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HOW TO RECOVER YOUR HAIR AND SKIN POST HOLI

BOUNCE BACK POST HOLI WITH OUR SKIN AND HAIR CARE TIPS

For a festival that is associated with colours, dancing and happiness, Holi can surely be a hellish experience for your skin and hair if you don’t indulge in the correct pre- or post-festival care. Just in case you went a little extra with your non-lockdown celebrations and are now wondering what to do with dry hair, and itchy skin, which feels like a bad Holi hangover, we have all the info you need to bring your skin and hair back to life.

LOVE YOUR SKIN

Sun damage does not give a tan but also leads to dark spots, fine lines, and mainly, it messes with your skin barrier daily. You need to improve your skin’s lipid barrier to help it combat the sun and colour exposure. When your skin is feeling itchy, rashy, it’s cracking, flaking, or feels like it burns, it’s a sign that all the colour throwing has messed with your skin barrier. Start with the application of barrier creams, which contain elements such as the dimethicone molecule, or zinc oxide, which helps rebuild the barrier and make your skin less sensitive. Damaged skin also needs hydration for repair, so a DIY nourishing mask can help soothe your skin a few days after the festival when there is trouble. For those addicted to sheet masks, don’t use a whitening mask after Holi. An age-old natural Indian therapy is to take a shower with water with Tesu or Palash flowers soaked overnight. This works as a natural antiseptic. For a hydrating mask that will provide healthy nourishment to your skin to help it repair faster, you can mix oats, raw milk and cream, and apply. You might be tempted to use a scrub after a few days if you see peeling skin, but don’t treat your skin as a tiled floor.

Instead, hydrate it and let it regenerate on its own. If you have a sunburn, apply a thick layer of aloe vera gel and let it sit for a while or get absorbed. You could also use cucumber or aloe sprays to hydrate your skin throughout the day. Continue using sunscreen as your skin is still healing.

TLC FOR YOUR HAIR

Too much water and sun can make your hair frizzy and prone to breakage. In case you have been left with damaged hair this year, first, stop washing your hair with hot water. If you see split ends due to breakage, clip them off to help your hair grow better. Do not use a lot of oil, but gently massage the scalp and let the few drops of oil soak in overnight. If you apply too much oil on the strands, you will end up making them dry as you will need more shampoo to rinse it off. Repeat your oiling process every few days only when necessary. What you really need is to deep condition your hair. If you have fine hair, just use milk and honey. Honey will act as an antiseptic and a humectant, and milk will gently hydrate and repair. For thicker hair, you could add banana and a few drops of argan oil to this mix. Post every wash, in case you plan to style you hair make sure you use Livon Serum to detangle your hair before you comb them to avoid any more damage.

THE LOWER LASH FOCUS

MAKING YOU STAND OUT DESPITE A MASK ON WILL BE AN EMPHASIS ON THE LOWER LASH LINE IN 2022

Colourful eyes have been trending since 2021 and making things crazier this year will be a focus on the lower lashes. This trend is already a celebrity favourite, and it involves a lot of fun. It is super quick and easy to execute, and you can make do with existing products at your home. The Y2K makeup trend has also converged with this rage, so you will see a lot of colour and glitter looks.

Using falsies is an easy way to do it. Draw (with a thin eyeliner tip) or stick-on individual lashes for a ’60s model look. If you don’t have individual lashes, you can even cut upper lash falsies and place the strands in the right spots with the help of a tweezer. Just a single coat of mascara will also help. If they clump together (unless that’s the look you are going for), you can use a toothpick to separate them. Or just use a bright mascara instead.

If not a colourful mascara, another simple option is to apply eyeshadows just on the bottom lash line. You could choose a shimmering tone or a matte pop colour, or just do a reverse smoky eye with any colour of your choice. You can start with brown matte eyeshadows which are easier to use. Try matte pastels, bright blues, pinks, and even glitter eye shadows (or just cosmetic glitter, craft glitter has bigger chunks that can scratch your cornea) which add a twinkle to your eyes.

SLEEK LOW BUN

Stick on jewels are a big part of the show Euphoria, with crystals adorning eyebrows, forming winged liners, and even used all over the face. You can also use stick-on pearls if not crystals. Add just one to your inner corner or the corner of your eye, you can line your lower lash line with it or just accent your winged liner. You can also make do with just an eyeliner, black or bright colours. Geometric and graphic eyeliner looks were seen across fashion weeks for 2021 and 2022 shows. You can either just line your lower lash line with a neon liner or you can also draw a flick that goes parallel to your winged eye on top (go crazy and add some crystals in between too). You can top a bold liner look on a coloured eyeshadow to make it pop even more over your mask.

