HAIR FALLING Care

Does your hair fall a lot? Don't worry, you're not alone. Millions of people from all around the world suffer from dry, brittle and weak hair. Some of the possible reasons for falling hair are:

• Tension
• Too much work
• Illness
• Poor diet
• Over-exposure to the sun
• Perming
• Amateur bleaching
• Too frequent and inexpert use of tints, rinses or other colourants

Here is what you can do to prevent hair fall

• Shampoo regularly. Remember, a CLEAN scalp is a HEALTHY SCALP.
• Brahmi amla oil also promotes hair growth.
• A high protein diet with plenty of fruits, green vegetables and dairy products is a must.
• Drink 10-12 glass of water everyday.
• Use a very mild shampoo and condition your hair at least twice a week. When you do, make sure you rinse out the conditioner thoroughly, otherwise residue build-up will cause your hair to look limp and dull.
• Know your vitamins! IRON is important for healthy hair and brittle, limp hair indicates an iron deficiency. Spinach has a good iron content, so gulp it down!
• ZINC helps prevent hair loss and greying. Eat adequate zinc rich foods. Overweight people tend to have zinc deficiency, which is inversely related to the body mass index. Thus if you are overweight and if your hair falls too much, you may want to increase your intake of zinc containing foods. Recipes containing stone ground, wholegrain flour are rich in zinc.
• A shortfall in VITAMIN B may cause dandruff, falling hair, loss of colour and could encourage grey hair. So B group Vitamins are essential for gloss, colour and thickness.
• VITAMIN C ensures the health of capillaries supplying blood to hair follicles. Make sure your diet includes plenty of fresh fruits and veggies.
• VITAMIN E encourages hair growth. Switch from refined flours to wholemeal and wheatgerm, eggs, vegetable oil.
• COPPER stops hair from falling. Studies show that the copper content in the blood serum of people with falling hair is less than normal. Different types of alopecia (falling hair) are seen to have a deficiency of this important trace element. Include small quantities of nuts, especially cashews and peanuts, seeds, whole milk and beans in your diet as these contain minute but important amounts of copper.

Homemade remedies for preventing hair fall:

1. Apply almond oil on scalp and massage.
2. Grind fenugreek seeds in water and apply on your scalp. Wash off after 40 minutes. Do this every morning for a month ¡V if it suits you! Remember, different treatments suit different types of hair.
3. Massage warm castor oil + almond oil into your scalp gently. Wrap a hot towel around your scalp so it gets absorbed into the hair. Do this twice a week for healthy, shiny hair.
4. Add 2-3 drops of honey to a glass of water and use this as the last rinse after shampooing.

Quick Hair Care Conditioner

Mix 1 egg, 2 tbs castor oil, 1 tsp vinegar and 1 tsp glycerine. Beat until frothy and massage lightly into your scalp. Wrap your head in a hot towel, steam, then wash off. This conditioner makes hair thicker, shiny, soft and manageable.

Honey Conditioner

Beat 1-2 eggs (depending on the length of the hair), 1 tsp honey and 2 tsp olive oil. Massage gently into the scalp. Steam, and shampoo after an hour.

Alcohol Conditioner

Beat 1-2 eggs with 2 tsp brandy. Massage into your scalp. Leave for 10-15 mins. Rinse well. The egg nourishes your hair and brandy stimulates hair growth.

Your hair is a vital beauty asset, requiring constant loving care. And with a little nurturing, lush, glossy hair will be yours.

All Beauty Tips

1. Easy & Quick Solution to Dandruff

Dissolve 2 aspirins in any dandruff shampoo and then wash your hair. Results are amazing dandruff.

2.  Make Your Own Herbal Hair Oil

(For dandruff & strong hair)

    Take a bunch of mehendi leaves along with amla pieces (either fresh or dried ones which have been soaked overnight).
    Grind these coarsely together.
    Now take about 150 ml of coconut oil in a cooking vessel (kadai) and add the paste to it.
    Simmer on low flame till all moisture evaporates.
    Cool and strain use regularly.
    Keeps dandruff away and also makes hair roots strong.

3. For a Glowing Face

Make a paste of 2 table spoons of cream (malai), 1½ table spoons of Ata (wheat flour ) and few drops of lime juice. Daily apply this paste on your face for 5 minutes, then remove it and wash.

[Note : For oily skin use besan (gram flour) instead of Ata.]

Try to think positive, take proper sleep and drink lots of water certainly no one can look more charming.

4. For Chicken Pox Marks

Kachha  doodh with chiraunji  (bheegi hui) mix it well and make a paste, apply it on chicken pox marks, they will disappear in few days.

