Sustainable Fashion

Hi everyone!

Some of you may know that I graduated in Masters of Sustainable Systems Engineering last year. So what do I know now? That there is abundant solar energy which can solve any energy problem, in most of the countries. That using regional and bio items, is the way to go and that vegan diet is now a trend.

What do most of these things have in common? They go hand-in-hand with sustainability. I will not repeat the definition which we now know by heart till now. 😀 But has anyone wondered, how a common person like you and me can contribute to it? We all have bits & pieces of information like use renewables, travel by public transport and prefer biking, use less heating and so on.

But more than this, I want to bring to your notice that the clothes we wear everyday also has a big impact. I came to know this last year when I was performing LCA studies. Clothes are worn everyday, everytime (“normal” wearing circumstances ;-)) and need as much attention as any other product & service being tested for carbon footprint. I started reading more on this, watching videos and documentaries. Fashion has been close to my heart and I realised maybe I could combine this love with saving the planet. What I understood is that life cycle assessment could be used to carefully track all the processes involved in a product/service lifetime, which would help us point out the hot spots or where the environmental impact is the highest. So here is what I found:

• Sustainable fibres/ leather: We all know how the leather industry is criticized for its cruelty to animals & the tanning process. But there are materials like down or cashmere which are equally sought after for their warmth and lightweight, that also poses the same question. My viewpoint regarding this, either procure these materials from dead animals or as byproduct from food industry. I am sure this will lead to another topic entirely about being veganism and all. But let’s leave it for another post. Most effective will be to use fibres that are less energy intensive with almost no chemical usage, sourced ethically. For more details, head over to this cool website I found.
• Shorten the distance: If we reduce the distances between the production fields, warehouses to retail shops, we cut down the emissions caused due to transportation like air or ships. Most of the fast fashion is due to cheap labour from Asia, fibre fields from another country and the retail stores in Europe. So you can imagine all the transport & effort required to sell your shirt in a store in Paris or Berlin. But is it really that easy? Nope. My thoughts on this are we can definitely source regional fibres and remanufacture from old clothing. I also agree with the authors that relocation of staff close to production, is a good option [1].
• Behavioral practices: In spite of all technological innovations and regulations, we humans need to change ourselves. I am personally an advocate for second hand clothing or hand-made clothing. I agree I have been lured by fast fashion at low prices, but there is always an awakening, which I hope is for you as well. What I mean here, it is okay if you purchase that once luxury bag, which you have been dreaming about since you got your first paycheck, but what makes it bad if you keep buying items based of seasonal fashion or “just because”. Not only will this create waste after you are done with it after the season is over, but also it is just plain unnecessary. In this regard, I can say that we can still find good pieces in thrift stores, & promote local fashion. In fact, nowadays there are rental stores, which is better for those events where you want to flaunt latest fashion. You will save on material costs and associated emissions. Additionally, if you want to go that extra mile, you can adopt capsule wardrobe. This is basically wearing set of clothing & accessories which can be adjusted to any occasion since they are mostly made up of classic pieces or colours.
• Circular fashion: As the name suggests, waste is produced less, material usage is minimized and the life is prolonged with repairs. In short, you keep using the clothes you have till they start tearing, then you can patch them up for further usage or use them differently like cleaning cloths at home. With irreversible damage, you can send them to reprocessing units,for shredding and remanufacturing into new thread. Ofcourse, it all comes down to how much energy intensive this process is compared to conventional manufacturing. But the waste generated will be much less & new fibres required will be definitely reduced.
• Green energy: Lastly, as much possible, make the processes run with renewable energies to reduce the carbon footprint. Be it in a manufacturing plant or a retail store.

For sure, there are other methods, but these are my personal favourites. Also they are my personal musings. 😀

What do you think? Share you thoughts in the comment section below. 🙂

Skincare Routine

Hey everyone!

So this post will be a little different from the usual. If you have checked out my ‘About me’ page, there is a poll, which asks what theme I should be covering in my blog. As of today, the majority sides with skincare and since the weather is cold nowadays, I felt, this is the perfect time to update you all with my skincare routine and also offer some tips which I learnt from my dermatologist.

CAUTION: I AM NOT A SKINCARE SPECIALIST SO PLEASE DO A PATCH TEST FOR ANY PRODUCT MENTIONED HERE. ALSO, LISTEN TO YOUR DERMATOLOGIST SINCE EVERYONE HAS A DIFFERENT THERAPY APPROACH.

