Weddings mean festivity and festivity means celebration so the great Indian wedding is all about madness, celebration and the chaos that goes with it. In all this chaos, one has to keep one’s balance and multi-task with everything and everyone friends, relatives, colleagues and everyone that matters as well as those who don’t! Most Indian weddings start towards September. In fact, it’s almost as if we have an additional season to our annual cycle and that is the Wedding Season!
A hectic flurry of activity with endless lists that never seem to end from venues, decorations, outfits, jewellery, grooming, gifts,food, guest lists, trousseau, pandits, themes, mehndi… the stress increasing every moment to create that perfect Indian wedding which should be one of a kind and a memorable one! I believe that if you are about to get married, plan in advance and work towards tying up everything well before time. This way, you’ll be able to enjoy your wedding too.
Since all of you would expect me to tell you how to look good naturally let me enlighten you…and if you do want that natural glow it’s better to eat healthy and keep your skin well looked after, at least six weeks before the D-day!
Be conscientious about your liquid intake and avoid alcohol and increase natural drinks like water, chaach, lassi, juices and nimbu pani. Add at least five pieces of fruits daily to your diet as well as lots of salads and freshly made soups. I also find most people getting married suffer from dark circles and this happens due to stress, a chaotic lifestyle and late night chatting.
Indulge in Beauty Sleep, Sleep on time, relax and take out time for ‘Me Time’. Exercise regularly to improve blood circulation, tone up the body and get rid of those extra kilos and prevent sluggish looking skin.
I would suggest practising meditation to calm the nerves and relax the wound-up mind which very often buzzes with a million thoughts at this time. You can start with just five minutes a day and you will see the difference.
Besides this, use these time-tested recipes for super skin:
If you have dry skin, take a tsp oatmeal, add one tsp of honey, milk and the paste of five almonds. Mix well and apply on the skin. Leave on for 10 minutes and scrub off, patting with just a little bit of milk. Wash your face with cold water.
For combination skin, use four ground green olives,one tsp fresh aloe vera gel, two tsp orange peel powder, two tsp yoghurt. Mix well and apply to the skin and leave it on for 10 minutes. Pat with rose water and scrub off. Both these recipes should be done only three times a week.
For the body, I have tried this wonderful recipe on several brides and grooms, and it has had fabulous results for clean, exfoliated and super soft skin ridding the skin of all dead skin accumulation.
For Body Ubtan, take one cup oatmeal, 50gms almond powder, 50gms rice powder. Mix all well. Take four tsp of paste and mix with two tsp of honey and full cream milk to get a thick consistency. Apply all over your body and leave on till semi-dry. Dab with milk and scrub in a rotating manner, especially neglected areas like elbows, knees, buttocks, back and wash off with water.
For hair, do have regular oil massages followed with steaming preferably with a good quality mahabhringraj oil or a brahmi oil. Hair food that can be used once every ten days, use one mashed avocado mixed with a little milk and one tsp pure desi ghee. Apply all over your hair and cover with a shower cap for an hour. Shampoo with a mild herbal shampoo.
Body massages and body scrubs are not mere pamperings before a wedding but an essential part of grooming. Have one every 10 days at least two months before the wedding date. All the best!