5. For Best Hair

Massage hair with warm coconut oil an hour before washing. Take some petals of hibiscus and grind it in the mixer. Apply this paste to your hair and then rinse it. For better result you can boil a few hibiscus flowers in coconut oil. Filter this oil and use it to control hair loss and thinning, you can also use Jaborandi oil which is again an extract of hibiscus flower.

6. Tomato Wrap

Make a puree of 4 tomatoes. Soak some rice for 30 minutes and grind it coarsely. Add this to the pureed tomatoes. Apply this mixture all over the body and leave it on for about 15 minutes. Bathe with warm water; this is a good scrub recipe for oily skin.

7. Hair Care

Problem: Excessive hair loss or getting early grey hairs.

Remedy: Soak some methi seeds in night and in the morning make the paste of the seeds and apply it to your scalp. After 1½ - 2 hrs rinse it with plane water. This will strengthen your hair and make them dark and shiny.


8. Skin care

Problem: If your face is dry and rough.
Remedy: Take equal amount each of Melon, Pumpkin, Cucumber and Watermelon and make a paste of these. Then blend it with milk cream and apply it on your. After 1 hr rinse your face with plane water.
Problem: Sunburn.
Remedy: Mix 1 teaspoon of Besan with 2 teaspoon of curd and apply it on your face. Let it remain on the face for ½ hrs. Rinse with plane water. Helps in curing sunburns.

9. Skin Tips

Improve your complexion
Mix equal amounts of Cucumber juice and Lime juice and apply them to your face before taking bath; wait for at least 10 mins.  Your complexion will improve.

10. Household Tips for your skins– Using Tomatoes

Tomatoes are Anti-Oxidant hence including tomatoes in your daily diet will make your skin Wrinkle Free. And using the paste of one day old curd with a tomato and applying it to your skin soft. Also, if you skin is oily then applying the its pulp on your face for 15 min. then rinse your face with warm water. This will absorb extra oil from your skin and improve your complexion.

11. Beauty Tips

a. After the Mehendi dries, remove it and apply some Vicks Rub on your hands, let it be there for 5-6 hours. The color of your Mehendi will darken.
b.      Remedy: Mix 1 teaspoon of Besan with 2 teaspoon of curd and apply it on your face. Let it remain on the face for ½ hrs. Rinse with plane water. Helps us during sunburns.
c.       After removing the skin of the Cucumber and making a paste of the cucumber with raw milk and applying it on your skin will improve your complexion.

Beauty Tips: Eye Care Tips

The below mentioned eye care tips helps you have an healthy and beautiful eyes free of eye wrinkles and dark circles around the eyes. 

1. Apply a thin coat of castor oil on the eyelashes and eyebrows every night. It strengthens eye lashes and cools the eyes.

2. To reduce puffiness of your eyes, Crush a cucumber and take the juice. Add a little rose water and apply around the eyes and wash it after 20 minutes.

3. Immerse wads of cotton in a cooled mixture of cucumber and potato juice. Keep this on your eyelids for 15 to 20 minutes and gently wash it off. Apply a little baby oil. Put sliced cucumber over your eyes to treat dark circles.

4. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables like carrots, drumstick, spinach., papaya and mangoes. All these are rich in beta carotene which helps to have healthy eyes.

5. Take adequate rest. Rest will refresh the eyes and help them work more efficiently.

6. Exercise regularly to improve blood circulation. Only then your eyes are sure to receive enough oxygen for good performance.

7. Regularly apply oil mixed in glycerin to your eye lashes and eye brows to keep them dense and dark.

8. Always use sunglasses during the peak day time to protect your eyes from sunrays. Direct sunrays cause heavy damage to eyes.

9. Put a slice of potato or cucumber on both the eyes, after 10 minutes remove and wash the eyes. This helps to avoid under eye wrinkles and dark circles around the eyes.

10. To avoid any kind of puffiness in your eyes drink minimum 12 glass of water.Drinking lots of water helps to flush out waste from the body.

11. Do not rub your eyes for any reason but instead just blink your eyelids. Blinking is a good massage and exercise to the eyes.

12. Take A vitamin diet to make eyes brighter. (papaya, eggs, fish, milk, cilantro etc.,) Wash eyes with cold water to get sparkling eyes.

13. Soak amla overnight in water and use this water the next morning to wash the eyes.

14. Soak cotton in Luke warm milk and cover eyes with it for 15 min.

15. To soothe tired eyes, dip cotton pads in chilled milk and place on closed eyes for 10 minutes. Now relax completely.

16. To completely relax the eyes and the surrounding muscles, close your eyes and think of something that is pleasant or soothing and at a distance. Now gently open your eyes and look into the distance. Next focus on an object at arm's length. Do this extremely relaxing exercise four or five times a day.