With that being said, let’s jump right in. From the beginning I was always that person who favours skincare over makeup. You will find in my collection, more skincare items. This is my personal opinion that if you have a good base, the makeup sits right. 🙂 Also, I really don’t know how to put makeup even though I own good products. 😀 My Skin is combination skin, which becomes dry in winters, around the chin and cheek, whereas in the summers my T-zone becomes increasingly oily. During spring and autumn, my skin undergoes changes, around 15-20 days and then returns to normal. I have to use eczema friendly products in those days to calm my skin. I have a fixed skincare routing throughout the year, with occasional changes and I will go through it below. Most of the products mentioned here could only be found in Europe or Germany. 😦

• Cleanser- CIEN Gentle Cleansing Milk only in the shower or DR. GRANDEL Gentle Foam Cleanser for general use. Now here is the deal. My dermatologist told me to shower every 2 days. Before you start with your ‘eww’, she had her reasons. Germany is very cold in the winters and here it is normal to skip on showers if a person has dry skin. According to her, water strips the skin of moisture and oil, so she advised me to shower occasionally, however cleaning the lady bits is of utmost importance to me. 😀 So, when am in the shower, I use the cleansing milk like a face wash and then rinse it of. Other days, I wash my face with the foaming face wash after waking up and before sleeping with warm water and then the final rinse is with cold water. It is gentle on the skin and also cold water shrinks the pores.
• Toner- I don’t have any special toner but I do use Avene Thermal Spray. It calms my skin and provides hydration and a cooling effect. Once a week, ONLY AT NIGHT, I use Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution on a cotton swab and run it over my face. This one is strong acid and gives deep exfoliation. My recommendation would be to listen to your skin. If it tingles or burns, you could dilute with some skin mist or water or stop its usage entirely. For me the dilution trick worked and then I got my skin used to this acid on its own.
• Serum- If I am going out in the sun, then I skip on retinoid and acids. The serums I use are all from ‘The Ordinary”. I don’t use them all together in a single session. So if one day, I used Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5, then the next day, I will use Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%. The first one provides hydration and the next one gives you a smooth blemish free skin. The same approach I apply for the nighttime. One night it is Granactive Retinoid 2% in Squalane, then the other night it will be Lactic Acid 5% + HA. Both my night serums are good for people with sensitive skin. Retinoid is ofcourse, to target fine wrinkles and lines and lactic acid gives gentle exfoliation and clears the pores. I also use, Argireline Solution 10% either during the day or night. This one targets specially the folds around the eyes and forehead.
• Moisturiser- During the day, my moisturiser is my sunscreen. I use after the serums, my sunscreen Eucerin Sun Gel-Cream Oil Control SPF 50+. This is the only sunscreen which works for me 365 days. At night, I usually stop my skincare at the serum stage, since any moisturiser I used, made me oily at night. However, listen to your skin. If it needs moisture, use it.

So that is all I use in my skincare. Now here is the interesting part. THE TIPS! 😉 My dermatologist suggested this for people having eczema-prone, dry or sensitive skin.

1. Cleanse your face only at night. In the morning wash your face with water. At night your skin rejuvenates, so cleansing is important at night. However, since your skin is already clean from the night before except the nightly oil secretions, water is enough to remove this.
2. She supports the use of acids. Acids exfoliate your skin, making it smooth. It also reduces those nasty whiteheads. However, if the skin is cracked, DON’T USE ACIDS. It will sting and irritate you.
3. Sunscreen is a must. If you use retinoids or acids in your skincare, sunscreen everyday should be your mantra.

I know that you might have heard of these tips or maybe not. But it surely made my skin brighter and smoother. Let me know if you can offer me some moisturiser suggestions. What works for your skin? I am happy to know it 😉 Till next time, take care and cya. :-*

Sustainable “those days of the month”

Hey everyone!

How is the quarantine treating you? Germany started semi-lockdown since November 2020 due to the rise in the cases. So I thought, being at home mostly, why don’t I try something for myself (apart from new cooking recipes) in the hygiene department. Every month I am generating lot of waste during those 7 days, which does not get decomposed so easily, owing to the fact that tampons and pads contain plastics and chemicals.

