The sun is not for your skin
By Gitanjali
IT is the general perception that skin requires extra care and protection from the scorching summer sun. However, it is the warmly welcomed winter sun that one should guard against. 

• Dry skin care

THROWING  LIGHT on empowerment
By Chetna Banerjee
THE venue of a recently held workshop on candle-making was rather unusual. Not the air-conditioned ambience of a plush hotel, but a small community hall in the panchayat ghar of Kajheri village of the city .

• How to make candles at home

The sun is not for your skin
By Gitanjali

IT is the general perception that skin requires extra care and protection from the scorching summer sun. However, it is the warmly welcomed winter sun that one should guard against. Unlike the summer season, when you can barely stand outdoors let alone face the fiery rays, in winter you not only enjoy soaking yourself in the life-giving rays but even attempt to face them head on! And that’s when irreparable damage is caused to your skin, if it is not protected against the ultraviolet rays. While ultraviolet rays are necessary for the production of Vitamin D in the skin, excessive exposure to them can lead to skin cancer, besides causing premature ageing.

Ultraviolet rays are of two kinds — UVA (long wave) and UVB (short wave). More than 90 per cent of the skin damage is caused by UVA, which can penetrate through various mediums like clouds, glass, plastic, etc. So, let not a cloudy day deceive you into forsaking your sunscreen. In fact you should apply sunscreen not only before you step out of the house but even if you are staying indoors (for sunlight filters in through window panes). The UVB rays, on the other hand, merely cause tanning and sunburn, because they do not penetrate the skin.

Gulshan Virk, who manages the Sector 33 Innoxa parlour, recommends a sunscreen with SPF 30(Sun Protection Factor). The SPF number indicates the length of the time you can stay out in the sun. This length is calculated by multiplying the SPF number with the number of minutes you can remain unprotected in the sun. For instance, if you burn in five minutes, the application of SPF30 lotion will mean the skin can remain protected for 150 ( 30SPF x 5) minutes.

Besides shielding yourself from sunlight, you’ve to combat the dry weather and icy cold winds to save your skin from turning flaky and shrivelled up.

Neeru Sidhu, proprietor of Attitude beauty parlour, suggests a daily regimen that begins with cleaning the face in the morning with a mild, cream-based soap and luke warm water, in order not to deplete the the skin of its natural moisture. Cold water can be used if the skin is very oily. Follow this with the application of commercial toner (diluted with four parts water) or rose water. Let five minutes slip by before squeezing just four drops of moisturiser on wet hands and gently spreading them on the face and neck. Lastly, but most importantly, use the sunscreen.

At night or when you return from work, clean the face with a deep-pore cleansing milk. Then wait for 10 minutes before repeating the morning routine of toning and moisturising the skin.

Besides this daily care, a weekly body massage with olive oil or coconut oil helps improve circulation. Well-known beauty consultant Blossom Kochhar swears by a weekly vigorous rub with salt and oil.

Cracked heels, literally a sore point in winters, can be treated by applying vaseline on clean feet at night. Most of the problem gets solved if you keep your feet dust-free. Keep them covered with socks and shoes.

Coarse hands, another fallout of harsh winters, can be softened by rubbing them with about one teaspoonful of sugar and then washing them with tepid water.

In addition to the cosmetic care, you can strive for that soft, dewy skin by eating a well-balanced diet that includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grain cereals( porridge, wheat germ) and at least 10 glasses of water.

Also, don’t forget to include exercise in your schedule. To give a boost to your circulation and to unclog your pores, it is important to sweat it out once a day. And, lastly, steer clear from all those tempting heaters, which might give you temporary relief but end up making your skin look all parched up.

Gulshan Virk, who herself has a dry skin, reveals her daily beauty regimen: " I begin the day with the curd scrub, followed by a face pack on alternate days. The pack comprises home-made mayonnaise made of egg, castor oil/ almond oil and honey. It can be stored in the refrigerator. After washing the face, I apply St Ives Peaches and Creams moisturiser and sunscreen. At night I wash my face with face gel and then apply petroleum jelly. I keep it for five minutes then dab it off with a tissue and tepid water so that my skin can breathe freely at night.

THROWING  LIGHT on empowerment
By Chetna Banerjee

THE venue of a recently held workshop on candle-making was rather unusual. Not the air-conditioned ambience of a plush hotel, but a small community hall in the panchayat ghar of Kajheri village of the city.

The participants, again, were not the usual ones. Not the well-heeled, high society women who flock to buy Dimple Kapadia's designer candles or bored housewives for whom candle-making is just one of the hobbies to be bragged about at their kitty parties. The women attending this workshop were semi-literate village women, aanganwadi workers and mahila mandal members.

And the workshop was not just a lesson in candle-making. It threw light on the process of women's empowerment —how the Centre for Entrepreneur Development for Women has been imparting vocational skills to rural and urban women.

The centre, was set up under the aegis of Canara Bank in the city in 1996. It caters to women in five areas of the region -- Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and, of course, Chandigarh.

What inspired this bank to venture into entrepreneur development among women in particular? Informs Harvinder, who has been in charge of this centre since July, 2000, "It was the cherished dream of our founder A. Subharao Pai that social banking should help in women's empowerment".

Thus, the first branch of this centre came into being at Bangalore in 1988. Organising workshops for women is among the primary aims of this centre. But the centre's involvement doesn't stop here. It follows up the training imparted at its various workshops with guidance and counselling on getting loans — both for established women entrepreneurs and the prospective ones, too.

Interestingly though, a schedule of the centre's activities virtually reads like the catalogue of a hobby centre. From batik designing, soft toy making and waste paper utilisation to food preservation, bakery and computers —its workshops impart training in activities ranging from the conventional to the contemporary.

But neither the participants nor the instructors are elitist . For instance, at this candle-making workshop the instructor was no suave, stylised English-speaking celebrity, but an ordinary, not-very-articulate employee of the Blind School in Sector 26, Bir Singh. This low-profile worker has been training blind children to make candles for the past several years and his zeal is admirable.

After the workshops and guidance camps on loans have been organised, this centre moves over to the marketing bit. ' Can bazaars' are held annually in the city to display and sell the wares made by the newly-budded women entrepreneurs.

Though this centre has already spawned many a success story by literally taking empowerment right to the doorstep of women, its task of bringing a smile of achievement and satisfaction on the faces of women is a never-ending one.

How to make candles at home