Skin care

Hundreds of skin care product ads on TV and other media have really forced me into thinking about this multi million dollar industry. Personally, me being a traditional Maharashtrian girl, I have always stayed away from any kind of cosmetics. Traditional Maharashtrian girls (at least till my generation) were brought up to stay away from them. Use of such products was looked down upon in the family. Simplicity is beauty. The concept of moving one level up using artificial means was not accepted in my household.


This has changed and girls who are say 10 years younger to me think differently. During my time (when I was in college), we did not know of facials. First ever make up and facial was done only by the bride and in most cases, that was the only make up ever done. The other occasion when make up was applied was during school annual gathering. Many will laugh at this but I feel that this has secretly blessed our skin.


I will categorize skin into two broad types. Just two types? Well hold on till you read further. 1. Without medical problems and 2. With medical problems. The approach to maintain skin of these two types is drastically different and hence the categorization.


If you belong to category 1 then you are blessed soul. Relax. You don't need to spend much on keeping it healthy and secondly you certainly don't need those 10,000 products being advertised.
If you belong to category 2 then please see an authentic skin doctor. You certainly don't need those 10,000 products being advertised. Skin problems are very difficult to understand by a lay person. e.g. how many people can differentiate between types of dandruff, the most common skin problem at
all ages. It is only after a lot of trial and error that a person may stumble upon the correct shampoo. Do you really know the difference between a corn and a wart. If you keep using a corn cap on a wart it may not work rather it spreads since it has not been treated. So go to a doctor.


For category 1, we have three types of skin - dry, normal and oily. I believe that dry and normal skin types are very easy to maintain. For most part of the year, dry skin manages itself (in countries like India where the climate is mostly hot). In the winters, a simple cold cream goes a long way in maintaining the skin. I would guess that same is the case for normal skin type. For oily skin, specially in India, you may have to consider a few extra points which I will discuss a little further.


Three major factors ensure a beautiful skin and yes, none of them is an external application. Fourth factor necessary but I will omit it.
1. Drinking a lot of water - Eight glasses of water is an average, approximating to 1.8 litres. However, this amount increases in summer based on external conditions by an average half litre. Well, here I am assuming that the context is India and the states are hot. Special note: the amount of water consumed is more or less based on an individual and some individuals can make do with less water. However people with oily skin cannot break the rule. They always have to consume above average
quantity. This is the biggest cleanser of your system.
2. A balanced diet - We hear a lot about it from dieticians and articles in newspaper and magazines. I have read so many dieticians contradicting each other so frankly I would not get into the details of what is a balanced diet. Diet is a big time fad. Diet is also region based and understandably it differs due to climate. However I will quote two points which have flowed down through generations in my family.
a) Satvik aahar - I read the definition on Wikipedia and we may not get the ingredients as mentioned there (milk from a happy cow and fruit just fallen of the tree :)) so don't get into so much details. Just pick the ingredients mentioned here in your daily routine. Does that mean you can never have the other types of food mentioned on the wiki (rajasic and tamasic)? Well if you can avoid, best but if not, sure, go ahead but ensure that it is not a part of every meal of the day. Again as I said, food habits are very region and community based. However, every region and community has some traditional everyday food and that is what works best for you.
b) Bhooke peksha don ghaas kami khane - literal translation - eating two morsels of food less than your appetite.
3. Maintaining everyday hygiene - people with oily skin will have to ensure they have one extra bath than average. In humid places where a person sweats a lot,  if it leads to a rash very often, use an anti
bacterial soap once a week. However this soap should be prescribed by a doctor. Do not generically use any advertised soap. I know people who get rashes even with neem soaps.
4. Exercise


Acne - Isn't acne a natural process. They come and stay with you for sometime and as years go by they just go. If your acne is not in control, with this 4 point routine then it means you have a problem and the reason could be wide and varied. See a doctor. Hormones create havoc in our life especially in a girls life but no skin cream can ever change the doings of your hormones.


I was astonished to see an ad where a company advertised a daily exfoliating face wash and a weekly scrub. So that means you have cells with a daily death routine and some with a weekly death routine. My condolences.


Fairness creams are money spinners for the beauty industry. How can you change to 5 shades lighter. Are your genes on strike? I hope you and your parents look the same after a few years.


Hair and skin come under the same domain. The most common cause of hair loss in women (as told to me by my doctor) is deficiency of iron and b complex and my doctor said I was one of them. His medicines worked for me for a while but my diet was not really taking care of it so the hair fall
problem kept visiting me. My brother visited the same doc for male pattern baldness and he was mainly treated for dandruff and given supplements.


Since the success was tremendous, many of my male friends visited the same doc and believe me the line of treatment for each one was different. Based on certain blood tests, one was treated for hormone issues, other for something else. All treatments were extremely time consuming and success
only came after a long wait. For one guy, the doc was upfront and told the patient that it was in the family and he could do very little. For another person (unknown to me who was in the waiting area with me ), it was a side effect of some long treatment taken for some other issue. With so many
cases in front of my eyes, I am pretty sure that all those digitally mastered ads for beautiful hair products fall flat on the face. At the end of the day a shampoo is a mild detergent. It has full capability to damage your hair even in one wash but can do very little to improve them. Shampoos with medicines in it can help but then a doctor should be prescribing it.


I want to encourage more and more girls to look in the mirror and ask yourself "What is wrong with me with the way I am" and you will get the answer "Nothing". Unless you want to be a part of the fashion and film industry, I guess we all look good. There is no need of cosmetics in our daily life. I am a plain Jane everyday and I really like it when once in a blue moon I really dress up for some occasion, complete with make up and the world looks at me and says wow. If I had used make up everyday, then how will I get such a special day in my life. Wouldn't that be a routine plus the side effects. It is best to prolong the life of your skin.  There will be a time in life when you will have to use hair color for your greying hair or pay special attention to your skin when it starts ageing. Use the products when you really need them and not between age 16 to 35.


So all in all, my personal tip for a great looking skin is "Please leave your skin alone".