I finished my masters in sustainable systems engineering recently and it really opened my eyes to types of problems plaguing the environment. Apart from the usual pollution we hear of regularly, who knew about the issues, specially the ones which cannot go through all the R’s (Reuse, Recycle and Reduce). Clearly, a woman usually menstruates every month for an average of 5 days for a period of 40 years. Technology and modernity brought the invention of pads and tampons. I, in no way, deny that they did not help me during those days. For most part of my life, I have been using pads and switched to tampons just a year back due to its slick and comfort level. Of course the price is not the same. Then the new trend came in of using menstrual cups. I know some friends use them but to me they pose a lot of hassle, even the thought of using them outside home, in a public washroom. So I never tried it. But that did not stop me in looking at a different yet an old solution.

Our mothers or maybe our grandmothers or aunts went through that phase. In earlier times, women used cotton sheets in many layers, for collecting menstrual blood. In fact, till date, in sections of the society which cannot afford buying pads every month, this simplest of the technology is worth for them. I am talking about reusable pads. I first heard of this around 2015 in India. A small company was founded in the south of India, which employed local women to create reusable cloth pads at an affordable price. At that time, my naivety and ignorance told me they are meant for people who cannot buy the usual pads. I was sceptical at that moment. Now after all these years, I have realised that reusable cloth pads are also for everyone who want to save the environment and their own wallet. I started my research on them and the pandemic just made it more sensible.

You can find that lot of people have been using them and making their own. In fact, online stores like Amazon sell a variety of them from different vendors. The reviews helped a lot for me and keeping the budget in mind, I bought for myself a set of reusable cloth pads in October 2020. This is the one I bought. This one is a set of three sizes for all the days. The price for me was 17 Euros but I think it fluctuates sometimes on Amazon. The package arrived within a week of ordering and in a beautiful box. Looks like a gift, eh? 🙂 It had an instruction booklet in different languages informing the user of how to use, fold and wash. The pads were sealed in a vacuum bag which impressed me a lot. This set came with a carry bag which allows you to carry soiled as well as fresh pads outside home. It also came with a laundry bag to wash the dirty ones in a washing machine. The different sizes of the pads and the quantity are mentioned on the outer box as shown below.

Material & Quantity: Due to 3 sizes, it serves the purpose of meeting the requirements of your heavy days to light flow days. However, the heavy menstrual pads of this brand are too bulky and big for me, but the middle and small size work perfectly for me. The large sized pads and the small sized in this set are only 2 in quantity so that means you might have to wash them frequently. The middle sizes, 6 in number, could be washed every alternate day. The best part for me is that they have adorable prints, which is the leakproof back side or the side which is flat against your underwear. The top side or the side which is in contact with the body is the bamboo charcoal grey colored layer as shown below. They have the same idea as the sanitary pads with wings, except the adhesive is replaced with button system. In some reviews, it is mentioned that they slip but fortunately, I have faced that issue only with the smallest size. When not in use, they can be folded neatly into a small sized square which is convenient for carrying around or storing. In total they have 4 layers including the top layer and back layer (a waterproofish cloth) along with two inner absorbent microfibre layers. The top layer only feels wet when the pad is saturated and needs changing. The backlayer prevents leakage. All the layers are made up of cloth. To me wearing it is not an issue and I feel comfortable with them. Based on some reviews I might have to wait till next summer to update you all how it feels in summers. Apparently, some people complained that it feels warm in the summer due to the top layer.

Use & Cleaning: So how do I use and clean them? Well! I usually use 2 middle ones during the day and the bulky one at night for medium to heavy flow days. I change my pads after a duration of 6 hours or when it starts feeling wet. Each time I change, I wash the used one in cold water several times by rinsing and squeezing till the water runs clear. Then I soak them in soapy cold water for 1-2 hours or maybe longer. In case I have no time to rinse, then I store it in the carry bag or soak it directly in cold water, but it could be a bloodbath ;-). You could do all this in your sink or just buy a small bucket like me. Hand wash is recommended or machine wash on gentle cycle. The stains do leave. Then dry it on a clothes rack, heater or in a dryer. Best solution is hanging it outside in bright sun, but being in a cold dull winter place and having privacy concerns, I dry it on my heater or sometimes in dryer with my other clothes. One thing to keep in mind. Never wash with hot water. The first rinse or hand wash should always be in cold water, owing to the fact that blood stains go away only in cold water. Later you can clean it in the washing machine.

