Lately, our days have been action packed and we have been spending a lot of time outdoors. This means, eating a lot of junk food and carrying a perennial tan. Being with a husband who is perennially traveling and a daughter who is a hardcore athlete, here are a few changes I brought about with time to look and feel good always.

1. Dry Snacks:  I make it a point to never step outside home without at least one dry snack in my bag. It can be a box of small dry fruits, energy bars, milkshakes and juice tetra packs and occasionally, some roasted makhana, popcorn and/or wafers.
2. Sandwiches: There have been multiple occasions when my chutney cheese sandwiches, nutella sandwiches, PB&J rolls have saved the day and our insane hunger.  I would rather waste a sandwich than eating nothing the whole day when I know we have a busy, action packed day.
3. Wet Wipes: I never knew I was going to be that mom who would carry the world in her tote but it indeed is true and now, I will never have it any other way.  I always carry two packs of wet wipes- skincare and ordinary wipes, dry tissues, sanitizers, dry paper soap, a small tube of aloe vera gel, vaseline and a small perfume bottle. I also carry bandaids and more often than not, almost all these things are used on an alarmingly regular basis. Since these are things used by kids and adults, I never remove them from my bag and I have a set of these things packed in every bag I own!

Recently, with the amount of sun we are getting exposed to on a regular basis. I have started making some Diy Face Packs for all of us. My daughter is 8 and I prefer to not expose her delicate Skin to any more chemicals than necessary. Similarly, my husband is a typical guy who has spent his entire life using the same ‘soap’ on everything from face to hair! He is not a skincare enthusiast but he has been voluntarily applying the DIY facepacks for a healthy skin.

For men and women: Mix two spoons of chickpea flour/besan, a spoon of organic turmeric or sandalwood, some grated orange peel, rose petals, some freshly squeezed aloe vera and a little milk  A smooth and runny paste is to be applied on dry and cleansed skin. These ingredients will absorb into the skin and you can wash it off with warm water in 20 minutes.  We use this twice a week, sometimes with all ingredients, sometimes substituting orange peel for tomato pulp, rosewater for cucumber and I can guarantee a clean and glowing skin within a month of regular use. 

For kids: Since kids are naturally blessed with soft and blemish free skin, we just need to help enhance their skin. Kay gets tanned easily and while Aloe Vera Gel helps and sunscreen is regularly used, this face pack has helped relieve of her tanned and uneven complexion. Grate and squeeze the water of a fresh cucumber, add two spoons of aloe vera and a spoon of rose water. Mix it and apply it on clean and dry skin, keep for as long as they allow and wash it off with warm water. I use it every alternate day on her face and since this is a ‘dadima ka nuska’ (grandma’s secrets) used by me when I was a child  too, I can see the instant change in her skin.

Please note that the idea behind these facepacks is to not encourage fair skin or lighten mine or anyone’s existing complexion, these facepacks will enhance one’s natural skin tone and lighten the tan and discoloration, pigmentation if any in their skin tone. 

I love my skin tone and I have taught my daughter to embrace her dusky skin tone, as well. Self love is important and I can assure you ‘we are our favorites!’