Five ways to get straight hair naturally

Are you tired of the waves in your hair? Do you wish to get that straight silky hair that you have just seen in your favourite shampoo ad? A few home therapies can definitely make your hair relatively straighter than before.

1. Hygiene You cannot be prone to dandruff if you keep your scalp immaculately

Are you tired of the waves in your hair? Do you wish to get that straight silky hair that you have just seen in your favourite shampoo ad? A few home therapies can definitely make your hair relatively straighter than before. These ways to straighten hair naturally will not just help to achieve desirable straight hair, but also protect hair from harsh chemicals as well. Just try and follow these easy homely tips to straighten your hair naturally! Coconut and Lemon

Add a few drops of lemon juice to freshly prepared coconut milk and mix well. Keep the glass of coconut milk and lemon juice into refrigerator for a few hours. A thick foamy layer will appear over the glass, which needs to be applied on the scalp and entire length of the hair right away. Steam your hair for 15-20 minutes after this and follow it up with a wash. Repeat this process regularly to get straighter hair.

Celery

Crush a few fresh celery leaves and mix them with a little water. Squeeze it to extract the juice and store it in bottle. The bottle has to be left unused for at least a day, so as to allow the juice to develop properties and effectiveness for straightening. Using them regularly, preferably in the morning, before bath will help in straightening hair. Massage it well on the scalp and leave it for 15-30 minutes, prior to washing it off with a shampoo. The Milky Way

Milk is known to have moisturizing properties, which are suitable in straightening the hair. Take half cup of milk, preferably boiled and cooled. Then mix it with half cup of water. Store it in a spray bottle and spray over the hair. Allow it to stand for half an hour, before shampooing the

hair. This mixture will help in straightening as well as adding substantial amount of moisture to add smoothness to the hair. Cast a Spell with Castor

Castor oil is known to have hair growth and hair straightening properties. Massage the oil on the scalp, along your hair strands and then comb your hair properly. As you comb, blow dry your hair, which has been separated into sections, on high heat. The hair should feel dry and not oily after being blow dried. When done, wrap it with a chilled towel and leave for half an hour. It will soothe the hair from excessive heat and will restore the straightness. Hair Dryer and Hair Brush

This combination is something that people have seen in salons and spas. This can be done at home too! Get a hair dryer and a good hair brush, which will stretch and hold your hair firmly in place. Comb your wet hair and while it is still wet, use hair brush to stretch a section of hair by rolling it in end and then blow dry it. Repeat the process for other sections of wet hair till dry.

Important Indian Jewellery of Different Cultures

Jewellery embraces an integral part of Indian married women's life. It is mostly used to signify a woman's wedded status. Take a tour across the various communities of India and the jewellery worn by married women in each part.
Yahoo Lifestyle Entertainment Tue 27 Nov, 2012 3:20 PM IST

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Indian women love their jewellery as it bears great significance in their lives. Especially, for a married woman, donning certain kinds of jewellery post marriage is mandatory to depict her marital status. While Mangalsutra is a symbol of marriage for women in most Indian communities, there are other types of jewellery too, which are worn across different states. Moreover, the Mangalsutra is called by varied names in different communities. Let us explore

some types of jewellery signifying marital status of a woman in India. Mangalsutra: The word Mangalsutra is derived from the two words "Mangal" meaning holy and "Sutra" meaning thread. It is a beaded necklace with base mostly of gold and at times silver too, and is put around the bride's neck by the groom. Maharashtrians wear Mangalsutra in the form of gold and black beads bestrewn with gold thread and two semi-circular spheres known as Vati. Thaalis: South Indian married women take pride in wearing Thaalis, a different version of the Mangalsutra formed by thick cord in gold and accompanied by a gold pendant with religious designs. The latter in Kerala take up the form of a peepal leaf and are called Minnu which is first tied on seven threads of the bride's wedding sari and later strewn in a gold chain. Vadungila: If you ever set your eyes on the hands of a bride from Karnataka, you will notice a V-shaped ring. This is Vadungila, a specially designed wedding ring worn by the brides of the Bunt community of Karnataka. Kasithaali and Dhaaremani: Kasithaali is worn by Konkani women. They wear a gold chain strewn with coral and gold beads accompanied by the idol of the female deity of prosperity and wealth, Goddess Lakshmi. Along with this, one can notice two other necklaces around the necks of the married women of this region namely; Dhaaremani in big golden beads also known as Muhurtmani and a Mangalasutra with discs as pendants. Taagpaag and Bichwa: Married women in Bihar wear a necklace similar to Mangalsutra also known as Taagpaag and bichwa or toe rings. Toe rings are integral to Indian customs, especially to married women as they are considered essential for the well-being of the reproductive system. Shakha Paula: In the Bengali community, brides don Shakha and Paula, the former being a white bangle made of conch shells and the latter a red coral one, one set of each worn in both hands. Chuda: Chuda comprises a combination of several cream and red hued bangles, which are worn by Sikh women in both hands after they get married. These are bestowed on the Sikh bride by her maternal uncle during marriage and are supposed to be worn at least for forty days to one year post marriage. The Chuda takes precedence as compulsory jewellery for married women in Rajasthan too. One can witness a detailed custom of Rajasthani women offering prayers on donning the Chuda for the well-being and long life of their husbands. Nose Stud: Wearing nose studs are typical of Gujarati women, who in addition to this wear the Mangalsutra along with a diamond pendant. Dehjorand Aath: For Kashmiri Brahmin women, Dejhor and Aath are of utmost importance. These are heavy earrings borne on the pierced cartilage of the ears, possessing a red thread at one end. It is a hexagonal shaped ornament which bears immense religious significance and is given to the Kashmiri bride by her parents during marriage. Later, when the bride goes to her husband's house, the red thread is taken out and is replaced by a chain called Aath that is bestowed on her

by her in-laws. The union of the Dejhor and the Aath signify the union of not only two souls, but of two families as well.

Eternal platinum made only for you - Part 2

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1. Yahoo Lifestyle Entertainment Mon 5 Nov, 2012 3:30 PM IST

Everlasting expression of love The most coveted metal for centuries on the wish list of discerning individuals, still amazes the world with its classic yet modern design outlook. The everlasting and enduring properties of platinum make it the perfect choice for jewellery. It won't change

colour, fade or tarnish with time and will stay with you forever.

Nail Polishes That Do More

3 polishes that keep your nails healthy, strong, and gross chemical-free 09/17/2012 | Nina Elias << Blog Home

Confession: working for a healthy living magazine can occasionally conjure up a slight case of hypochondria. After writing and reporting about the potentially-scary things your nails can tell you about your health, I started paying a lot more attention to whats going on beneath my nail polish. And recently, I found a way to feed my nails the nutrients they need while keeping cancer-causing chemicals far, far way, thanks to these three brands: Dr. REMEDYs ($17; remedynails.com) The brainchild of two New York-based podiatrists, these paraben-free and vegan nail polishes are the first ever to be approved by the American Podiatric Medical Association. What got them such esteemed marks? The nail polish itself is fortified with these natural superingredients: vitamins C & E for stronger, longer nails, tea tree oil and garlic bulb extract for their antiseptic and antifungal properties that kill germs and stave off nasty infections, and wheat protein to increase shine and moisture. Favorite Shades: HOPEFUL Hot Pink (shown), HEALING Heather Gray, and VIGOR Violet. Dermelect ME Anti-Aging Nail Lacquers ($14; dermelect.com) This 3-free polish uses a patented keratin protein (the same stuff your nails are made of) to bond with, strengthen, and nourish your nailsall the while sporting a quickdrying high gloss color that require a top coat after just two coats. Another reason to love them: Dermelect will donate 30% of the polish in Provocative

(shown, left) to CEW Cancer and Careers in October. Favorite Shades: Provocative (shown), Power Trip (a pinky red), and Persuasive (conservative peach). Duality Nail Pak ($15; dualitycosmetics.com) I love the rich colors, and I love that its free of Formaldehyde, DBP, Toulene, and animal testing. But what I love the most: The packaging includes the polish, a file, and polish remover pads in one perfect little twist-off bottle! Favorite Shades: Marina (shown), Michelle (metallic red), and Sandy (creamy nude)

Best Eyebrows for Your Face Shape

Give the frames to your eyesyour browsa little love today 02/14/2012 | Katie Becker << Blog Home

Thick, well-groomed brows can help you look healthier, put together, and emphasize a more youthful architecture to your face shape. They can also pull a number of different stunts as we age: thinning, graying, or growing unkempt. No wonder Benefit Cosmetics sent me an entire book about the topic called Raising Eyebrows: Your Personal Guide to Fabulous Brows by Cameron Tuttle (Chronicle, March 2012). While brows are a topic we've touched on before at Prevention in stories like 4 Eyebrow Mistakes That Age You (one of our most popular stories), I hadn't heard the rules about how to shape your brows to flatter your unique face shape. Here are the hows and whys... Tuttle's Rules for a Round Face Shape Do: enhance the natural angles in your brow and maximize the peak of your arch.

Don't: shape your brow into a rounded arch. (It will just echo the shape of your face and make it appear rounder.) Tuttle's Rules for a Square Face Shape Do: try an angular brow with a well-defined arch. (The arch will draw attention up and away from our jaw.) Don't: go with a soft, rounded shape. (It won't have the strength to balance your face.) Tuttle's Rules for an Oval Face Shape Do: go for a strong, defined brow to complement the shape of your face. Don't: try a flat, thin brow. (It will make your face appear longer.) Tuttle's Rules for a Heart Face Shape (this is my shapesee my headshot to the upper right) Do: shape your brow into a softer arch. (It will soften the point of your chin.) Don't: do with a straight, flat brow. (It will weigh your whole face down and more your forehead look even wider.)

6 Tips for Natural Eye Makeup

Enhance your natural eye shape without looking too "done" 04/02/2012 | stephanie.kuo << Blog Home

I'm always dumbfounded by women who're able to transform themselves into entirely new people with a little (or, more appropriately, a lot) of makeup. More specifically, over the years, Ive come across a large assortment of before-and-after pictures online of young Asian women whove managed to alter every aspect of their faces, from the shape of their eyes to the color of their complexion, just with makeupso much so, there's hardly an ounce of who they are naturally beneath the black liner and liquid foundation. And it seems they do it all in the name of being more beautiful. But who's to say what beauty is? Is not looking like yourself beautiful?

With those questions in mind, I decided to find a way for women with Asian eyes (or monolids, or whatever type of lids, really) to do their eye makeup without abandoning what makes them uniquely beautiful. After doing some research, I learned these tricksnone of which require fake lashes, gel liner, and skin glue: Tip 1: Dont default to black liner. Many women, regardless of their skin tone and hair color, believe a black eye is perfectly acceptablenot to mention sultry and "mysterious" even. I used to be guilty of this, though, as my friends even called me the raccoon in high school. But over the years, Ive come to realize that black liner can, in fact, be too harsh for most women. If not applied judiciously and strategically, it can make your eyes appear smaller, and you could end up looking ghoulish. Yikes. Tip 2: "Tightline" your top lash lines with brown. Tightlining is one of the easiest ways to make your eyes appear naturally bigger. For this, you'll have to draw beneath your lash line along that sensitive, fleshy part of your lid that youre probably terrified of touching. But with enough practice, it'll become second nature. And with tightlining, I've found that you only need to bother with your top lash line, since some of the residue from the liner will imprint on your lower lash line (from all that blinking we humans do), giving you a more natural look as opposed to what it would be if you were to draw it on yourself. And of course, staying true to my aversion to black liner, pick a brown hue instead. If you have a tanner complexion, try a chocolate color. If youre a bit fairer, try a taupe. Tip 3: Enhance your eyes with neutral shadows. Learn to love the colors already on your face and play them up with complementary shadows. You should definitely try the Naked and Naked2 palettes by Urban Decaytheir assortment of 12 neutral shades are great for making you look good without having to try too hard. A wash of one color does wonders, but you can use two to get that sultry eye other women attempt with layers of black liner. Here's how: Using a shadow brush, apply a dark bronze shadow to the outer corners of your eyes (just beneath the brow bones). Next, take a shimmery ivory or pearl and sweep it across your lids from the inner corners outward. This has a brightening effect that balances out the bronze. Combined, the two shades add dimension that makes your eyes pop, without looking too dramatic or too contrived. Tip 4: Skip the fake lashes and curl instead. If long lashes aren't part of your genetic code, chances are youll end up looking nothing like yourself if you try to fashion the look with falsiesand wheres the good in that? As someone who wasn't blessed with the longest, fullest fringe, I like to keep it simple. My trick? Use a curler and clamp it down tight right at the lash line to give your lashes an almost-perfect fan shape. If you want to add a bit more length, clamp the curler again at the tip of your lashes; thatll give them a bit more lift, making your eyes instantly bigger and brighterin a natural way. Tip 5: Use mascara sparingly. Mascara can be a must or a bust if not applied properly. For the best results that look natural and not clumpy, start with the wand at the lash line and wriggle it at the base first and then sweep it upward. Also, try applying mascara to your bottom lashes so as to open your eyes up even more, but do this with extreme caution. You don't want to end up looking like a 1960s go-go dancer. If your lashes arent black like mine, try a brown mascara.

This tip goes along with my eyeliner philosophy: Use colors that mimic the hues that appear naturally in your hair and skin. Tip 6: Experiment. Ive learned most of my makeup routine from trial and error, and I encourage you to do the same! Only you know whats best for you, so take the time to play around with different colors and techniques. Just remember, less is more. Are you frustrated that there still only seems to be one standard of beauty? What do you consider beautifuland do you think makeup is necessary to achieve it? Post to let me know.

Mascara Tips for Sensitive Eyes

A reader question about mascara that makes her eyes sting 07/24/2012 | Katie Becker << Blog Home

I'm very serious about mascara. I have nearly-invisible blonde eyelashes and without mascara, you can't see a hint of themmy eyes totally disappear. (See my favorite mascara here!) That's why I wanted to find a solution for a reader who wrote us recently with this concern: "Every mascara I try I get the same result: The minute the product touches my lashes, there's burning, tearing, and itching. Any suggestions?" To help her out, I sent the question to optometist Paul Karpecki, OD, FAAO and consulting optometrist for Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Inc., who said this: "If you're sensitive to mascara, it may be an allergic reaction to the mascara itself, or it may be due to where the mascara is placed. If youve been using oil-based mascaras, try switching to a water-based mascara and see if that helps."

Prevention suggests: Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Talc-Free Mineral Mascara ($8; drugstores) EcoBella FlowerColor Natural Mascara ($18; ecobella.com) "If using a water-based mascara does not help, the sensitivities may be due to where you put the mascara on the eyelash itself. If it is placed too close to the base of the eyelash, the mascara may cover important oil glands near the eye. Irritation and sensitivity around the eyes may occur when these glands are blocked. I would recommend that you only put mascara on the tips of the eyelashes, avoiding the base at all times. The eyelash base can attract parasites or debris and mascara is quite sticky, attracting whatever is in the air. If you avoid putting mascara near the base, you will have a better chance of avoiding irritation."

3 Manicure Myths: Busted!

Never fall victim to these common mani mistakes again 03/28/2012 | Nina Elias << Blog Home

What do you do after a really long day of, well, life? I'm sure the healthier lot of you de-stress on the elliptical (I could learn something from those of you that fall under this category), but I run to the car and drive full speed ahead to the nearest nail salon. I pulled up to She Salon and Day Spa in Emmaus, PA just as they were about to power down their driers for the night. Maybe it was my orange lipstickor the frantic look on my facebut they happily squeezed me and my ragged nails in after hours. Want to know the beauty of being the last appointment? Totally candid gossip without any other customers to interrupt. After the usual (men, hair color, and more men), I got to talk shop with some seriously educated beauty girls. My emergency mani turned into a lesson in manicure myths! Here's what I learned from Shelby, Wanda, Tara, and Karen: Myth: Organic nail polish totally exists Formaldehyde-free polish? Turn that bottle around. If formalin appears on the ingredients label, you're not out of the woods. Formalin is just a commercial-grade form of formaldehyde! And

just because it says organic, doesn't mean it actually isthe word "organic" isn't officially regulated on cosmetic packaging. For the cleanest polish, go with the water-based ones from Scotch, the closest you'll get to a totally natural polish. Myth: You should regularly snip away your cuticles This one is so wrong. Your cuticle is essentially scar tissue, and the last line of defense for bacteria entering through the nail bed. So when you snip it away, not only do you leave yourself susceptible to infections, fungus, and seriously painful hangnails, but you also make it come back heavier and heavier each time. So put down the snipper, and soak your digits in some warm water. Rub some Deborah Lippmann Cuticle Oil ($20, deborahlippmann.com) on your cuticles and sit tight until they're soft, and gently push them back with a cuticle pusher. Bonus tip: cuticle oil does wonders for dry heels and elbows, too. Myth: Go back-and-forth with a file for the perfect natural nail shape The only thing worth sawing to and 'fro is firewood. This kind of motion causes even the strongest nails to strip away, leaving you vulnerable to breaks, peels, and unsightly edges. If you must file, go with a gentle one 180 grit or less. But if your nails are on the softer side (like mine!), use the end of a soft buffer to gently shape your nails into a cute little curve.

3 Ways to Improve Your Skin Tone

Want a more even complexion? Follow these skin care rules to keep your skin bright and blotchfree. Thu, 2011-06-16 | By By Jennifer Goldstein

Prevent redness, brown spots, and hyperpigmentation issues that add unwanted years with these easy, basic guidelines. 1. Be gentle on your skin. Avoid harsh scrubs and rigorous towel drying, which can cause irritation that makes skin look older. And anytime you have an ingrown hair, clogged pore, or even a scratch from the catdont touch it. Many women pick at their skin, not realizing it can

cause post-inflammatory pigmentation and scarring, explains Heidi Waldorf, MD, an associate clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. 2. Stay away from smoke. Chemicals from cigarettes get into your bloodstream and find their way to your skin, making it sallow and spotty, explains Alistair Carruthers, MD, a dermatologist in Vancouver. Even if you dont smoke, sitting in a smoky room or restaurant exposes your skin to the same chemicals that cause discoloration. 3. Say yes to daily SPF. Youve heard it a million times, but have you gotten the message? My patients say they dont use sunscreen because they dont sunbathe, so I show them the freckles and little broken capillaries on their skin. I explain that they can get sun damage from simply walking to the car each day without sunscreen, says Dr. Carruthers