Now can you use it outside? Ofcourse you can. It acts like a normal pad. I have used it. However they are not so thin like the commercial ones. Also, the large pads might be bulky for some women so not that comfy. I have not tried yet sports with it so I cannot help in that room but I did ride the bike with it and did not feel anything out of the ordinary :-).

Overall verdict: Top notch! 😀 Try it! After using it, I realised one thing, my trash can is empty and it really makes a difference, imagining the future for 30 more years in my life. I would totally recommend to you to give this a go and if you are good in sewing, make some quirky and funky ones for yourself.

PS: Within Europe, I think this brand and this type of reusable sanitary napkins could be found. If you are from India, I did go through some brands like Eco Femme on Amazon, but personally never got the chance to experience them. My suggestion is try it for yourself and see which one works for you. At the end of the day, you should be comfortable. 🙂

Sustainable plastic free beauty

Hey everyone!

So how are you doing?

Nowadays it is a trend and also a choice to switch to plastic-free approaches in daily life. Ofcourse, we all know why. I was at first hesitant, because as a student, leading a plastic-free life is expensive. Do you know why? Capitalism and consumerism. Oddly enough, things in plastic packaging are cheaper to buy. According to me, it should be other way around. You are saving on costs and time by selling the product directly to the consumer, instead of packaging it.

So I researched a lot and realised I can try some methods, without breaking the bank. I started buying local produces without plastic. I buy for a week so that things don’t get bad, like tomatoes, bananas or apples. For beauty stuff, which we know, use so much plastic bottles, I started making my own soap and conditioner since May 2020.

Soap/shampoo- The ratio between water (distilled water if your tap water is hard) to liquid Castille soap is 1:1. You can add other ingredients like aloe, essential oils or honey. This concoction does not lather so much, but does not mean it is not cleaning. Trust me! it does clean effectively. I used the recipes from this website. However, the soap will only work if you have soft water, otherwise it will lead to white salt deposits on your skin and scalp. This means, not only you must make the soap in distilled water, but also rinse it away with distilled water. So for me this became expensive and cumbersome. Maybe for your region it might work. However, I have switched to bar soaps for less plastic. This same recipe could also be used for hand soaps.

Conditioner- Now here comes the thing I am so proud of. My hair is normal in texture with medium dandruff issues. It used to be frizzy beforehand and was getting oily 3 days later of my wash. Also the effing hairfall!!! So I ended up washing my hair twice a week and this was a vicious cycle. From my internet research and trial :-P, for my hair type, 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar in 1 cup (250 ml) tap water works wonders. You need to buy the apple cider vinegar which is from Bragg’s. As per internet, it is the only one which is authentic. 😀 Also, it still has the organic nutrients present in it, which is absent in the normal salad vinegars or the synthetic ones. This solution is not supposed to be rinsed off with water. You air dry your hair after absorbing the excess with the towel. Don’t worry! Once it is dry, there is no smell of vinegar. Personally, I have a squeezy bottle with 5 nozzles which helps dispense the solution directly into the scalp. Rub the scalp gently. After doing that, I dump the rest on my hair. My hair took some getting used to this, but now I wash my hair only once per week and it does not look oily in the middle of the washes. In addition to this, my scalp is less itchy and dry, with hair amazingly smooth. Hairfall has reduced a lot, since my white floor is clean most of the week. 😀

With the castille soap, you use this rinse later as a neutralising rinse (base and acid-chemistry, duh!) . But since the water here in Germany is hard enough, the vinegar rinse was not sufficient to remove all the salt deposit and my own hair grime. 😦 So use this process only if you have soft water. For me using a normal soap from the market with this vinegar rinse, is not only healthy, but also cheap and eco-friendly. You can easily find the vinegar and castille soap on Amazon.

Let me know if this works for you. Do you have any other methods of living a plastic free life?

Cetaphil Pro Itchcontrol handcream review

I never thought I would be reviewing another eczema-related product. But after all these years of dormancy, my eczema flared up again since January 2020, on my right hand fingers.

I went to a dermatologist recently, expecting how the German dermatologists approach eczema. In India, either a Homeopath could help you or you end up using and suffering with Cortisone creams. I vowed, never to use steroid creams again. German dermatologist at my city gave me several samples to use on my hand eczema alongwith a cream that contained anti-bacterial agents alongwith steroid. I did not buy that cream obviously.

