Saturday 10 August 2013

5 Ways to Get Straight Hair Naturally

Who doesn't wants to have straight silky hair that you have just seen in your favorite actress? There are lots of simple therapies which will help us to get beautiful natural looking straight hair. Try these simple homely steps and get straight hair naturally!



Coconut and Lemon:

Add a few drops of lemon juice to freshly prepared coconut milk and mix well. Keep the mix into refrigerator for a few hours. Refrigerate until a thick foamy layer appear over the glass, which needs to be applied on the scalp and entire length of the hair right away. Steam your hair for 15-20 minutes after this and follow it up with a wash. Repeat this process regularly to get straighter hair.

Celery:

Crush a few fresh celery leaves and mix them with a little water. Extract the juice and store it in bottle. The bottle has to be left unused for at least a day, which will allow the juice to develop properties and effectiveness for straightening. Use them regularly, before bath. Massage it well on the scalp and leave it for 15-30 minutes, prior to washing it off with a shampoo.

Milk:

Milk is known to have moisturizing properties, which are suitable in straightening the hair. Take half cup of milk and mix with half cup of water. Spray this mix over the hair. Allow it to stand for half an hour, before shampooing the hair. This mixture will help us to straighten the hair and even moisten it.

Castor Oil:

Castor oil is known to have hair growth and hair straightening properties. I have personal experience for the effectiveness of castor oil. Massage the oil on the scalp, along your hair strands and then comb your hair properly. As you comb the hair, blow dry it on high heat. The hair should feel dry and not oily after being blow dried. After finished, wrap it with a chilled towel and leave for half an hour. It will soothe the hair from excessive heat and will restore the straightness.

Hair Dryer and Hair Brush:

This is one of the ways to get straight hair, but really works with the help of another person. Get a hair dryer and a good hair brush. Comb your wet hair and while it is still wet, use hair brush to stretch a section of hair by rolling it in end and then blow dry it. Repeat the process for other sections of wet hair till dry.


Wednesday 7 August 2013

How to Create a Close Knit Family?

A close knit family consists of adults and children. Since children are innocent, it is up to the adults to help shape the four walls around them. They could help shape those walls into a home or a house.

A home is where there is love and understanding between the members of the family, while a house is just a place where members come in to sleep, eat, and then disperse.



There are always soccer games to bring the children to, errands to run and appointments to attend. With so much going on in life, many people fall out of touch with what is truly important. To create a close-knit family, time must be made out of each and every family member's day to nourish the love together. Close-knits families set aside bonding time often to reconnect and to laugh together.

Family Meal Time:

A family that eats together tends to bond well. Meal time is the time when family members sit together and chat and discuss their day. Relax and ask about each other’s day. Share laughter and complement each other on how they fared a situation in school or at work. This boosts the confidence of the child and helps them face the situation at a place rather than avoiding it.

Family meal time is not about elaborate meals. It is about spending time together and helps reconnect lives by placing technology on hold. Switch off the TV, music, and phone. Making meal time a priority with the family will help lay a foundation for the children showing them ways to thrive and flourish in their community.

Guidelines for the Family:

Each family should make their own guidelines such as designing your mission statement. This statement could state what the family stands for, such as love, loyalty, honesty, cleanliness, hard work, discipline and respect for elders.

Each family has the flexibility to design their own mission statement and guidelines. However, upon designing the guidelines, adults have to contribute equally towards it. There are no exceptions!

Sharing Private Moments:

Each family is entitled to have their share of private moments especially during the time of happiness and sorrow. Making sure the family is present during special events or occasions such as the time of birth of a child, marriage of a relative or a sibling, housewarmings, festivals and birthday celebrations.

This can accentuate life and help make memories while nourishing the emotional and spiritual being.

Creating Family Traditions:

Every family should have their own ritual to celebrate a festival or a birthday or an anniversary. Be unique by designing it together as a family and this will help make it a fun event for the children while helping to create everlasting memories.

Communication and Love:

Communication helps families to open up with their emotions and that helps in giving up the grudges against each other. Result is love and understanding. Parents ought to be open to ideas since that expression will lead to boosting confidence and help in improving relationships.

Buying a house from your hard earned money is easy. The real challenge is to make it a home and help create memories. Patience is the key while practicing the above tactics to help create a close-knit family.


