Daily routinesFollow a daily cleansing routine. Farah Khan, senior beautician at the Looks Salon, Defence Colony, points out that in summer pores tend to get blocked with sweat and oil overnight. Every morning, deep cleanse your face with cotton dipped in raw milk at normal temperature if your skin is normal or dry; or with a mixture of milk and water if it’s oily. Wash it off after five minutes. Khan also recommends a daily cold compress with cold water and a few drops of rose water before leaving home to close open pores and prevent blackheads and whiteheads.

Make your own skin toner at home. Boil water with green tea leaves. Let it brew for 15 minutes. Cool and strain. Keep the tea water in the fridge – it makes for an excellent toner for all skin types. Apply on the skin with cotton wool pads.

Skin woesSuffering from prickly heat? Take a small piece of sandalwood and rub it into a paste on a stone with rose water. Mix a pinch of powdered alum to the paste and apply to the affected skin twice or thrice a week depending on the severity of the condition.

If you’ve got an unwanted tan after being out in the sun for too long, beautician Shahnaz Husain recommends applying curd or buttermilk daily on the face and exposed areas of the body. Wash this off after half an hour.

If you want something just for your face, you can make your own scrub by adding ground almonds to yoghurt. Rub gently on the skin with small circular movements. Wash it off with water. Use it twice a week for best results.

If you’d rather go for something fruity, then tomato purée is also beneficial in removing tan from the skin. “Besides replenishing skin with oils, tomato evens the skin tone, thereby making dry skin bright and glowing,” aroma therapist Blossom Kochhar said. “It can also be applied to the hair for extra shine and protect it from sun damage.” A mash of papaya works equally well for discoloured skin, as the fruit contains the enzyme papin that reduces freckles and brown spots. Add lemon juice to the mixture if you have an oily skin.

It is important to exfoliate the skin once in a week to clean the pores and remove the dead skin. Wash rice, hang in a cloth and grind it to make a powder. Mix ten teaspoons of rice water, ten teaspoons of choker or white bran, and one teaspoon of turmeric. Add six to seven neem leaves, and keep the bottle, it can last up to 20 days. When you are

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If looks could chillYou don’t need to spend a fortune to look good this summer. Sonam Joshi comes up with easy home remedies to maintain your skin, hair and eyes.

and apply the liquid on the face. Wash it off after 20 minutes.

Blackheads and pimples are a common nuisance in the summer because the oil-producing sebaceous glands tend to get overactive. To tackle this issue, Kochhar suggests mixing a pinch of turmeric powder in one tablespoon of coriander juice and apply this on the washed face every night.

Neem leaves are known to have anti-bacterial properties that cure skin infections such as acne and eczema. For an outbreak of pimples, simmer a handful of neem leaves on very low fire in four cups of water for an hour. Leave it overnight. Next morning, strain and make a paste from the leaves and apply on pimples, rash and acne. You can also add the boiled neem water to your bath.

Alternatively, you can make a face pack by mixing sandalwood paste with a little rose water and apply on the entire face. Wash this off with plain water after 20 minutes.

Ask the expertShahnaz Husain, herbal cosmetics expert, on how to take care of your skin and hair this summer.

The main beauty concerns during summer are sun- tan, aggravation in acne, runny make-up, oiliness of the skin and hair dandruff and heat rashes. Although we try to avoid the

sun as much as possible, it’s effects are more intense during summer.

Suntan usually occurs due to swimming in an open pool, or going for holidays by the beach and hill stations. Reflective surfaces, like water and snow, increase the effects of UV radiation. Protect the

skin by applying sunscreens, wearing a hat and carrying a parasol. Try to avoid sun exposure between noon and 3pm, when the sun is directly overhead. Apply sunscreen 20 minutes before going out. Reapply the sunscreen, if you happen to be in the sun for more than an hour. If you have a sensitive skin use a sunscreen with a high SPF.

During summer, the skin also becomes more prone to eruptions, due to greater oil and sweat deposits on the skin. An oily skin also attracts more dirt and pollutants, leading to rashes, acne and pimples.

Both skin and scalp tend to be oilier during summer. Dandruff and other conditions can make also an appearance, leading to skin problems on the face, back and upper arms. Wash your hair frequently to remove sweat deposits, dirt and pollutants. For oily hair, avoid creamy conditioners and use a hair rinse. As told to Sonam Joshi

Ask the expertDr SP Byotra, chairman, department of medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, on how to avoid heat-related illnesses.

