Add a glow to your skin

Beauty expert, Shahnaz Husain, tells you how to get a glowing complexion

Right there, on your kitchen shelf, are many ingredients that can easily be used to add radiance to your skin.

Tone your skin daily with rose water. It is helpful for all skin types. Toning stimulates blood circulation to the skin surface and adds a glow. For a skin toner, take rose water and mix it with witch hazel. For dry skin, mix 3 parts of rose water with one part of witch hazel. For oily and combination skin, mix rose water and witch hazel in equal quantities. Witch hazel will be available at your local pharmacy. If you cannot get witch hazel, use plain rose water, or buy a rose-based skin tonic. Keep the toner in a bowl in the fridge and soak cotton wool pads in it. First use them to wipe the skin. Then, stroke the skin with them. On the cheeks, use outward and upward movements, ending each stroke at the temples and applying gentle pressure. On the forehead, start from the centre and go outwards on each side, again ending at the temples. For the chin, use circular movements. Then, pat the skin briskly with the rosewater-soaked cotton wool pads.

Use a facial scrub twice a week. It can work wonders on the skin, helping to remove dead skin cells and making the skin brighter. It also improves skin texture and produces an even colour tone. It is a powerful cleansing procedure too, leaving the skin renewed, refreshed and glowing. For a scrub, mix ground almonds (badaam) with yogurt. Dried and powdered lemon and orange peels can also be added. Dry and powdered mint (pudina) leaves also help to add a glow. Apply the mixture on the face and leave on for a few minutes. Then, rub gently, with small circular movements, washing off with water. A facial scrub can also be made with walnut powder. Add honey and lemon juice.

Mix honey and lemon juice in equal quantities and apply daily on the face. Wash it off after 20 minutes. It leaves the skin very soft and glowing. Egg white can also be added to this mixture.

Fruit packs are great for adding radiance to the skin. They can also be applied daily. Mix grated apples with ripe papaya pulp and mashed banana. Yogurt or lemon juice can be added to the mixture. Apply it on the face and leave it on for half an hour. Wash off with plain water. It not only adds a glow, but also removes tan and makes the skin soft.

Dried and powdered curry leaves (kari patta) can also be added to face packs, as it is said to add a glow to the skin. It can be mixed with Fullers Earth (multani mitti) and rose water into a paste. Apply on the face and wash it off when it is dry. Multani mitti also clarifies the skin and is particularly useful for oily skin.

The skin is called the mirror of the body and rightly so. No other organ reflects the state of internal health as faithfully as the skin. An unhealthy lifestyle, lack of sleep and exercise, stress, nutritional deficiencies all reflect on the skin, in terms of dull lifeless skin. Include a variety of natural foods, like fresh fruits, raw salads, sprouts, yogurt, fresh fruit juices, leafy green vegetables, "dalia", oats, green tea, in your diet. Fresh fruit juices should be diluted with water. Drink plenty of water. Foods like these remove toxins and cleanse the system, adding a glow to the skin. Indeed, internal health and external beauty are two sides of the same coin.