Campus Trends

Beat the Heat!

Naziba Basher
Photos: Kazi Tahsin Agaz Apurbo

Its 39 degrees Celsius out there, and your skin seems to be sucking the heat in deeper into your body rather than helping you cool down. An occasional evening downpour of rain brings more grief than relief, because it layers on humidity, that is thick enough to slice with a knife! Throw in a little pollution and each second becomes pure hell when you are outdoors. That is what every student in Bangladesh has been facing for more than a month now.

Drinking water regularly is a must to deal with the summer heat.

Apart from having all the fun sucked out of us, most students face a lot of dilemma when it comes to taking care of themselves. Whether it is about reducing the oil in the skin, the stickiness of the hair or be properly hydrated through out the day -- students and young people need to know the do's and don'ts as they run around about, in and out of class.

The one thing that young people should take care of is their diet. It is always good to avoid very heavy meals, especially consisting of red meat. In fact, smaller intakes would help anyone who does not want to feel bloated and heavy, not to mention sweaty too. Meals consisting of fresh vegetables including lettuce, fish, maybe even soup, would make one feel so much lighter yet full. Check out your local market place for fresh fruits this season. The seasonal mangoes are already here and even though they are not in their ripest state, they are just as helpful. Making a juice out of kacha aam will definitely help one beat the heat and feel refreshed. Some other fruit juices like the watermelon juice, honey dew melon juice and, of course, the orange and lemon juices will be sure to perk one up this season.

There are many skin care products out there that students can carry with them to keep their skin healthy.

For the young sports lovers, who love playing cricket or football outside in the heat, dehydration is inevitable. For them -- get back to the basics -- drinking water is the safest option. Mixing in a little or-saline to the water, which can be found in any small shop around the corner, would help a great deal. One can also add glucose or even the Gatorade powder -- can buy in Meena Bazaar or Agora at Tk 180 per carton -- to hydrate oneself. It is absolutely essential to avoid soft drinks during this season, no matter how tempting they look, because these drinks also cause dehydration.

During summer, your skin is also something that you should absolutely take good care of. One should use a face wash which will suit one's skin type -- oily, dry or normal. Weekends would be good for students to try out home remedies like exfoliating the skin with cucumbers, yogurt or a good face wash. Nowadays, there are many kinds of products students can buy and that too not spend a fortune, for instance, the Garnier face washes, costing between Tk 150-200. The moisturising cream belonging to the same company costing around the same would also be a good option.

Apart from oiliness, the skin also suffers from sunburn in the scorching heat. To tackle that, the best way is to apply sun block lotion. There are many good brands you can use like Nivea, Neutrogena, Lakme and more. For a pocket-friendly deal, Lakme Sun Expert would be a good option costing at Tk 155. Along with the skin, one's lips can also get damaged in this heat and most people turn to lip gloss to take care of that. Truth is, lip glosses do not do much apart from making them look pretty and shiny. To get true care for ones' lips, one should use chap sticks from companies like Fa, Nivea, LaBello and more, costing between Tk 150-200.

Opting for fresh juice, instead of fizzy drinks, is a wise decision.

Lastly, to take care of one's hair this summer, washing it every night would be a great routine before going to bed. Do not use shampoo too often since it tends to strip off moisture from within your hair, but that does not mean you will not use it all. Just make sure you keep track of how much and how many times you are using it. Apart from that, you can keep your hair covered with a cap or scarf when in the sun and avoid using straighteners and hair dryers.

To keep fit, stylish and trendy this season, you have to, first and foremost, take care of yourself. Take some time off and take care of your own body and health and you will, not only look good but also feel young and refreshed!