A happy family life is one of life's greatest blessings, and conversely, its absence is a singular misfortune.

Good luck!

Monday 5 August 2013

3 Healthy Eating Tips

Healthy eating is not about strict nutrition philosophies, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. Rather, it’s about feeling great, having more energy, stabilizing your mood, and keeping yourself as healthy as possible.



Healthy eating is all about ‘eating smart’. It involves not only the content of your food but also the way you consume it. Food plays a major role in determining your chances of acquiring diabetes, cancer, and heart ailments. Proper food also plays a role in fighting depression. A healthy diet will give a boost to your energy, will sharpen the memory, and will also regulate the mood. Planning the right intake of foods will go a long way in maintaining optimum health.

Healthy Eating Tip 1: Set yourself up for success

To achieve overall success, planning is essential. Do not view the plan as a huge challenge but treat them as small steps that can be managed. Commitment is important. A step-by-step approach is essential to achieve success.
  • Learn to simplify: Do not limit your plans to counting food calories or cutting down on portions. Always view your diet in aspects such as freshness, color, and variety. Incorporate foodstuffs that you love. Learn simple recipes that require fresh and healthy ingredients. Over a period of time, your diet will become more wholesome and healthy.
  • Slow but steady wins the race: It would be foolhardy to expect overnight results. Your goals need to be realistic. Making drastic changes to your diet would make you crave more for these foods. This can upset your plans. A small step, such as including a salad in your meal, will go a long way towards good health. It is also advisable to substitute butter with olive oil, while cooking. These small changes will eventually lead to more healthy choices.
  • All changes matter: Your goal should not be to attain perfection. All foods that you crave for and enjoy are not necessarily unhealthy. The goal of healthy diet should be to have an overall sense of well-being. Elimination of the risk of diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and heart ailments should also be your goal. There might be minor glitches in the execution of your plans. However, do not let these discourage you.

Healthy Eating Tip 2: Eat in moderation

People often think of healthy eating as an all or nothing proposition, but a key foundation for any healthy diet is moderation. The stepping stone for a healthy diet is moderation. Remember the old adage: You must eat to live and not live to eat. Healthy diet should not be treated as an all-or-nothing proposal. A healthy diet should contain a proper balance of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
  • Do not completely ban particular foods: When you decide never to touch a particular food item, you are only increasing your craving for it. And if you give in to the temptation, your plans might be ruined. A good way to reduce cravings for sweet and salty foods is to reduce the portion size. Decreasing the frequency of consumption will also help. This will help you to avoid dependence on the foodstuffs over time.
  • Reduce Portion Size: Different restaurants offer different portion sizes. It has increasingly become trendy for restaurants to offer large portion sizes. It is a good idea to share a dish with your friend or, alternatively, opt for entrĂ©es. While at home, use dishes that are smaller in size. Visualization of particular dishes can go a long way in maintaining a healthy diet. You can view your serving of meat as a size of a card deck. The slice of bread should not be larger than a compact disc.

Healthy eating tip 3: It's not just what you eat, it's how you eat

Healthy eating is about more than the food on your plate—it is also about how you think about food. Healthy eating habits can be learned and it is important to slow down and think about food as nourishment rather than just something to gulp down in between meetings or on the way to pick up the kids.
  • Eat with others whenever possible: Eating with other people has numerous social and emotional benefits—particularly for children—and allows you to model healthy eating habits. Eating in front of the TV or computer often leads to mindless overeating.
  • Take time to chew your food and enjoy mealtimes: Chew your food slowly, savoring every bite. And no, you can't just take bigger bites so that this is a reasonable amount of chews; take small bites also. We tend to rush though our meals, forgetting to actually taste the flavors and feel the textures of our food. Reconnect with the joy of eating. Eating slowly helps to keep the amount of food you're eating small until you feel the satisfied feelings. It also prevents you from gorging yourself, and gives you more time to accurately reflect on whether your stomach feels full yet or not.
  • Listen to your body: Ask yourself if you are really hungry, or have a glass of water to see if you are thirsty instead of hungry. During a meal, stop eating before you feel full. It actually takes a few minutes for your brain to tell your body that it has had enough food, so eat slowly. If you are hungry between meals, go ahead and have a healthy snack. It's not good to starve yourself between meals. If you allow yourself to become too hungry, you'll just overeat when the meal comes. It's all about listening to your body.
  • Eat breakfast: Eat breakfast and eat smaller meals throughout the day. A healthy breakfast can jumpstart your metabolism, and eating small, healthy meals throughout the day (rather than the standard three large meals) keeps your energy up and your metabolism going.
  • Avoid eating at night: Try to eat dinner earlier in the day and then fast for 14-16 hours until breakfast the next morning. Early studies suggest that this simple dietary adjustment—eating only when you’re most active and giving your digestive system a long break each day—may help to regulate weight. After-dinner snacks tend to be high in fat and calories so are best avoided, anyway.
Change from eating whenever you can and exercising only when you must' to 'eating only when you must and exercising whenever you can.' Most people like eating, and don't like exercising. The result is that they eat every chance they get and exercise only when they have to. You must change your thinking around, to exercising being the necessity and eating being the luxury, and work towards developing a lifestyle that reflects this.