WHAT’S HOT IN 2022?

THESE ARE ALL THE FASHION TRENDS YOU’LL SEE POP ACROSS YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA AND IRL

We are inching closer to summer and with that begins the excitement to dress for summer, play with colours, bring out the summer dress, and ditch the cardigan. To make things easier for you to decide what to buy and wear in the coming months, we round up all the trends that will be big in 2022. Nostalgia continues to be a big influence on fashion this year, with the Y2K upgrade still very much dominating trends. A mad clash of colours and accessories is set to make up for the sombre two years.

EVERYTHING PURPLE

Lavender, violet, purple, or Pantone’s Very Peri (read more about the colour in our previous issues), this tone has already hit the market hard with options in shirts, dresses and accessories are being seen in the high street and luxury labels.

COLOURFUL SUITS

While Jay-Z and Beyoncé wore them way back in their MV for Apesh*t, colourful suits will be all the rage this year. You can wear slim cuts, oversized suits, or mix both. Choose purples, greens and fuschia colours that will lend some power to your new-age power suit.

GLAM ATHLEISURE

Athleisure has now been a fixture in trends every year since 2015. And it’s not dying soon. Athleisure this year will include bright prints, and you can pair them with luxe accessories. This is also a part of the comfort fashion trend, where designers are including soft knits and cozy fabrics to make loose, comfy clothing that can be worn outside, so getting back to normal life can be made easy after spending two years in sweats. This also includes voluminous silhouettes that provide comfort.

LOW RISE PANTS

All kinds of denim are in trend right now. However, the low waist is back this season. You can wear a low-waisted skirt, a pair of trousers with a blazer or just denim. It’s dropping like it’s hot!

CYBER RAVER

With so much time spent at home, NFT fashion and clothes and makeup in super bright colours and interesting, shiny textures is what makes for this trend. It’s Y2K, it’s loud, and it’s bold. The trendy rainbow knit is also often styled in this look. This can also include hints of Sci-Fi fashion.

THE MICRO-MINI

Now that we are stepping out, designers want us to embrace our bodies and show off what we’ve got! Cue the micro-mini. You can wear it with a halter top, a long jacket or your favourite pair of boots. If it’s in patent leather, much better! The micro length was seen in dresses at fashion weeks.

PLATFORM SHOES

WOMEN’S DAY, EVERY DAY

A LOOK AT THE UNIQUE MATRILINEAL COMMUNITY OF MEGHALAYA

Early this month, we are sure your social media feeds would have been full of ‘Happy Women’s Day’ posts and ads. While we believe that every day can be Women’s Day; where all women feel safe to live, be and express themselves, this North-Eastern state embodies and has been practicing women power for several hundred years now. We are speaking about the Khasi community of Meghalaya (members of the community also live in the neighboring Assam), which is one of the oldest matrilineal societies in the world. The Khasis, which are the largest ethnic community in the state of Meghalaya have a matrilineal system. The Khasi community is also found in Bangladesh. Together with the other two dominant communities in Meghalaya (Garo, and Jaintia, who are also matrilineal), Meghalaya is home to one of the oldest matrilineal societies surviving today.

SPORTY CHIC

This means that the mother is in charge, children receive their mother's last name, husbands move into their wife's home, and the youngest daughter inherits the ancestral property. Wealth and property are passed from mothers to daughters. The Khasis are said to be the descendants of the Mon-Khmer community from remote Burma and have often battled as warriors according to history. Men would often die or not return from these battles, prompting the women to remarry or find other partners. And after a wedding (even today) a Khasi husband will join his wife’s family. And unlike certain old laws of our country, Khasi daughters have the power to live in their ancestral home or move out. The youngest daughter holds the rights to the property, and it’s her responsibility to care for her parents as they grow old. Most local businesses in Meghalaya are owned and run by women, and a strong working woman who chooses a career over marriage is considered normal in the community. Some Khasi women also choose to marry outside their community (which is accepted) and remarrying is also not considered a taboo in the tribe. The women-friendly society of Meghalaya also makes the state a safe destination for solo women travelers.

New generations, the Internet, and leaving their homes for work mean that things are now changing very slowly. However, Meghalaya continues to stand strong as a matrilineal society even today.

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