17. For Puffy Eyes: Grate a potato with its peel and apply on your closed eyelids for about 20 minutes and relax completely. You may even take a nap.

18. Wash your face before sleeping, and ensure that there is no make-up on your face before you sleep, because, make-up creams may spoil your face as it will be there for the whole night. It is better if no cream is applied. What I feel is, wash your face before sleeping and if at all you want to apply any cream, just apply night cream and none other than that.
 

109°F: Banks on new launches for faster growth

Thriving to be a leading player in women’s fashion, with a popular brand 109°F, Creative Lifestyles is now working hard on its launch an Indo-western brand ‘Fusion Beats’. As Rahul Mehta, Managing Director of Creative Lifestyles says, “We want to straddle the entire women’s wear segment in the long run including a possible entry in sleepwear and innerwear segment.” Their flagship brand 109°F is aimed at fashion conscious women between 22 to 35 years. Mehta says they are positioning 109°F as a brand whose wearer is a bold, assertive and self-confident woman. In fact, 109°F has created a niche for itself and has been felicitated by several awards so far which include: ‘Best Debutant Brand at Central’, ‘Special Jury Award for Retail Excellence by Asia Retail Congress’ and ‘Best Women’s Wear Store at Inorbit Mall, Vashi’.

 Mehta believes that the USP of the brand has helped them to grow at an impressive pace. “We are offering to the Indian consumer, perhaps for the first time, the latest European fashion with an Indian cut and keeping Indian sensibilities in mind. Our thrust is on shop-in-shops in the fast growing large format stores, combined with building a strong MBO network, and finally supported by our own EBOs.” As of now, they have 251 shop-in-shops, 165 MBOs, and 21 EBOs. The brand collection is also available in Ecuador, Sri Lanka, Kuwait and Nepal and through e-platforms like Fashion & You, and 99 Labels.com 

Mehta says their aim is now to continue to be the leader in their category and to widen the exposure of the brand and take it to the newer markets including domestic and overseas. He sees no threat to his brand with the government allowing 100 per cent FDI in single brand retail. “I see no threat to the local industry by encouraging FDI in single or multi brand retail,” says Mehta, elaborating further that growth of organized retail, as we have seen in the last decade, has helped the domestic industry tremendously. “If the growth of a Big Bazaar or a Shoppers Stop has helped the local industry, I see no reason why the growth of a J C Penney or a Wal-Mart will not. Ultimately, these large formats are the drivers of growth and such a growth will directly or indirectly help all sections, including the small and medium sectors. We have made a mistake by opposing FDI in multi brand retail,” he adds.

He foresees the apparel industry maturing into a highly fashion driven, consumption focused, and employment generating industry by 2020. “I see Tier II and III cities completely switching over to the ready to wear concepts; western wear being worn across a much wider strata of society; a return of pride in wearing ethnic clothing; and fashion playing a much larger role in ethnic wear,” Mehta opines.

'Timeless Beauty': Van Cleef & Arpels offering China an insight into its legacy

As high-end European labels increasingly aim to benefit from China's growing luxury market, Shanghai has become a popular destination for maisons to host exhibitions documenting their legacy, with Van Cleef & Arpels the latest brand to announce a retrospective exhibition.

While Italian luxury goods label Bvlgari's 125 Years of Italian Magnificence expo will run until April 17 at the Aurora Museum in Shanghai, Van Cleef & Arpels has announced the May launch of the Timeless Beauty expo at Shanghai's Museum of Contemporary Art.

Van Cleef & Arpels, which eight locations across China, first entered the country in 2005 with its Beijing store. The upcoming exhibit, focusing on the Van Cleef & Arpels legacy, will offer an informative guide to over 100 years of high-end jewels, showcasing 370 pieces of jewelry, watches and accessories. It will run from May 20 to July 15.

Other luxury houses to have recently exhibited in Shanghai, often dubbed the "Paris of the East," include Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton and Chanel, with Chanel holding numerous expos there including the "Paris-Shanghai" exhibition it took to the city back in 2010.

http://www.mocashanghai.org/

Suboo to introduce her RTW & swimwear range at MBFWA

Suboo will debut her first ready-to-wear (RTW) and swimwear range at this year’s Mercedes Benz Australian Fashion Week 2012. The event will take place from April 20 to May 4. Originally launched as an umbrella brand in 2007, the success of this simple concept paved the way for an expansion into women’s beach and resort apparel and accessories. Suboo has translated into a multinational label designed for women that have moved beyond the surf labels of their teens in search of a more stylish label to love. “As our brand continues to evolve and grow, we feel that it’s a natural progression for us to showcase Suboo’s beach and resort women’s designs on the catwalk. Australian Fashion Week is the perfect platform for us to unveil our new ready-to-wear and swimwear range and share our brand’s exciting developments. We have a loyal Australian and international following who have come to love and demand more from us so I’m excited for 2012 and the journey ahead”, Sue Di Chio, Designer and Owner for Suboo. Staying true to Suboo’s design philosophy, the brand continues to play homage to its signature clean lines, original bright prints and understated wearable silhouettes. Suboo is worn by Australian celebrities Danni Minogue, Miranda Kerr, Delta Goodrem and Jesinta Campbell who have all embraced the brand. Five years on, Suboo is stocked in over 200 international and Australian boutiques including David Jones department stores, Japan, Singapore (Barneys and Kistson), USA and UK. The brand is also showcasing at Miami Fashion Week with more global expansion plans on the horizon.

