Don’t Forget Your Skin This Festive Season
Diwali is a time of fun, beauty, and indulgence. It means lots of sweets that you can’t resist, even when your well informed mind is screaming NO. All the social messages that we hear about risks of crackers makes it easier for you to say NO to them, but not too many people put it to practice, do they? So, you will still have smoke, toxins, and pollution floating thick in the air for 3 to 5 days after the festival is over making festive skincare and hair care of utmost importance.
The endless pre & post Diwali parties leads to the blow drying, ironing, styling, make up, late nights, and on top of it all, the alcohol and cigarettes—how these affect your weight, lungs, and liver, let’s not even get there. Let us talk about your skin and hair.
What you need to pay heed to
> Sugar: It suppresses the activity of our white blood cells and thus makes us more susceptible to colds, flu etc. It also worsens allergies and causes damage because of the breaking down of good proteins, leading to advanced glycation end-products, very aptly abbreviated as AGE. AGE makes the proteins in the collagen and hair stiff and hard; thus, speeding up the process of skin ageing and making hair brittle. As a skin and hair expert, I know that one of the main reasons for wrinkles, deep lines, and sagging skin is AGE. So, gorging high sugar foods during Diwali can lead to fine lines and excessive dryness. My suggestion is to be mindful of what you are eating during this time and be aware of what’s going into your mouth.
> Smoke: Smoke and pollution damage your hair and skin. You will find your skin dry and scalp irritated or even itchy. Too much exposure can lead to boils/folliculitis, skin rash, and acne exacerbation. You will need to wash your hair and body thoroughly the day after to counteract the damage caused by smoke and ash.
> Excessive makeup and styling: You need to dress up and look pretty on Diwali. This means excessive makeup and hair styling products, blow drying, and ironing. Not all this is harmful, but what worsens the situation is when you are too tired to take them off after the party is over. You might end up missing your night-time skincare regime and cleansing your hair of all styling products.
> Alcohol and cigarettes: These worsen the condition of your hair and skin. Alcohol makes the skin flushed and dehydrated with broken capillaries. And cigarettes compromise the blood supply to your skin!
