Rainy days or bad-hair days?
Shalini Seth

YOU can call sweat by a more delicate name — perspiration — but the fact is that there is altogether too much of it during the monsoon. What’s more, it dries on the skin and the acne you thought you had left behind along with crushes on film stars resurfaces.

Rain might inspire poetry amongst the ones who are blessed with a muse but, for the lesser mortals, it means dealing with a sticky skin troubled by bouts of acne. Your dull, lifeless hair could make you a model for a shampoo company that wants to show the before and after effects of its shampoo. And you needn’t worry about bad-hair days — they are all the same —bad.

Condition your hair, but not with a regular conditioner, cautions Rachana Sharma, a beautician whose clients include Hema Malini, Sushmita Sen and Manisha Koirala. Rachana, who counts hair care amongst her specialties, says, "Due to the humidity your hair is already damp. So avoid using a moisturiser, use a hair serum instead."

Each time you have rainwater in your hair, wash it out. You are likely to attract dandruff. Rachana suggests a mild shampoo like Johnson’s baby shampoo if your hair gets wet often. "For regular use I would suggest any heavy shampoo that cleans both the scalp and hair," she advises.

Poonam Kapoor, a homemaker, suggests, "Wash your hair with besan if it’s oily and with curd if it’s dry. Hair in the rains is like grass — the more you cut it, the more it grows. So make sure you trim your hair regularly."

And never, never tie up wet hair. Wet hair is delicate and more likely to break and it might also get infested with lice.

Frizzy hair: Rains make it impossible for the hair to hold any style and everyone’s hair looks the same — frizzy. Now there is a cure for it. There are numerous anti-frizz serums in the market. "You could try Frizz-ease from John Paul Freda or Natasha’s Bye-bye Frizz," recommends Rachana. She even has her own anti-frizz formula.

"Take 2-3 drops of Johnson’s baby oil and rub them on your palms till the oil disappears. Run your fingers through your hair just once. That should take care of frizzy hair for a day."

Manisha Koirala is known to practically swim in them, staying as she does, near the sea. She also uses Vitamin E oil a lot.

Sushmita Sen’s house is full of all sorts of creams and Vaseline that she richly dabbles on her hand, feet, arms and legs all day when she isn’t on a shoot.

Another rich source of nourishment is Vitamin E capsules available in the market. Take a capsule, break it into two and rub 2-3 drops of oil on your hands. Apply it on your face before sleeping.

Sunscreen: But there isn’t any sun, you protest! UV rays are known to penetrate the clouds and our skin can feel all the harmful signs of exposure to the sun. So do not throw the sunscreen out of the window.

Wash and scrub: Get yourself a facewash that will clean without drying.

Wash your face at least four-five times a day. If your skin is dry, use cleansing milk instead of a face wash. Even the soap you use should be mild.

A scrub is also a must in the rains. But use it carefully, that is use it lightly or you will end up scratching your already delicate skin. Make sure your face gets enough splashes each day, but of clean water, no matter what your skin type is.

Pack it: You might wish sometimes that you could pack up your face and store it like the delicate white Lakhnawi kurta of yours. But here is a face pack that works.

Mix 1 table spoon besan, 1 tea spoon mustard oil, 1 tea spoon malai (milk cream) and half table spoon lemon juice. Make a thick paste and apply it once a week for 15-20 minutes before having a bath. It prevents pimples and makes your skin glow.

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