Chocolate Anti-Aging Mask {DIY}

Its been too many days since I have put up any beauty tip. So, today, just to pamper myself I made a chocolate mask.

Ingredients -

• Cocoa powder
• Fresh Sugarcane Juice

Yup!! Only two things and it is very simple to get sugarcane juice as summers are approaching and you would have many hawkers putting up sugarcane juice stalls.

Cocoa Powder is an amazingly moisturizing ingredient as you all are very well aware of. It also has anti-aging and anti-oxidant properties.

And, fresh sugarcane juice has glycolic acid which is one of the most important Alpha Hydroxy Acids which are very important for skin. It firms up your skin, removes the dead skin cells, makes the skin glow like anything, reduces pigmentation on regular usage and has amazing anti-aging properties.

Result: A very soft skin which glows instantly. You might not require a moisturizer if you have normal skin otherwise if you have dry skin then follow up with a little of moisturizer or your favorite oil. Even combination skin and oily skin can benefit from this mask as glycolic acid is extremely good for controlling oil production of the skin so you need not worry about the mask being heavy.

One thing about this mask is that it does dry up unlike mixing chocolate with honey. And, when you are removing it, it comes off very easily so do try it out and post your views :)

Update: The best results are seen on the next morning after applying the mask. So, apply this mask at night and take your regular deep beauty sleep. And, voila!! Next morning your face would be glowing :)

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Ice Cubes for your face

Ice Cubes are one of the quickest ways to restore your face to a fresh and dewy look. So, in case you are ever in a hurry, make sure to just rub your face for a minute or two with ice cubes and you are ready to go!! Another added advantage is that ice cubes constrict your pores making your face look smoother. They can be a great relief during the bad breakouts and particularly soothing for acne and inflammatory skin. A nice touch for using ice cubes would be to freeze your favorite fruit and vegetable juices into ice cubes. That would provide your skin with immediate anti-oxidants and the various benefits which come from topical application of the particular fruits. The essentials would be orange juice which is useful for bright face and apple juice which is great for oily skin. You can also go for pomegranates as they are especially high in anti-oxidants and would provide a rosy complexion. Caution: Applying ice cubes straight to your skin can cause delicate capillaries under your skin to break so wrap the ice cubes in a wash cloth and then apply them to your skin.

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Rice Water for Skin, Hair and Health

The craze of using rice water is catching up very fast. If you have not yet heard of it, rice water is highly beneficial for certain health issues and also in taking care of the skin and hair. Let us first see the health benefits:

• instantly energizes the body due to the high concentration of carbohydrates
• provides instant relief from diarrhea
• has been used successfully to treat gastroenteritis
• prevents cancer
• controls high blood pressure
• helps in preventing Alzheimer's disease
• reduces the body temperature or internal heat of the body
• prevents constipation

In short, I would say it provides all the health benefits that eating rice would provide. But, more than that, rice water has been used as a face wash and a hair wash.

• Washing your face with rice water makes your skin very soft and it also helps in improving the complexion
• Is a great substitute for toner and firms up your skin
• Helps in reducing the size of the pores on your skin
• Washing your hair with rice water brings shine in the hair and helps to keep it healthy. Follow up with cold water rinse.
• Use rice water as part of your face, body and hair masks and scrubs
• Use rice water for having bath or pour rice water in the tub or bucket
• Powdered rice grains are also used as body scrub and they make your skin extra soft

How to make rice water?

I have read at many places that the water used to wash rice prior to cooking is rice water. But, that is not the actual rice water. You may collect it but it will not give you the full benefits. Instead, you should boil the rice in more water than usual quantity you use so that the rice does not absorb all the water and strain the extra water. This water is the actual rice water which is full of nutritional benefits. You may drink it or let it cool to use as a face wash or a hair wash. You may even garnish it with various spices and herbs. Read this article for step by step instruction on how to cook rice water.

Watch the video to learn how you can use rice water in various ways. But, make sure you cook the rice water the proper way.

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