Spring Skin & Hair Care

Shahnaz Husain

Ready to feel all fresh-faced and fabulous this spring?  After months of snow, slush, and frigid temperatures, spring is finally on the horizon. Spring is a time of renewal: birds chirping, flowers blooming, and your skin emerging from a cocoon of intensive winter moisturizer and chapstick.

With the change from winter to spring, our skin is exposed less to cold, dry air and more to higher moisture levels in the air.

As we make a shift from cosy sweaters to cool tees, it’s time to update your skincare routine because what worked in winter might be different from what works now.

Not sure where to start? Follow these expert tips.

If the skin is very dry, with rough reddish patches, avoid applying soap. Instead, use a cleanser morning and night. Apart from daily cleansing, give the skin some nourishment. As a home remedy, you can try applying a little sesame seed (til) oil and pat the skin with a hot moist towel. Or, you one can apply a little milk, with a few drops of honey, leave it on for 10 to 15 minutes and wash off with water. These treatments are especially good for normal to dry skins.

If you have oily skin, add one teaspoon of pure glycerine to 50 ml rose water. Put it in a bottle and shake well. Apply this on the face. You will find that glycerine and rose water provide enough moisture to the skin.

The coming of spring often brings problems for people with allergies, including skin problems like itchy, rashy or inflamed skin. Sandalwood is an ideal ingredient for such conditions. Sandalwood paste can easily be applied on the skin to soothe inflammatory conditions. It also helps to relieve itching. However, if there is excessive itching, it is best to consult a doctor.

Here are some home remedies:

Mix sandalwood with a little rose water and apply on the face. Wash off with plain water after 20 to 30 minutes.

Simmer a handful of neem leaves on a very low fire in 4 cups of water for one hour. Leave it overnight. Next morning, strain the water and make a paste of the leaves. Apply it on inflamed and rashy areas. The water can be used for rinsing the area. Neem contains organic sulphur compounds, with versatile healing actions that are of particular benefit to the skin.

Add a pinch of turmeric to milk and apply on the face. Wash off after 15 minutes.

Clays like fuller’s earth (multani mitti) have a cooling and soothing effect. Mix one tablespoon Fuller’s Earth with rose water. Apply the paste on affected areas and wash it off after 15 to 20 minutes.

Spring Hair Care

During winter the hair becomes dull and dry. For spring hair care, heat pure coconut oil and apply once a week. Remember to apply on the ends too. Leave it overnight and wash the next day. Applying curd or egg on the hair 15 minutes before shampoo helps to add body to fine hair. A beer rinse after shampoo also helps to add body.

After shampoo, apply a creamy conditioner, taking less quantity and massaging it lightly into the hair. Leave on for two minutes and rinse off. Or apply a “leave-on” type of conditioner or hair serum.

Or, mix some water with creamy hair conditioner and put it in a spray bottle. Spray the mixture on the hair. Then comb the hair, so that it spreads through the hair.

Here are some home remedies for dry hair:

Take two teaspoons of pure glycerine, one tablespoon sesame seed (til) oil and one egg yolk. Mix together and apply on the scalp and hair. Apply on the ends too. Wear a plastic shower cap and leave on for an hour before washing the hair. 

Curd or egg yolk can be applied on the hair for conditioning dry hair. Apply and leave it on for half an hour, before washing the hair.

Exercising regularly is great for your overall health and skin. It gets the blood circulation going and helps flush out the toxins ruining your plans of getting beautiful skin. When you sweat, you expel dirt and grime from our pores, making the skin moist and hydrated.

Applying eye cream at night is investing for future good skin. The skin under the eyes is extremely thin and your regular moisturizer might not work. Use an eye cream to hydrate the skin under your eyes and promote younger-looking skin.