Five bad skin habits to avoid!

 
Zee Media Bureau/Salome Phelamei
You cleanse, moisturise and you do everything you can to keep the skin, especially on your face looking supple, soft and young. But it doesn't help and you wonder why your skin still looks patchy, dull and dry besides doing so much.
May be it's because you do not follow the correct skincare techniques. Below are some bad skincare habits that you need to avoid:
Over exfoliating: Regular exfoliation can help you avoid blemishes. But overdoing it can actually exacerbate oil production and worsen breakouts by spreading bacteria.
Not using sunscreen: To keep your skin from getting wrinkled and saggy, use a sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher. Apply all over your face and other parts of the body exposed to the sun. Not just in summer, but we should know that sunscreen should be worn every day and everywhere.
Using the wrong products: Using products that is wrong for your skin type is an enormously common mistake. So go for a product that will suit your skin type.
Sharing makeup: It is highly advisable not to share makeup with other people. Sharing makeup is really harmful as it is essentially swapping germs. Also, people have become infected with diseases like pink eye from sharing makeup.
Picking at your skin: Avoid picking at blemishes, pimples, moles and other spots as doing so can cause bleeding, creating an open wound that's susceptible to bacteria, and leave you with scars.

Skin care: 5 easy ways to keep pimples at bay

Zee Media Bureau/Shruti Saxena
New Delhi: Acne is amongst the most common skin problems that people of all age groups, especially teenagers face. There can be many reasons that attribute to the cause of acne like stress, puberty, hormonal changes, menopause etc.
Here are a few acne defense tips:
-Wash your face properly. It is recommended to clean your face twice a day and not more than that as it can leave your skin more oily.
-Always remember to wear sunblock as the sun has UVA and UVB rays which initially may worsen those pimples.
-Don't use make-up all the time or if required switch to water based make-up.
-Caffeinated drinks like coffee and tea are a strict no-no as they harm the skin a lot and further aggravate acne problem.
-Avoid using soaps as they damage skin by making it drier, rougher and more permeable to bacteria.

Your route to Beauty

Hectic life, unending tasks - make it difficult to concentrate on our own selves. Consequently, we all need few quick remedies to revive our skin and body without putting much effort or time. Gunjan Gaur, Permanent Makeup Expert, comes to rescue and reveals few such tips:
Scrub it off: To invent a home-made exfoliating scrub you may combine equal proportions of gram flour, orange peel powder, Calamine Powder and poppy seeds and store the mixture after adding few pinches of turmeric in an airtight jar. Use this preparation weekly as body and face scrub with curd or papaya pulp as base – it will infuse a fresh feel along with a new glow onto your skin.
Bleach Preach: You may also catch hold of an all-natural bleach. For this you just ought to add few drops of lemon and rose water to an ounce of milk powder – and, your homemade bleach for a fairer skin is ready to use.
Get Glowing: For infusing an instant glow on your face prepare a paste of Semolina (Suji), raw milk and honey; add a teaspoon of bran and a banana into it. Apply this paste until it dries and rub-off with soft hands. This will leave your skin looking softer and younger
Lips do Light!: To lighten dark lips one can opt for this ultimate remedy. Create a paste of rose petals, malai and honey; apply this ‘lip-pack’ two times in a day for few weeks to feel the difference.
‘Fair-o-fy’: If you are a victim of dark elbows you may try rubbing them with used lemon pieces – after adding half teaspoons of salt and sugar both. Wash off and be ready to flaunt those clean and fairer looking elbows.
(The author is the Executive Director of Alps Beauty Clinic)

Govt to set health rider for 49% FDI in insurance

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government is set to raise the foreign direct investment (FDI) threshold in insurance to 49 per cent with two riders. All companies will have to provide health insurance, and voting rights of foreigners will be limited to 26 per cent, the current investment cap.

The government is working on a three-pronged strategy to make health care affordable. First, ensuring availability of products by making it mandatory for all companies to provide standalone health insurance. Second, it will encourage people to go for health insurance by offering tax sops in the Budget.

Taiwan to assist India in accessing global business chains

With the new BJP-led dispensation in New Delhi looking to revive growth sentiment and boost investor confidence, partnering with countries that can help jump-start the reform process has become a priority. Taiwan with its dynamic manufacturing sector is one such country.

In a candid conversation with Reema Sharma of Zee Media Corp, Representative of Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India, Ambassador Chung Kwang Tien, shares his views on India’s growth potential and its bilateral relationship with Taiwan

5 natural herbs to improve hair growth

New Delhi: Do you often face one of those mornings where your bath drain is blocked because of all the hair you’re shedding? It is true that losing hair is really heart breaking and the sight of seeing yourself going bald during your heydays is really a nightmare.
Hair fall is a common problem that people face these days. Now, hair loss can be due to various reasons as in this hectic life we hardly get any time to maintain a beauty regime.
Here are a few herbs that help in promoting hair growth naturally:

Aloe Vera gel: Aloe vera contains antibacterial and antifungal properties which help a lot in keeping a check on dandruff. Take some aloe vera gel and apply it on your scalp for around 30 minutes and later wash it off. It helps in blood circulation and also fights against alopecia.

Does skipping breakfast impact weight loss?

Breakfast is often regarded as the most important meal of the day. It is the food that kickstarts the body after a long period of inactivity and prepares you for the rest of the day to come. It is commonly recommended that we eat breakfast as part of a healthy lifestyle, but a new study led by the University of Alabama at Birmingham aims to challenge this assertion.
It has been regularly argued that skipping breakfast leaves an individual more open to the risk of snacking unhealthily and eating too heavily at future meals. In an article on dieting myths, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) stated: