Washing your skin with water is something that you probably do daily, but you may not know at what temperature the water should be. Using water at the correct temperature is advantageous for the skin. Water at extreme temperatures is harmful for the skin as your skin is not designed that way.

The temperature of the water should also depend on the purpose for which it is being used. Here are some tips on how to set the temperature of the water depending on the purpose: 

1. Showering: while showering, if you are using hot water, then it may strip your skin of its essential oils and make it vulnerable to dryness. This may cause various skin complications, such as cracked and rough skin. Hence, use lukewarm water while you shower.

2. Washing your hair: using hot water to wash your hair may lead to hair damage as it rids your hair of all the essential oils and makes it limp and dull. Lukewarm to normal water is recommended while washing your hair as it will allow the hair to retain its natural oils.

3. Brushing: the right temperature of water while brushing your teeth should optimally be lukewarm. Too cold or hot water can lead to teeth sensitivity and cause oral problems.

4. Washing your face: before you apply a cleansing agent on your face, use warm water to wet the face as it helps to open up your pores. After the cleansing agent is applied, then use cold water to wash your face. Cold water helps in closing the pores after the impurities are removed from the skin.

5. Shaving: if you are going to shave, then opt for warm water as it opens the pores up and thus makes it easier for the blade to glide through the skin. This also reduces the risk of razor burns on your skin.

6. Washing your feet: wash your feet with lukewarm water as it facilitates dead cell removal and also helps in getting rid of warts.

Hot vs Cold: Which Water Temperature is Best for Your Skin

A little bit of sun is always good for you and you do need sunlight for your body to process vitamin D, which is necessary for bone health. At the same time, the ultraviolet rays from the sun can be detrimental for your health. While being in the sun is not a bad thing, how long you stay in the sun and how well you are protecting yourself count. Prolonged and unprotected sun exposure harms your skin and can decrease the immunity function of the skin.

Some effects of sun exposure include:

Development of cancerous and non-cancerous skin lesions
Benign tumours
Coarse and fine wrinkles
Freckles
Mottled pigmentation (Skin discoloration in certain areas)
Sallowness (The colour of the skin turns yellow)
Telangiectasia (Expansion of blood vessels under your skin)
Elastosis (Destruction of the collagen and elastic tissue)

The most harmful effect of sun exposure is definitely skin cancer. It is the uncontrolled development of anomalous skin cells is skin cancer. This accelerated development leads to formation of tumours, which are either malignant (cancerous) or benign (noncancerous). Skin cancer is mainly of 3 types: basal cell carcinoma, melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Among these, squamous cell and basal cell carcinoma are less critical; while melanoma is very serious. When melanoma is left untreated, it can affect the other organs and get difficult to treat. UV rays are the major causes of skin cancer. Sun exposure over the years leads to squamous cell and basal cell carcinoma, while severe sun damage episodes before the age of 18 cause melanoma.

Here are some tips to prevent sun damage:

Always apply sunscreen 20 minutes before you go out, even if it is cloudy. A sunscreen with SPF of 30 or more, and zinc oxide is advisable if you want optimum sun protection. Also, you should reapply sunscreen every 2 hours, especially if you are swimming or sweating.
Select cosmetic products, contact lenses and clothing that offer protection from UV rays.
Choose sunglasses that offer total protection from UV rays. Also, wear a hat with a wide brim to shade your neck and face.
Avoid direct exposure during harsh hours like between 10.00 and 3.00PM.

Prolonged Sun Exposure - How It Can Damage Your Skin?

Get rid of suntan: 6 effective home remedies

Sun tan is a common issue this time of the year. A severe sun tan not only robs the skin of its natural glow, but also makes it itchy, lifeless and unhealthy. Here are six simple remedies you can easily follow to remove your tan and get your glowing skin back:

1. Turmeric face pack
Turmeric is commonly known as the best home medication and it indeed has several beneficial effects. Mix a spoonful of turmeric in a bowl of milk and apply the mixture to your face. Keep for 15 minutes and remove.

2. Lemon juice
Cut a lemon and rub the sliced portion on the tanned areas of the body. Wash off after keeping for 5-10 minutes and follow this procedure on a daily basis.

3. Honey and papaya face pack
Honey helps keep the skin soft and supple whereas papaya contains enzymes that enable whitening of skin and effective exfoliation. Blend the mixture of papaya and honey and apply on your face for at least half an hour to experience effective tan removal.

4. Sandalwood paste
Sandalwood has the capability to soothe the skin and rejuvenate it to return its natural glow. Sandalwood paste should be applied right before bedtime on a daily basis to help reduce the effect of sun tan.

5. Yogurt
Yogurt is the best natural anti-tanning agent. Applying it on the tanned areas of your skin not only cools it off but also helps retain the natural complexion of the skin.

6. Aloe vera gel
Whether you extract it directly from the plant or use a product containing aloe vera, it greatly helps in moisturizing the skin and keeping it hydrated. Regular use of aloe vera gel can remove your tan in a short span of time.

If you have any further questions, ask me by clicking on'consult.

From lybrate: if you found this tip useful, please thank the doctor by clicking on the heart icon below. Also, spread good health by sharing this tip with your loved ones over whatsapp, facebook and other media


Get Rid Of SunTan : 6 Effective Home Remedies

Top 10 Everyday Skin Care Hacks

You skin needs just a little care daily. There are some very simple ways in which we can provide that much needed affection and get back radiance and softness. And all this without any extra effort!

Try these everyday regimes for the glow.

1. Adopt Hydration - The first thing your skin needs to stay beautiful is adequate 'hydration,' or what they call in plain terms as plenty of water. So bottoms up to at least two liters of water daily.

2. Avoid Dehydration  - While you are busy hydrating your skin, remember to be careful and not dehydrate by staying out under the harsh sun for longer than 10-15 mins at a stretch. Ditch the caffeine habit (Soda, coffee, tea) as it dehydrates your body on the cellular level, inviting the onset of those dreaded wrinkles early than anticipated. 

3. Apply Lesser Layers - Your skin is your body's largest organ and it needs to breathe. So try and not swathe it under layers of heavy makeup and pore clogging chemical body butters on a regular basis.

4. Give It Fresh Air - To get your skin breathing truly fresh, put on your exercise gear and head outdoors to spend some quality time with Mother Nature at the nearest park or maybe you can take that long pending weekend trip out of the city!

5. Don’t Stress - Do not be stressed all the time unnecessarily. Learning how to manage stress effectively can take away years from your skin. 

6. Exercise - Run. Jump. Dance. Get moving, in short. The more your skin sweats, the better will it look and the elasticity would improve dramatically too. 

7. Get Nutrition - Get in the habit of starting the day with plenty of fruits and a healthy breakfast with the right amount of protein, carbs and essential fats. Fats are required by your skin to lubricate and moisturize from the inside. But make sure you stick to good fats found in olive oil, eggs, yogurt (the ones without any additives or artificial sugars), and whole grain breads etc.

8. Go Smoke-free - Just stop smoking and you would see a dramatic improvement in your skin tone within a few weeks (yes, it takes time to reverse that kind of damage) 

9. Wear Sunscreen - Slather on the sunscreen before you leave the house but make sure it's SPF index must be 30 and above for it to be effective under the harsh Indian sun.

10. Exfoliate & Detox - Scrub-rub-a dub every week. NOT every day though.. Make sure you use organic scrubs made with rice granules or sugar grains instead. Use a natural face mask such as Banana mash or a Tomato-Cucumber-Honey paste every alternate day to detoxify, cleanse and moisturize your face and body. 

If you would like to consult with me privately, please click on 'Consult'.

From Lybrate: If you found this tip useful, please thank the doctor by clicking on the heart icon below. Also, spread good health by sharing this tip with your loved ones over WhatsApp, Facebook and other media.


10 Only Skin Care Hacks You Will Ever Need

Silk pillowcase slows down skin aging

Using silk pillowcase is known to slow down skin aging by giving you a wrinkle-free skin. This is due to many good qualities of silk fibers.

Silk is a natural fiber obtained from animals and contains amino acids which are compatible and friendly to the human skin. It also contains temperature regulators which adjust your skin to the changing temperatures. Hypoallergenic silk fibers resist many skin allergens like fungus, spores etc making it ideal for sensitive skin.

The tightly woven fiber which remains most in contact with your face retains moisture to your skin and keeps your skin well hydrated. Unlike dry and flaky skin, moistened skin cells are most likely to show fewer wrinkles and hence slow down skin aging process.

Did You Know a Silk Pillowcase Can Slow Down Your Skin's Aging?

We have for ages seen our parents and our grandparents reach out for a piece of jaggery at the end of every meal. Jaggery is healthier compared to refined sugar because of its deposition of phytochemicals and other important minerals. While many people do not choose jaggery because of its no-so-good-appearance, it is perhaps more sensible to consume it considering the host of health benefits it offers.

Here is a list of benefits that can be extracted from the consumption of jaggery.

Skin benefits: Jaggery nourishes the skin in the true sense of the word. Owing to the numerous amount of mineral and vitamin, it can eliminate common skin problems such as pimples and acne. It can negate dark spots, wrinkles delay the common signs of aging.
Digestive benefits: Jaggery plays a huge role in ensuring smooth digestion. It stimulates secretion of digestive enzyme. It, therefore, makes it easy for the body to quicken the process of digestion. It can also help to stabilize the bowl movement by keeping common digestion related disorders such as constipation, intestinal worms, indigestion at bay.
Blood: Jaggery does a great job in purifying the blood. It acts as a cleansing agent by filtering the blood from the toxic agents. It also keeps the hemoglobin count normal and help the body refrain from blood-related disorders such as anemia. Since the quantity of iron content in jaggery is plentiful, it successfully helps the body to stay healthy and negate deadly diseases. Furthermore, jaggery can help women to stay away from complicated menstrual related disorders, beat weakness and fatigue.
Weight loss: Jaggery s rich potassium content helps the body balance the electrolyte, build muscles and improve the metabolism of the body. Potassium also helps in managing water retention in the body. Both the factors coupled together helps in weight loss and beat fatigue, obese etc.
Blood pressure: The sodium and potassium content of jaggery helps the body maintain an effective adequate acidic level. This ensures that the blood pressure remains in the balance and the body refrains from undue blood pressure related disorders.
Antioxidants: Jaggery contains selenium, the latter is a rich source of antioxidants which can help the body to fight the free radicals and keep it at bay. The antioxidants also help the body to stay away from other ailments.
Respiratory health: Jaggery is a great source of food that can effectively fight various respiratory problems of the body. It can fight diseases such as bronchitis and asthma.
Body temperature: Jaggery helps to keep a normal body temperature. This is extremely beneficial for patients suffering from asthma since maintaining a steady body temperature is sacrosanct for patients suffering from this disease.

Jaggery (Gur) - 8 Amazing Reasons Why You Must Eat It!

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