One such sample was from Cetaphil. The last product from this brand I used was a facial cleanser long time back, which did not help at all with my acne and oily skin that time. That caused me to have presumptions that Cetaphil is not for me. But I know the products from Avène and La Roche-Posay are quite expensive, even though they work better than most common pharmacy products. So I gave this a try. For all the official description about it, click here. So here are my thoughts on it.

Price: € 7,95 for 50 ml. Atleast that is what is available here in Freiburg, Germany. I use it whenever my hands feel itchy or dry and after washing my hands (Corona situation nowadays), so based on this, this is going to last 1 and half months usually. I do squeeze the life out of it and try to use, every bit of it. 😀 The pricing is very affordable.

Packaging: The cream comes in a paper cardboard box with the description in detail. Quite informative, I must say. Due to its small tube size, it fits your bag easily. Very much portable indeed. It has flip-top cap, so no leakage.

Texture: This is white in color, with light texture. It absorbs readily and not so much product is required. My eczema is concentrated only on the right hand, on forefinger, middle finger and the little finger. I don’t know the reason of this peculiarity. 😀

Overall verdict: Whenever I itched a lot, my dry eczema turned to weeping eczema, which is even worse. It increases more itching and leads to the never ending cycle of itch and weeping. I came to know that weeping eczema is due to infection, so for that reason, it is better to dry out your eczema. Ofcourse, all types of eczema are a torture for the sufferer. 😦 It all depends on, how to make it bearable. From the first day of usage, I noticed a drastic improvement. It indeed controls the itching and moisturizes at the same time. Within 2-3 days, my weeping eczema was gone. I forgot to take before & after pictures for this. :-\ I am still using this as my staple go-to handcream. For me this is definitely a thumbs up and I hope this is able to help you also.

Let me know through comments whether you have tried this. 🙂

Take care and stay safe!

 

Beauty standards of Germany vs India

Heya everyone!

How you doin’ ? 😉

I moved to Germany exactly a year back for my studies.  Ofcourse, the studies and new culture along with friends and parties take a lot of time from my hand. But here I am. 🙂 My idea of beauty changed a lot after coming here. You will read that shortly.

Let me introduce you to the average weather here. I live in southern Germany,where one gets an ample amount of Sun throughout the year,specially during Summers. Summer temperatures range between 25-38 celsius.Winters on the other hand are dry and windy with temperatures below 20 all the time.

So for an Indian,how does the beauty market of Germany differs keeping in mind the weather conditions?

1. Fitness Pro- In India, you don’t see many women hitting the gym or fitness classes. Most of the young ones go for a walk or jog,the middle-aged ones do Yoga or walk and the old ones? Forget about them…Maybe they go for a walk too,but not at a pace which defines it fitness level. Men on the other hand,specially the young generation till 30 years, either play a sport or go to gym extensively. Beyond that age, its restricted to walks only. In Germany, all age groups and gender hit the gym regularly. There are more Yoga courses here than I could find in my hometown in India.  I used to do home exercises along with Yoga, but on landing here,I joined a gym.I must say,it brings a different level of fitness and energy to you.
2. Go Natural- The weather here is mostly perfect,so there is no fear of melting/dry makeup,but in spite of that, German women prefer living without makeup or maybe they are using a natural makeup look. I have hardly seen anyone wearing a bright lipstick or eyeshadow (maybe during parties or festivals) . In India, it’s true the humid summers wreak havoc on your makeup,so most of the women avoid it,but if you go to the big cities, women do embrace going outside with full face of makeup in varied hues. When I was working, my makeup was restricted to a coloured eyeliner(matching with my attire) and a nude lipstick atmost.Now,it’s all about just using a tinted sunscreen and compact powder. 😀
3. Grayscale Life- This can be said for most of the Europeans. People love wearing various shades from B/W spectrum during winters. This amuses me as I think winters are already gloomy with gray skies,on top of it,people choose to wear matching clothes to make it more disheartening (There are some occasional rebels 😉 ). Summers are entirely different here. With the bright Sun,clothes become more colourful and eye-catchy. If you visit India, you would notice that we are not biased against any season. For us ,colour is part of life and we are not afraid to wear it everyday.
4. Skincare Saviour- This is in harmony with point 2. You have variety of skincare labels to choose from when you visit an Apotheke (drugstore). Germany prides itself on good skincare and this shows in the German women. The reason why they go natural is because they are more concerned about their skin and prefer making it flawless,rather than layering it up with cosmetics. Indians usually opt for regular skincare ,influenced by the telemarketing or the ones the doctors suggest. But I have seen that there is an increase in awareness about beauty products nowadays,specially among young women. 🙂 

These are all my observations till date. I know I have more to learn. Also, it’s just a personal perspective so I hope no one gets offended. 🙂

If you find anything worth mentioning or something I forgot , jot it down in the comment section below. 😉

Till next time, Cya. 

