I have been trying to move towards organic or natural ways to solve most of my everyday problems and routine. I am just at the start point of the long way to change to an organic/natural living completely. But nevertheless its better to change now than never! So why do you have to change to natural living and what are the easy ways to start?

Natural products are always better for you internally and externally. They do not cause any serious side effects. Its good for the environment too, you will not be creating any non degradable garbage to the earth! Your bit of help to a greener environment. Its cheaper sometimes compared to expensive chemical products for your problems. No harm in trying natural way before you decide on anything! There are many more reason to move to Natural products! 

Start small with changing a thing or two in your everyday regime, be it beauty products or eatables or home products. Make the change and see how you feel about it. If you are in Bangalore, you will already know about the plastic ban here. Initially it was very difficult to segregate garbage and carry our own cloth bags to supermarkets. But now I'm sure you will love the feel of carrying cloth bags to shops, understanding how much plastics you use by segregating your home waste and trying to reduce it. So change is difficult at the start, but you will understand that the change is for your good! 

When you look back, you would love these changes you made years back and feel good about yourself. Be a role model for the next generation to have a greener environment around them.

Natural Toner for all types of skin problems:
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Are you using the expensive alcohol laded toners to help you come out of your skin problems? Or are you thinking to start using toners in your CTM routine?

Apple Cider Vinegar is the cheaper option and a natural product so that the skin doesn't have to absorb any chemicals. Buy the purest raw form (undistilled) of ACV from the store. Look for the word - "With the Mother". ACV provide natural alpha hydroxy acids and maintains the natural pH levels of your skin. It helps removing dead skin and improving acne marks too.

Mix in 1 part ACV with 2 parts distilled water to create your own DIY natural toner and store it in a clean spray bottle. Dampen a cotton ball or swab and swipe across the face after cleansing. Leave it for 2 mins and then go ahead with your normal moisturizer.

My hair has become so dry day by day, curse the Bangalore Climate for that. My hair texture is very silky and smooth the moment i step out of Bangalore. But why???? Million dollar question. So I'm always on a hunt for a good deep conditioner to quench my hair's thirst. But in vain - nothing works for long! My hair gets used to any product and goes back to its original dry state. Uff! I did try the best ones talked about in the internet - like the Aussie's.

Essential Oils!! It's everywhere now... such a huge rage for these mini bottles of aromatic oils. Are they worth all the buzz??? Yes, may be. The first oil we'll talk about is the much raved Tea Tree Oil. 

"Tea tree oil is an essential oil that has been obtained by steam distillation of the leaves of the melaleuca alternifolia, a plant native to Australia."

Tea Tree Oil helps to cure skin ailments, scalp issues and other medicinal benefits. It can also be used to clean household and remove ticks too. Tea tree Oil has anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. So it soothes the skin or scalp, treating itchiness effectively. It has good moisturizing property too.

WARTS - hearing the name of it makes us get irritated and annoyed!! I have seen many people having warts on their neck, hands, feet and on their face too. I've heard it falls off after a few months or years by itself. But it's so irritating to touch or feel them on your skin... eeks!! I never had them until one day, when I woke up to see two small eruptions on my skin... and that too on my face!! God damn!! Never imagined this would happen even in my worst nightmares!!

Initially I convinced myself that they were just pimples which would vanish in few days. But no, they were baby warts in the developing stage. Got them near my lips.. I was very much worried about it all day. If it had come in any other area, I would have left them to exist and hide them forever. I started reading about warts and how to remove them.

I recently thought I need to shed 3-4 kgs of weight, to reduce my love handles and to tone my body a bit. I know excercising/ yoga is a better option to stay fit, but i tend to complain a lot about getting time. Morning - maid comes early, have to cook breakfast & in the evening - we reach home late and have to cook dinner :(. And I can't diet!! I can't reduce white food intake like sugar/rice/maida!! Really painful isn't it!! I love sweets and desserts, no matter what :)  So I started looking for some of the weight loss drinks which works in the long run!!

You might be thinking how a drink can make you lose weight. Yes, these drinks are detoxifiers. Detoxifiers are the ones which removes the unwanted toxins from your body, cleanses your system and thus increases your metabolism rate. So the fat deposition in your body parts is prevented. Thus increasing your metabolism rate helps your food to be digested faster and fats are broken down easily. But these drinks may take a while to show some change in your body. You need to follow them for atleast 2-3 months to see a noticeable change.

So let's see what are the best weight loss drinks that work effectively:

1. Cinnamon Honey Drink
This drink is the first of all the others, and the most claimed to work effectively. Some of the well known people that I follow in the blogging network have said that they have lost 3-4 kgs in a month!!! I think that's really awesome. Atleast there is no harm in trying this organic drink, when you are ready to spend a big bomb by hitting the gym or aerobics or yoga. This is pretty simple to make and all you need is cinnamon and honey at home (1:2 cinnamon honey ratio). Drink twice a day. I'm gonna start this from today... fingers crossed :)

Kasthuri Manjal is called as wild turmeric in english. It is part of the Curcuma genus - Zingiberaceae family. I think there are 5 types of turmeric available. The ones which we use in cooking, round ones used for pooja or the auspicious one, kasthuri manjal which is used only for cosmetic and medicinal preparation. I'm not sure of the rest of the varieties. This variety of turmeric is grown mostly in the South Asian Countries.