Delhi is one place where we ofter hear many people say they are feeling cold or feeling a chill at the peak of summers. This is because a fever develops if you’re out in the sun

a lot, also known as heat pyrexia. It’s not the heat so much as the dust which raises concerns. People with allergies or asthmatic conditions are more likely to suffer and, in some cases, even get bronchitis.

Other common summer woes are heat syncope, heat exhaustion and heat strokes. Heat syncope is when you faint as a result of overheating. There are so many cases that we read in the newspapers of people fainting while waiting at a bus stand or of children collapsing in school. These are classic cases of syncope, which is basically the medical term for “fainting”.

Heat strokes are a result of a severe case of syncope and are due to lack of fluids in the body. A stroke should be attended to immediately. Otherwise, in dire cases, it can also lead to the person going into coma and at times even prove to be fatal.

Apart from this, there are waterborne illnesses such as typhoid, jaundice and malaria to watch out for. People tend to drink all kinds of water, juices and drinks from unfamiliar and unsanitised places and this leads to a spurt in such illnesses. Skin-related ailments, due to swimming in unclean waters or over exposure to the sun, are also common problems to be prepared about.

Delhi in the summers is a hotbed of infections with a deadly mix of dust, pollution and heat. As far as preventive measures go, one should wear clean cotton clothes and avoid materials such as nylon. It is important that the clothes you wear allow your body to breathe.

Also, drink a lot of fluids, especially water with salt, electrolyte and lemon, which is the perfect hydrant. And, needless to say, watch what you drink, see that the pool you swim in is clean, and avoid heading out during the day. As told to Sibi Arasu

ready for a bath: mix raw milk to make a paste and apply on face. After ten minutes, wash the face.

Fuller’s earth or multani mitti has been a traditional cleanser and astringent, while rose water is known to have anti-inflammatory properties. A paste of multani mitti and rose water works well for oily skin. Apply it to the face and wash it off when it dries. It will make the skin clearer, while maintaining a natural oil balance.

Need some respite from the heat? You can even create a cooling mask. Mix cucumber juice or pulp with two teaspoons of powdered milk and one egg white in a blender to make a smooth paste. Apply on face and neck, and rinse off with water after half-hour. If you have oily skin, then skip the milk powder.

For a refreshing and cooling option for oily, problematic skin, take one tablespoon each of lemon juice and rose water. Add crushed mint leaves and let it sit for an hour. Strain the leaves

For combination skin, take one-fourth teaspoon of lemon juice and add one teaspoon each of cold milk and cucumber juice. Wipe the face with this lotion using cotton wool. Rinse with plenty of water.

To revitalise dull skin, apply a mash of banana and honey on your face and wash off after ten minutes. This polishes the skin and gives it a glow. Khan points out that Delhi’s hot winds can often leave the top layer of the skin dehydrated, so it’s advisable to drink eight to ten glasses of water a day.

Hair remedies Tired of sticky, oily hair? Apply egg white on your hair half-hour before shampooing. It cleanses, reduces oiliness and adds a bounce to it. To remove bad odour from hair, you can also add a single lemon’s juice and half a cup of rose water to a mug of water, and use it to rinse after shampooing.

An oily scalp can often lead to dandruff. To relieve its symptoms, add five drops of rose-mary essential oil to 50ml rose water. Shake well and keep in a glass bottle with a tight fitting lid. Apply this on the scalp after shampoo and leave it on. A note of warning: essential oils should never be used by themselves.

Alternatively, you can also mix rose water, two drops of lemon essential oil with equal quantities of cider vinegar or malt vinegar, and massage lotion in the scalp gently and leave it on. Use this as a nightly massage and then

wash with a mild shampoo in the morning.

You can also grind one tablespoon of methi seeds and soak them in two cups of

cool water. Leave it overnight, strain and use the water as a last rinse.

To add shine, give the hair a tea-water and lemon rinse after

shampoo. Boil used tea leaves to make about four cups of tea-water. Cool and

strain it, and add the juice of a lemon, and use it as a last rinse after shampoo.

For rough hair, after oiling, add egg yolk and honey to your hair roots to give hair nourishment.

Eye careIf you’re suffering from tired and itchy eyes, slices of cucumber can be cooling and relaxing. Cucumbers and sliced potatoes also help in lightening dark circles.

Try and keep your eyes clean by washing them at regular intervals with cold water. You can also use cotton pads soaked in rose water for a soothing and hydrating effect. Rose water also has anti-bacterial properties which can keep them free of infections.

Invest in a good pair of sunglasses that can protect your eyes from harmful ultraviolet rays and dust, especially if you’re out in the sun for long hours. Do not even think about the ones you get on the side of the strees. Overexposure to ultraviolet rays can cause eye problems like retinal damage and cataracts.