Saturday 3 August 2013

Natural Ways to Firm Sagging Skin

Sagging skin is a natural process on your face as you grow older. It is more evident under the jaw and below the eyes. Wailing over sagging skin will never help. It takes a little caution and a few tricks to make up for the loss of elastin and collagen from your skin.



There are quite a few remedies that you can perform at home to regain your natural skin texture. Get rid of that sagging skin and make yourself look younger with these simple home remedies to the rescue.

Drink Enough Water:

If you wish to firm and tighten your facial or neck skin, drink adequate amount of water. Drinking water will help keep the body hydrated and well nourished. It will restore your skin's elasticity and firm skin tissues, thus tightening the loose skin on face and neck. For naturally tighten the loose sagging skin, or preventing sagging skin in the first place, you should drink 8 glasses of cold water every day. Water flushes the toxins out of the body and also provides the moisture to keep your skin supple, firm, and tight.

Moisturize Daily:

One of the best ways on how to tighten loose skin on face and neck is daily moisturizing. Almond oil is rich in vitamin E and has natural soothing and moisturizing properties for skin tightening. Use this natural skin tightening oil to tighten the skin under eyes and loose skin around mouth. This natural skin care method is best for reducing deep wrinkles and fine lines on face and neck.

Follow a Healthy Diet:

Eating a skin tightening diet is one of the best natural methods on how to tighten loose skin fast. Essential fatty acids, such as omega-3, can help skin retain moisture and increase its soft, supple appearance. Follow a skin firming diet that contains foods rich in antioxidants, fatty acids, and vitamins to tighten saggy skin, reduce and prevent deep wrinkles on face and neck. Include flaxseed, fish, and avocados in your diet to get rid of sagging skin naturally.

Apply Facial Firming Masks:

Facial masks can also aid in anti-aging skin tightening treatment. Skin tightening facial mask will naturally lift and tighten your facial skin fast. Natural firming masks helps to reduce skin pores, tighten loose skin, and help to get rid of face and neck wrinkles, wrinkles under eyes, forehead wrinkles, wrinkles around mouth.

Egg white mask:

Egg white coupled with thyme oil as a mask is one of the most effective remedies for skin sagging and wrinkles. Egg white stimulates the production of collagen and thyme oil helps to rehydrate your skin. This combo helps you to tighten your loose skin in the most effective way.

Banana face pack:

A face pack made of one mashed ripe banana, one tablespoon of honey and one teaspoon of olive oil helps to firm sagged skin and delivers an instant glow. It also helps to lock in the moisture that helps to lift sagged skin and regulate sebum production.

Paste of turmeric and water:

Make a paste of turmeric with water and mask it over your face evenly. Allow to dry for 15 minutes and wash off with cold water. This remedy is effective when worked on a weekly basis and ensures that your skin regains its elasticity.

Mask of strawberry and yogurt:

Crush a few strawberries, add yogurt to make a paste and apply it to your face. Retain the mask for a few minutes and wash. This mix acts as a toner and helps to tighten sagging skin. It improves blood circulation and imparts a new and fresh look to your face.