Giving up?

Hi everyone!

Hope you are doing great. Ah! I know, it has been ages I wrote my thoughts here. So let me explain what I have been doing since last year, since the time this blog went dormant.

I decided last August(2016) ,that I need to do something about my life, maybe study again or change job. I decided on the first one. I started preparing for the same, and that involved studying for GRE and IELTS. Till December, I was fully engrossed in it. From January onwards, my college applications took most of my time. If anyone of you has gone through it, hats off to you! It is so cumbersome. This continued till June,along with various other formalities.

If you have been following me on Instagram, then you would know, I have been taking Deutsch lessons as well and it is still going on. It is a tough language, and I need it for my life over there in Germany. Yep! I said it. I will be soon shifting to Germany for my Masters studies and will be spending a long time over there.

With so much going on in my life, I try posting mini reviews on my Instagram account. So that’s where you can find your answers. I am active there and its much easier to handle it. Once I reach there, I will post mini reviews on German beauty brands as well.  😉

So the answer to the title, “Am I giving up my blog? “, is NO. I will be continuing the same work, through my Instagram account, and this blog domain, will remain active for my occasional travelogues.

Wish me luck! I am scared a little for venturing outside my beloved India. :-\

Take care lovelies :-*

 

Does it matter?

Hi!!

Hope you are doing well! I guess this post will be little personal than what I usually post.

I had my birthday on Monday i.e. 13th March. I am not like those who wants their facebook bombarded with birthday wishes from people who wish out of courtesy.So obviously, I had removed the Birthdate. Naturally, I didnt see any wishes from anyone. I have been doing this since 2014. 

It is that part of life when I don’t even get bothered anymore. My family wishes and some close friends.That makes it about 7-8 people. Infact, some friends with whom I talk regularly, they also forgot.

I do understand the busy schedules and stressful life. But the most weird thing is, I am not angry and neither I am feeling weird that they didn’t wish me. I am still talking with them and consider them my friends.

Is it normal? Has this happened with you where you are least bothered ? Am I too easy for everyone? 

Risks and Benefits of Using Activated Charcoal in Your Beauty Routine

Activated charcoal has been around for a very long time, but it’s only in the recent years that it’s getting the spotlight as a new miracle beauty product. However, is it worth all the hype? We sometimes tend to follow health fads without examining them closely, and this can lead to potential harm. The aim of this article is to examine this beauty trend and see if it has any real benefits and how can we use it in our beauty routines.

What is activated charcoal?

Activated charcoal is carbon that has been processed by high temperatures and gas to create small, low-volume pores that give it excellent absorption qualities. It has been used in medicine to help treat drug overdose or alcohol poisoning, but now it is seeing a much wider range of application. It has the ability to absorb toxins and certain chemicals, and that’s generally the reason people have started using it in various hair and skin treatments, and even as a form of teeth whitener.

Benefits

A lot of skin experts seem to agree that activated charcoal definitely brings benefits to our skin, with its ability to clean it thoroughly and get rid of all the excess oils. Acne prone skin responds to charcoal treatments especially well, and many people have started making facial masks and using it as a gentle scrub. As acne treatments go, this is a pretty good one, as it reaches deep into our pores and gets rid of all the dirt. A lot of spa professionals and aestheticians are using activated charcoal to help resolve various skin problems related to inflammation and even to get rid of cellulite.

Another popular way of using activated charcoal is as teeth whitener. The trend is very popular in Australia, where people like to mix a small amount of the substance with their toothpaste, and then brush their teeth twice a day. Everybody seems to have their cosmetic dentist in Sydney on speed-dial these days, so it’s no wonder that this trend is taking off, seeing as Australia is on the list of top countries when it comes to dental health. However, not all professionals are on board with charcoal toothpastes, so it’s best to schedule a consultation before you try anything. The health of your teeth is best left to a good dentist.

