5 Plant Based Ingredients to Look for in Your Lipstick if You have Chapped Lips

Not all of us are gifted with soft, supple lips that stay naturally hydrated all day. Most of us struggle with dry, cracked skin on the lips which most often than not give us the irritating time of the day when we have to scrub, moisturise and even hide it under a thick layer of lipstick to make them look healthy and beautiful.

What’s worse, in spite of the moisturizing, scrubbing and drinking water, the moment we use our favorite lipstick or lip balm, they turn dry again. The trick to maintaining your lip health is in choosing a product with the right ingredients. Fortunately, there are many natural plant based ingredients that cosmetic companies use to soften the skin and keep it hydrated. You just need to read the labels.

Let’s look at 5 great ingredients that you should be looking for in lipsticks and lip balms if you have dry and chapped lips.

Castor seed oil (Ricinus communis seed oil) – One of the oldest healing remedies used in ancient Egypt and India for its medicinal properties, the castor seed oil is a vegetable oil pressed from castor beans.
The oils of fatty acids contained in Castor seed oil are rich in ingredients like Ethyl Ricinoleate, Glyceryl Ricinoleate, Glyceryl Ricinoleate SE, Glycol Ricinoleate, Isopropyl Ricinoleate, and Methyl Ricinoleate. The main ingredient ricinoleic acid is the miracle compound that gives Castor oil the ultra-moisturising properties. It acts as humectants retaining the moisture by locking in the water in the skin. Estée Lauder Sculpting lipstick range has this incredible ingredient.
Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil or Jojoba oil – Extracted out of the seeds of the desert shrub, Simmondsia chinensis has the ultimate moisturizing properties. Its humectant ingredients creates a layer over your skin with moisture protecting it from getting dry and keeps it conditioned for longer duration. It also has antioxidant properties and can help reduce the wrinkles and fine lines on your skin.
I really love the L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Matte Lipstick for its rich texture and low price.
Moringa oleifera seed oil – Another magical ingredient that can work wonders to your skin is the oil extracted from the Moringa oleifera tree. The moringa oil has strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-aging properties. It is also a great emollient and exfoliant which slips easily and spreads evenly on the skin. It can make your skin smooth and hydrated. This is what makes the NAARS AUDACIOUS lipstick range super popular.
Triticum vulgare (wheat) germ extract or wheat germ oil is a rich source of vitamin E. Vitamin E is one of the most recommended remedies for chapped lips because it is an antioxidant and a natural skin conditioner. It protects skin against skin damage and encourages the growth of new skin cells. Vitamin E also promotes increased production of collagen, which regenerates skin and reduces wrinkles.
Olea europaea (olive) fruit extract – Olive oil is a natural emollient as it rich source of essential fatty acids including linoleic acid, palmitic acid and oleic acid, an omega-9 fatty acid. Olive oil contains plenty of skin nourishing compounds. It is rich in Vitamin E, which is an antioxidant. Its primary skincare benefit is that it can help moisturise and nourish dry skin. The Vitamin E protects your sensitive lip skin from sun damage.

When you have one of the above ingredients in your lipstick or lip balm, you will see that all the hard work that you did to prep your lips did not go wasted. These ingredients will compliment the lip care routine that you followed by blending in and locking the moisture in for a long time during the day.

Here are a few great lipstick shades having these wonderful ingredients :

I hope you give these a try!

How to Crush Cravings on Your First Few Days of Dieting

So you’re all set with your fabulous new fad diet regime, ready to plunge into the weight-loss journey. You managed to get through the first day, did that 14-hour fast, forgot sugar and carbs existed, and only lived on fruits, veggies , and protein.

But, a couple of days into the routine, inertia kicks in, hunger spasm and cravings that you thought you had easily managed comes running right back. You are fantasying (against will, of course!) about ice cream, bread and pasta. Just when you thought, you got it under control, your own mind begins to fool around and trick you into going right back.

Well, if you’re in this irritating state of mind where your brain is tantalizing you, read on!

It takes a lot of will power (which you’ve proved to have!) and a little bit of smart preparation to wade through those miserable initial days until your body becomes used to the new diet regime.

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Here are a few tricks that will surely work wonders!

Hydrate, but with ice cold water!
Yes, that’s right. Cold water can give the feeling of fullness. Also with the low temperature numbing the sensory glands in your mouth, you’ll be staving the hunger off for longer time.
If you’re allowed to drink coffee, add a couple of ice cubes in it. Trust me, you’ll like it. It is not the greatest replacement for sugar or cream, but you’ll certainly enjoy the coolness of ice down your throat making you feel rejuvenated for the next 30 minutes or so.
If you must indulge, stick to low-carb, low-calorie options. The important thing is to restrict calories. Plain Greek yoghurt and berries with a dash of honey is a great option that has always worked for me when I’m craving ice cream. But the trick is to eat it right out of the refrigerator so that it is cold and you feel full after.
Drink clear soup. Clear soups are a great option if you’re craving for spice and flavor. They are light and full or nutrients. Make sure that the sodium content is low when you cook it.
Rinse your mouth with any mouthwash after eating . Rinsing your mouth will clear off the aftertaste of food and replace it with fresh minty taste of the mouthwash.

Good luck with your weight-loss journey, and I hope these tips are helpful!

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Why You Should do Permanent Hair Straightening Before Summer Begins

So, you braved that chemical hair treatment and you feel beautiful. You can’t get enough of the new you and never want to go back to your frizzy and messy look.

But within a couple of weeks the initial euphoria vanishes, and you find yourself worrying about the health of your hair.

For those of us who are forced to rely on hair straightening techniques to maintain our messy manes, a major point of concern is how to protect your hair from all unforeseen side effects of the treatment. As much as we try to deny it, it is a crucial fact that the hair needs diligent care once it is exposed to chemicals. It gets dry, brittle and coarse, and if not washed and taken care of on a fairly regular basis, the scalp becomes itchy, flaky and hair falls heavily and over the time it looks dull and lusterless. Hair fall and hair thinning is one of the most common side effects of chemical hair straightening.

It is important to make sure that it is washed, conditioned, massaged and moisturized if you want to maintain your hair healthy and beautiful. Change in season has a profound effect on our hair, so it does on our personal care routines.

It is important to make sure that the hair treatment is done at a time when it takes little or no effort to take care of it afterwards.

Winter slows us down. We tend to take less care of our hair, skin and overall health during winter.

We tend to wash hair less frequently during winter.

We take hot showers more.

We avoid going out in the cold with hair wet and use hair dryer more during winter.

If our hair care routine was daily during summer, it becomes weekly or even biweekly during the winter season.

Your chemically treated hair needs more attention than what you can give during the dull winter months.

Hair straightening during winter is not a great thing for yourself, not only because it becomes difficult to maintain a healthy hair care routine, but it is easy to use a hair straightening iron during the winter months than when the temperatures are high.

When it is summertime, things are easy.

We are more active and generally pepped up during summer. We cannot wait to get into shower. Regular wash becomes a thing of joy, and so does regular hair routine.

We tend to go out more often, and do not need extra pull to pop into the nearby salon for a spa treatment.

If you’ve got your hair is chemically straightened before summer begins, you can wash all you want without putting it through heating iron every time you have to go out. The straightened hair bonds will last through the summer and a few months more.