Tomato juice:

Squeeze out fresh tomato juice and apply on the skin surface and twirl in gentle upper circular motion. Perform this for about five minutes and then wash off with cold water. Constant application of tomato juice will help you tighten the sagging skin while ensuring reduction in pores and making your skin look bright.

Sandalwood mask:

Pure sandalwood paste exfoliates your skin and tightens sagging skin, while delivering a natural glowing look. Sandalwood is one of the most amazing natural treatments that help to do away with acne, dry spots, oily skin, sweat, and more. Instead of purchasing the powder, it is advised that you rub the stick against a solid mortar or a rough surface with water to make a paste of sandalwood.

Normal skin exfoliation:

Relax in a long hot bath with sea salt. It helps in skin firming and improves your overall skin tone. Perform this for a week to get rid of your sagging skin, perk up your muscles, and restore youthful looks as before. 

Getting rid of sagging skin is easier than it appears. So, what are you waiting for? Get ready to rejuvenate your skin and look as youthful as ever!

Thursday 1 August 2013

8 Tips for Reducing Work-Related Stress

Work-related stress affects everyone, causing health problems that often needn't arise. If you find yourself affected by stress during the nine-'till-five grind, there are a number of simple steps you can take to reduce the chances of getting wound up at work.



While some workplace stress is normal, excessive stress can interfere with your productivity and impact your physical and emotional health. And your ability to deal with it can mean the difference between success and failure. You can’t control everything in your work environment, but that doesn't mean you’re powerless—even when you’re stuck in a difficult situation. Finding ways to manage workplace stress isn't about making huge changes or rethinking career ambitions, but rather about focusing on the one thing that’s always within your control: you.

Get organized:

Draw up a 'to do' list and priorities your workload. Make a start on the important tasks as early as possible so that you can do the best job possible in the allotted timeframe. As tempting as it can be to get 'the easy stuff' out of the way early, leave the low-priority jobs until later otherwise you'll inevitably find yourself running out of time when it comes to the main tasks. Also try to stick to one task at a time - don't get het up trying to do five things at once.

Don't suffer in silence:

If you're getting snowed under with task after never-ending task at work, make sure you talk to somebody sooner rather than later. It's no good suffering in silence as that helps nobody - you get stressed out and the work either doesn't get done in time or it gets rushed and carried out to a poor standard. Tell your line manager or employer if you need extra time to complete a task - or request that somebody else takes on some of the workload.

Learn to say 'no':

If a task you're being asked to undertake is unrealistic, say so. Don't just accept the work in an attempt to appease your boss and worry about the consequences later, as this can lead to extremely stressful situations. This is a particularly big problem for people who are new in their job, who want to either impress their boss or avoid being seen as somebody who isn't trying hard enough.

Take a break:

Even if you have a deadline on the horizon, it's important that you take regular breaks from the task at hand. Sitting in the same place for hours on end working on the same job isn't particularly productive, especially if your stress levels are rising. Take regular walks or drink breaks to refresh yourself.

Look at the big picture:

If you find yourself in a situation that is causing you stress at work, try and take a step back and put it in perspective. Is this a problem that will have genuinely long-lasting effects? Will it really matter in a week or a month? Chances are that the answer is no. If so, tell yourself that it's not really worth getting so upset about.

Relax and breathe deeply:

Whether you are feeling overwhelmed by the amount or work you have to do or if someone is "in your face", a good thing to do is to "breathe through your nose". You can't get as worked up if you force yourself to breathe through your nose. Your body simply can't maintain the same level of energy without that extra oxygen you get when breathing through your mouth.

Lighten up:

Irate patrons?  Marathon meetings? Whether you work on the front lines or behind the scenes, library workdays can weigh down the most upbeat employee. Push through the blues and look for joy and humor around you. Rather than wasting time getting upset over a situation, try laughing at your own reaction. Smile more. We all know laughter reduces stress. You will be amazed at how much more pleasant the people around you are when you make an effort to be pleasant yourself.

Get more sleep:

This is another of the things you can do to reduce your overall stress that will have benefits at the office as well. In addition to reducing your stress, it will increase your energy level and your ability to concentrate.


Whether you're currently suffering from work-related stress or not, it's a good idea to keep yourself covered with affordable health care - you never know if stress-related problems are around the corner.