Besides the cosmetic purposes, activated charcoal can be used for its original purpose – to help settle your stomach, ease bloating, and collect any toxins related to food or alcohol poisoning.

Risks

The greatest risk of activated charcoal comes in case of an overdose, when it can cause severe cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea. Other than that, it’s actually pretty safe to use, but you should always consult your doctor, especially if you intend to use it in form of capsules.

While there are no great risks involved, there is surprisingly little data that supports the use of activated charcoal and its benefits. Some health professionals seem to think that it’s a passing trend, made popular mostly because of charcoal powder’s intense black colour. The colour makes it look more interesting and so we are easily fooled. Some people also report that it left their faces stained black, and irritated.

Final Thoughts

What it all comes down to is that activated charcoal seems relatively safe to use, if seemingly ineffective. But this is mostly down to individual experiences – what works for one person might not work for the next. It certainly doesn’t hurt to try because a lot of people still swear by it. From DIY facial masks to toothpaste, the trend doesn’t seem to be dying out. Luckily, it’s entirely inexpensive; so, you can give it a go to see if it does anything for you. Test it on a small patch of your skin and then have fun experimenting.

About the author:

Zara Lewis is a designer and a regular contributor to highstylife.com , devoted to implementing healthy life habits in every aspect of life of her family and friends. She seeks for beauty in everything that surrounds her. Romantic soul and tech geek in one body. She enjoys hiking, cycling, yoga and cooking.

 

Skincafe Choco chip cookies lipscrub

 I am back!

Ignore my Arnold Shwarzenegger swag! 😉

I am truly sorry for being away from my blog and from all of you. Trust me! It wasn’t an easy task .I want to be honest with you all and tell you why I wasn’t writing.

I had some career priorities and decisions to make so felt to focus on it entirely. It required my decision and constant discussion with my parents which needed me to stay away from any other priorities. ( my blog).

I also apologise to the brands which sent me their products for reviewing.Usually I don’t break my commitments with regard to posting on time.So please forgive me if I didn’t post it when it was supposed to go live.

Now back to the topic, eh? I was sent this cutie pie for reviewing and since I have used it several times,I can write about it.

About the brand: Skincafe is a brand which makes fresh products after you place your order.They use essential oils ,natural ingredients,herbal infusions and mild food colouring without any preservatives and all the harmful parabens. Checkout their website for product and price listing.Most interesting thing you will find that they post food pictures instead of product picture to show the flavor or the ingredient.That actually caught my eye. 

Availability: You can order through their website and also their Facebook page..I don’t think they sell through any retail centre.Currently they ship within India only.

Price: INR 950 for 9 gm.This might look costly but trust me,you really need a little everytime.So this tub will last you pretty long.Free shipping on all orders.

Ingredients: You can see in the picture below,everything is natural and there is almost no trace of chemicals in it.

Packaging: It comes in a cute cardboard box which is quite sturdy.When you open it,you are greeted with a spatula and a small glass tub.Being a glass,it is best to keep it in the box and carry.The box won’t open easily,so perfect for travel.The size is small as well,so definitely portable.

What I felt:  From the first day itself,I noticed a huge difference.

Earlier,I used to scrub my lips with a worn out toothbrush and coconut oil/Vaseline.Since I have started wearing lipsticks,specially matte ones,on a daily basis,you know how they affect our lips.My lips are currently in a normal state,but these lipsticks do make it flaky after 2- 3 days of wearing lipsticks.So I scrub my lips twice a week.

This lipscrub has cocoa bean granules so when you are scrubbing,it will tend to fall down.It is not sticky so you have to take a little amount and  work your way fast.The spatula provided is apt for the quantity to be taken.

It is indeed choclaty and being allergic to chocolates,it didn’t cause any reaction to my skin.(Surprising no?).The jojoba oil provides moisture .

You rub the scrub gently for 30 secs and wash it off.You can actually notice your lips are plump and super soft.If you have dry lips,then follow the drill as and when required ,but make sure,gentle scrubbing is there,because dry lips tend to lose skin fast and may cause bleeding.

I also felt that pigmentation of lips due to lipsticks tend to fade a little with this scrub.

Is there any con? I don’t think so.It works  and the amount will last you for easily 3-4 months if you have lips like mine.If you want to grab it,click here

I would definitely recommend this investment.

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See you all in my next post,Take care,bye