.
11. Gram Flour Protein Hair Pack.
Soak 3 tbsp black gram (black urad) overnight and grind to paste next day. Alternatively, use black gram flour. Mix to it one beaten egg, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 cup full fat yoghurt. Apply to hair and leave on for half an hour before washing off.
12. Hair Growth Stimulation Mask.
Grind black pepper and lemon seeds in equal amounts. Keep aside. Boil 3 tbsp dried rosemary in 2 cups water till the water reduces to less than half. Cool and strain. Dissolve the ground pepper + lemon seeds powder in this solution to make a fine paste. Add a cup of curd to it and mix well. Apply on your hair and scalp. Wash after 15 minutes with cold water or sooner if the pepper starts to sting.
13. Volume Hair Mask For Oily/Limp Hair.
Mix juice of 1 fresh orange, 1 tbsp honey and a 5-7 of sandalwood oil. Dilute in a cup of water. Use as an after-shampoo rinse. After 10 minutes, run plain cold water through the hair briefly.
14. Egg-Milk Lustre Mask for Dull Hair.
Beat two eggs in 3 tbsp raw full cream milk and apply on hair. Rinse off with white vinegar solution after 5-7 minutes for shiny hair.
15. Repairing Mask For Frizz and Split Ends.
Beat 1 egg yolk with 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp coconut oil and 1 tbsp pure vitamin E oil. Add 5 drops of rosemary essential oil and 1 tsp honey. Massage on hair thoroughly, paying careful attention to the ends. Wrap head with shower cap for half an hour. Wash off. Though hair that is already split at the ends needs to be trimmed off, this pack helps prevent further splitting of hair.
16. Strengthening Hair Pack For Split Ends.
Remove the skin and seeds of a ripe papaya and blend it in the mixer. Add 1 cup of yogurt to it and mix really well. Apply thoroughly thoroughly through scalp and hair. Wash after 30 mins.
17. Fresh Growth Hair Pack.
Soak 2 tbsp black chana dal and 2 tbsp fenugreek (methi seeds) overnight. Grind to a paste with 1 tsp honey, 2 tbsp castor oil, 1 tbsp jojoba oil, 2-3 drops of lemon oil. Apply through hair from root to tip, but pay special attention to roots.
18. Pack For Weakened Roots and Porous Hair.
Soak the petals of two hibiscus flowers and 6-7 petals of the same plant overnight in a cup of water. Puree to a paste with ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil and 2 tbsp raw milk. Apply to roots and along hair shaft and leave on for 20 minutes before rinsing with cold water.
19. Curry Leaves Pack For Greying/Falling Hair.
Soak 20 curry leaves overnight in a cup of water. Soak a stick of ratanjyot (or several flakes of the same) in ¼ cup pure coconut oil overnight. Next morning, discard the stick from the oil, which should have turned a deep red colour. Drain out the water from soaked curry leaves and grind it with this red coconut oil in a mixer to get a paste. Apply this paste to scalp and hair. Leave on for half an hour to one hour before washing off thoroughly. You may choose to rinse with lemon juice diluted in water or you can shampoo with a mild herbal shampoo.
20. Henna Conditioning Hair Pack.
Soak pure herbal henna powder overnight in an iron container using freshly brewed and strained black tea instead of plain water. Add to this a tablespoon of olive/coconut/jojoba oil and the juice of half a lemon. Next morning, you have an option to mix in either ½ cup of fresh yoghurt or 1 beaten egg to it just before applying. You may apply this mixture covering all your hair and leave it on for a time duration between ½ hour to 6-7 hours, depending on your purpose. The longer you leave it on, the deeper will be the mehendi’s colouring effect. However, if you just need to condition your hair, half an hour is fine. Weekly conditioning with this pack works wonders on hair texture, growth, volume and shine.
21. Hibiscus Hair Mask for Hairfall: Take some red hibiscus flowers and keep them out in the sun for 2 days. Once the flower dries put them in the mixer and grind them to make a fine powder. You can store this powder in an airtight container for further use. Now take 3 tablespoon of yogurt in a clean bowl and add 1 tablespoon of hibiscus powder and 3-4 drops of rosemary essential oil in it. Mix everything well and keep it aside for a minute till the hibiscus powder releases its colour and makes the mixture slight pink. Once you see a pinkish tint in the mixture you can apply it on your scalp. Leave it on for about an hour and then shampoo and condition your hair as usual. Use this pack twice a week to notice shine and fullness in your hair.
22. Protein Mask for Hair: Egg whites pack a protein-rich punch for your hair. Use egg whites only to treat oily hair; use egg yolks only to moisturize dry, brittle hair. Take 1/2 cup of whichever egg mixture is appropriate for you and apply to clean, damp hair. If there isn’t enough egg to coat scalp and hair, use more as needed. Leave on for 20 minutes, rinse with cool water. Use a mild shampoo. Egg whites are full of bacteria-eating enzymes that get are helpful in getting rid of unnecessary oils.
23. Banana Mask for Dry Hair: Take 1 medium banana, 1 egg, 1/2 avocado, 2 tbsp honey, 3 tbsp buttermilk and 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Put all the ingredients in a blender to get a smooth consistency. Apply this mask from roots to tips and leave it on for about half an hour and then wash out with a moisturizing shampoo. Slather your hair in this rich mask to bring back its lost lustre.
