A Full Body Homemade Spa Treatment

You don’t necessarily have to run to an expensive spa every time you want to pamper your body and your soul. There are lovely home-made packs that you can use to beat the summer heat, and all these can be easily prepared at home with some easily available ingredients.

While at the spa a full body treatment in which packs are applied to your face, to your hair and to the rest of your body will nearly cost three to five hundred dollars, doing the same at home will cost you no more than $20. Here is how you need to go about it.

The face pack

You’ll need one cucumber, a cup of oatmeal and two spoons of yogurt to prepare this face pack. Grate the cucumber and make a fine paste of oatmeal using some water. Mix in both these ingredients along with the yogurt and leave this face mask on your skin for about twenty minutes before you rinse it off.

This face pack has a real cool and pleasing effect on your skin. The cucumber acts as an anti-astringent, the oatmeal provides the necessary moisture and yogurt which contains a lot of lactic acid does the anti aging job. If your skin is sun burnt then you can also add some almond paste to this recipe, as it helps in lightening the skin tone.

A pack for your hair

Henna natural hair care product that has a deep conditioning effect on your hair. To make this pack, make some henna paste using henna powder and water, and when you have beaten it to a smooth consistency, mix in one egg white and 2tbsp. of olive oil into it. Spread it all over your hair, and keep it on for 30 minutes before rinsing it off with lukewarm water.

Apart from its conditioning properties, henna also has some astringent properties which help in cleaning off the oil buildup on the scalp. For best results, buy henna powder which is completely natural and does not contain any chemical additives.

A full body scrub

For this all you need is the pulp of a medium size papaya, about 2tbsp. of coffee powder and about half a cup of whole wheat flour. Mix together all the things along with some water and rub it gently on your skin. Because of its exfoliating properties, which help in removing the dead skin, this recipe is quite helpful in removing sun tan as well. The coffee powder does the job of detoxing the skin.

Stay Slim Forever

Every woman wants to stay slim and trim forever, but it’s definitely not an easy task and that is quite apparent from the number of obese women you can see all around.

Staying in shape is all about self control and discipline, and here are some pointers which tell you about where all this dedication and discipline is required.

Don’t keep nibbling

Most women end up being fat because they just can’t stop nibbling on sweets and other high calorie foods like chips, cakes, biscuits, candies and chocolates. If nibbling is a deep set habit and you’re finding it difficult to get over it, try sugar free chewing gums or salads to keep your mouth busy. Chewing gum or salad, will give you the mental satisfaction that you have something to munch, while this munching won’t end up in added pounds.

Avoid overeating

The best way to avoid over eating is to restrict yourself to homemade food, and there again you must prepare and cook only that amount of food which you should be eating. When you cook more than what you need to eat, you feel tempted to finish off the leftovers and that’s where the unwanted calories get into your body.

Sweat it out

Even if you’re eating a controlled diet, sweating it out with some exercises will always be beneficial in toning up the body and in keeping you healthy. If you are finding it difficult to get on with exercises, the other way round is to do all your household chores all by yourself.

Almost every household task such as mopping, cooking, washing and gardening is a good way to burn the extra calories. However, whether you decide in favor of exercise or stick around to doing household chores, remember that consistency is that key to effective results.

Eat more fiber

Cut down on the fat rich foods, and increase your intake of fibrous food. While red meat, deep fried foods and sweet desserts are all inflammatory, foods which are rich in fiber such as vegetables and whole grains have an anti inflammatory effect on your body, which prevents the accumulation of fat under the skin.

And lastly, always remember that food is meant to satisfy hunger and it is in no way something that you can use to keep yourself busy.

How To Keep Your Brain In Good Shape

While you may do so many things to keep your body in good shape and your looks always prim, if you really want to enjoy life and get the most out of it then your brain needs to be in shape as well.

Here are some things that will help in keeping your memory, your ability to concentrate and your thinking in good shape even through the old age. Old age is usually where memory and thinking related problems evolve.

Exercising

You know that exercise is the best way to keep your body in shape, and well the same exercise is good for your brain’s health as well. Exercising helps in improving the blood flow to the brain. And with more oxygen and nutrients reaching the brain cells, along with the blood, the brain cells will stay healthy. For keeping your body in shape may probably need to spend a lot many hours at the gym, but to improve blood flow to the brain even simple physical activities like walking, dancing or yoga may be able to deliver excellent results.

Feed your brain

Like the rest of your body, your brain too needs certain nutrients to keep functioning properly. To keep your brain in good health you must feast on fruits and vegetables, whole grains and on nuts and seeds. Besides containing the essential vitamins and minerals, fruits and vegetables also contain Phytochemicals, which are believed to support healthy brain activity. Omega-3 Fatty acids help in building the brain cell structure and in the proper functioning of the brain. Some of the best known brain foods are walnuts, salmon, COD liver oil, flaxseed seeds and all the dark colored fruits and vegetables.

Don’t let your brain rust

Just like any other machinery, if your brain isn’t put to use it begins to rust away. To prevent rusting of the brain you need to add such activities to your routine which will exercise your brain and which will make you think. For instance joining some classes to learn a new language or a new musical instrument will help to keep the brain active. Even simple things like filling up crosswords or Sudoku are excellent activities to keep your brain in good health.

Take a break

Leading a stressful life can also cause a lot of damage to your brain cells, so whenever you get a chance to de-stress make full use of it. Deep breathing and meditation are excellent ways to get rid of stress and to give your brain some rest.