Wild turmeric is an important ingredient in any ayurvedic skin care product. It has anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatory, anti-septic and anti-bacterial properties. The yellow pigment in the turmeric makes the skin brighter. It also helps in removing facial hair and pimple marks, when used for a longer time. Ladies used to apply turmeric paste on their body before taking bath ages before, to give a glow to their skin. This ritual is even now followed in marriage ceremonies in India. So how do we use it as a face pack?

Last time my mom came home, she felt my face was dull even after a facial at a nearby parlor :( This is why I'm not a parlor hitting girl!! She took the pains of searching kasthuri manjal in the market, and found a shop which sold the dried kasthuri manjal roots. She brought them home and grinded it coarsely in the mixer. Sieved it to make a fine powder and stored it for my later use. You can also buy 100% organic Kasthuri manjal powder available from some known brands.

Everyone wants to have healthy hair, be it short hair or long one. Beautiful mane is an age old status and beauty symbol for ladies. Girls are spending a lot in the salons to get what they want, while working woman like me don't give it much time and care. We blame short time, work pressure, family responsibilities and what not. Though all this might be true, we have to admit our laziness and get started right away. Who doesn't want lustrous mane?

Take up the 8 week healthy hair challenge with me and see the benefits for yourself. I would be posting my hair care regime, some natural remedies and also the results - what worked and what did not for me over here. Since I am a busy woman, interested in doing many things other than beautifying myself (I am not the one who hits the salon every month), the regime would be simple and quick enough tricks for the busy ladies to follow them before work. So watch out for more updates in this space!!

Healthy Hair Challenge Criteria and Goals:
# More Shiny and Lustrous Hair
# Moisturized enough and Bouncing with Life
# Stronger Hair strands
# Considerably more volume and less hair fall

My Pre-Challenge Hair Condition:
I have very fine and soft hair, 80% straight with wavy texture, more on the dry side because of Bangalore's climate (You can get a glimpse of my hair in the cover photo.. More pics to come. I had really long, thick and healthy hair in childhood!! Gone days!!) My hair starts becoming limp and dry, and oily scalp 2 days after hair wash. I also get mild dandruff on the scalp and increased hair breakage if I dont shampoo for more than 2 or 3 days. It is because of dryness... my hair just drinks any moisture!! I usually oil my hair and leave it overnight or 1 hour before shampooing. Then too it needs more!! I have normal to intermediate hair fall, highly depends on my bad moods now and then :( I occassionally use straightner in lowest heat to have tangle-free hair.

My Current Products:
# Parachute Coconut Oil
# TBS Rainforest Shine Shampoo (But I loved their Moisture range, waiting to finish this one)
# Park Avenue Beer Shampoo
# Pantene Conditioner
# TBS Grapeseed Glossing Serum

Are you with me??? Post your suggestions and your progress in the comments. Let's do it together!!
Get Set... Start!!

My General Guidelines/Rules for Healthy hair for this 8 weeks:
(I believe that small sustainable changes are more beneficial in the long run)
# Use wooden comb/brush with wide bristles
# Drink 8 glasses of water everyday (Hardest one for me :( )
# Drink one fruit juice/tender coconut/sugarcane juice everyday
# Trim my hair first, since it's been 5 months after my hair cut. It's necessary to regularly trim your hair for better hair growth and give a positive feel about your hair.
# Eat two pieces of dates everyday for Iron content. Can also have mixed dry fruits like raisins, almond, walnut, apricot, fig, etc. for inbetween breaks.
# Do not comb wet hair.
# Clean your combs regularly.
# Excercise or do Yoga daily for 30 minutes, to remove everyday stress.
# Drink Amla Juice how much ever possible (Available in cartons from B'Naturals - 1 carton for two weeks)
# Try not to get into bad moods whatever be the reason!!
# Plait hair before going to bed, to avoid breakage and improve hair growth.
Will add to the list as and when I start following new rules... :)

WEEK # 01
Before marriage I had taken so much pains for my hair care, I used to apply Henna+Olive Oil+Eggs+Curd pack on my hair, leave it for 30 minutes and then wash. I also used shikkakai once per week (Thanks to mom). But now, all this looks so tiring and strenuous :(

I have read a lot about curd/yogurt pack for hair and its moisturizing benefits. I thought let me try it for once before I do not believe in it's benefits.
Yogurt Gyan/ Properties: Yogurt is high in lactic acid,  has natural antifungal and antibacterial properties. The yogurt works to stimulate hair growth and fight dandruff by acting as a natural cleanser that tightens and clarifies the pores on your scalp. The protein properties help to strengthen and moisturize your hair and to tame persistent, pesky fly-aways by smoothing your strands. The creamy consistency and antibacterial ingredients help to soothe your scalp and reduce any itchiness.

DIY Hair Pack 1:  First thing in the morning on a Weekday, I whipped a tbsp of hung curd/yogurt (Take two days old curd for best results) with a tsp of lemon juice. You can skip lemon juice, if you do not have any itchiness or dandruff. Lemon cleans the scalp off impurities. I first applied coconut oil on my hair.. My hair needs oil like anything!! Then I applied the yogurt pack on the scalp and hair shafts till the tips. Clipped my hair into a bun and did my other morning work. After 30 minutes, I washed my hair with mild shampoo (TBS rainforest for now - no chemicals) and did not apply any conditioner for the first time... and you should see the results (Conditioners usually suck for me.. they don't give enough moisture for my hair!! I have tried many... but this pack is worth a million... at no cost at all. Wowww!! I am going to add curd in most of my hair packs here on.
Pros: It feels so good to touch my hair - soft, shiny, moisturized and bouncy.
Cons: The effect lasts only for 2 days :(
Try this pack for your hair and let me know your experience.