Mercedes Benz Australian Fashion Week 2012

London 2012: Worldwide fashion hits city for Olympics

More than 80 designers were showcasing their work in London 

Imagine grabbing your passport and heading to see collections from the hottest fashion designers in the world.

Exhibitions launched during Fashion Week give you the chance to do that, without leaving London's doorstep.

More than 80 international designers displayed their work in 19 embassies and institutes for the International Fashion Showcase.

The British Council and British Fashion Council have joined together to celebrate the Olympic year.

The showcase has been developed to honour its values of international respect, excellence, equality and friendship as part of the Cultural Olympiad.

"This is London's Olympic year," Vicky Richardson, director of architecture and design at the British Council said.

"We've been working across an extensive programme of Olympic events in a range of sectors - music, drama, sport and education to internationalise the Games. We were really keen that fashion should be part of that.

"It made sense to look at Olympic values in this year and connect fashion with a broader range of cultural events."

The British Council, which is the UK's international cultural relations body, has had a fashion programme around the world for some time but never had the chance to work with fashion in this country.

"We worked with the London embassies in 2010 on an architecture showcase and it was very successful," Ms Richardson said.

"We thought it would be great to try this with fashion and approached the British Fashion Council to work with us, to bring international fashion talent to London."

Including people And it is during London 2012 that they decided to gear the exhibition towards the values associated with the Games.
"There is something quite inspiring about the Olympics in terms of the ideals and higher values. Being able to travel the world in one city through this event is very exciting. You can immerse yourself in it," Ms Richardson added.

"For example, there is a young hat designer who talks about edo-warriors and their headgear and how it has influenced his collection. Something like the Olympics can make that possible and it focuses the world in one place.

"One of the things that makes London exciting is how international the culture is here. If you look at London Fashion Week you find people who have come to the city or the UK quite recently. They have studied, stayed and set up their studios.

"That's the capacity to include people and be open to outside ideas and influences. It is a real strength and we have to hold on to that, keep the doors open if you like, and keep culture open to those influences.
"Most countries share the aim of supporting emerging talent and there is a huge range of different scales of economy and political context.

"We felt everyone could unite in the idea of supporting emerging talent and especially bringing young designers to London. It's hard to get young talent to the city so it's a huge addition to London Fashion Week.
"It's provided a platform that didn't exist before so it's a really good thing and hopefully in future years we can go a lot further than that.

"Fashion is an increasingly important industry, not just in production but in the creative industries."
Passport guide

It does not stop at 2012. For when Rio takes over the baton for the 2016 Olympics, the British Council will have a programme which starts when the London Games finish - increasing the links between the two countries.

Meanwhile visitors to the London 2012 exhibitions were given a passport guide to the show and encouraged to get it stamped at all the stands they visited - around 19 different venues in London.

And while events were taking place when most of the world's supermodels were descending on catwalks, Anna Orsini from the British Fashion Council explained how they discouraged designers from putting on shows.

"We encouraged them to have opening events instead as we couldn't put them on the catwalk scheme," she said.

"They could share this audience which comes to London to look for emerging talent."
She also said they would not have had the attention of the international fashion press if it was not for the showcase.

"It was very exciting to be part of it. As part of Fashion 2012 we are aware of the importance and interest in London - where designers could receive the support of the authorities for a budget to create a showcase."

During London Fashion Week, Korea was given the award of Best Emerging Fashion Talent after showcasing eight British-educated designers who have developed high-profile collaborations with artists such as Lady Gaga.

"It chose designers who were educated in England and that creates the global link to schools and confirms it in a global market," Miss Orsini said.

"To see 'British designers' at home in the year of the Olympics made it the right time to bring international talent to London.

"It's a project close to my heart and I'm delighted that so many embassies took to it."

She said that while the collections were not themed on the Olympics, the showcase was designed with the Games in mind.

"The idea is one of fraternity - when the international attention is on London, invite your emerging talent to share this audience.

"Fashion is a competitive industry so to offer the same platform is in the spirit of respect, friendship and equality.

"That is the spirit of the Olympics."