Beuty talk

Sadia Moyeen , Beautician La Belle

Q: I have some complicated and never-ending problems with my hair. After shampooing my hair remains smooth and silky for two to three days only, but after that it turns to dry, unmanageable, rough and clinging hair. I use Livon Silky Portion but it seems to simply dull my hair! For this kind of rough, dry and clinging hair please suggest me what type of shampoo and hair oil will be perfect for my hair? Hoping to get your answer soon. -Depressed

Ans:Dear Depressed,
Oil your hair on a weekly basis. Wrap a hot towel on your head for 15-20 mins before shampooing off the oil. Shampoo and condition your hair every third day and apply very little Livon to damp hair or it gets sticky and dulls the hair. Use olive oil and Vatika hair oil in equal qualities for your massage. Pantene shampoo and conditioner is pretty good-give it a try.

Q: I am a 31 year old female. My problem is, my lower lip is getting darkened and I smoke 4/5 cigarettes a day. How can I remove this nicotine stain and make my lips look better? Thank you. Zabin

Ans: Dear Zabin,
Could I possibly convince you to give up smoking? It is responsible for the dark patch on your lips today, and it will tell on your skin as well. I would fill up this entire page with the evils of smoking but I'm sure you're aware of it all as well. Take petroleum jelly, 2-3 drops of lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Use this mixture to gently massage your lips twice a day. This will lighten the nicotine stain.

Q: There are some black marks on my legs because I have been using razor to remove hair. How can I get rid of these marks? My hair used to be very straight, but now it has become frizzy and broken. Could you please tell me the reason and also what should I do? My skin on backside is darker than any other part of my body. It is very uncomfortable for me to take care of it, please tell me what should I do? What is fair polish? How much does it cost? I want to buy a hair-ironing machine. Where can I get it and how much does it cost? I want to iron my hair permanently. Can it make my hair permanently straight? -Suzana

Ans: Dear Suzana,
Switch to waxing. Use uptan oil and milk to massage your body regularly. If you can get a massage woman to come home and apply this mixture all over the body and then massage it off, it will really help the black marks and will also lighten and clear your skin. Use conditioner on your hair every time you shampoo. If possible, have a deep conditioning treatment at a salon. Fair polish is a fairness pack, which helps to lighten the skin. It should cost about Tk 250 for the face and neck. Yes, you can permanently straighten your hair at a salon but take care of your hair first and improve its quality before you go in for a chemical solution. Hair irons are quite freely available at Gulshan-I market as well as almost all stores selling electrical appliances. It should cost around Tk.2000, depending on the brand of course.

Q: I am 22 years old. My problem is that my forehead is darker than the other parts of my face. I tried many things but nothing worked. My skin is oily and I have little facial hair on my forehead. Can I get rid of this problem by bleaching? If not, what should I do? I want to buy a toner. Would you please tell me what brand should I use? -Fareeha

Ans: Dear Fareeha,
Yes, bleaching will help. You could consider removing the excess hair on your forehead by threading. The Loreal toner is excellent.

Q:I want to know about hair rebounding. I heard that it straightens hair permanently. Is it true? I don't know the process of hair rebounding. Is it same as hair transplantation or ironing? Is it effective? Does it require use of any chemical or any particular machine? I want to do it in a beauty parlour. I have long hair. How much does it cost approximately? Please, please answer me quickly in details. -Nazneen

Ans: Dear Nazneen
Yes, Rebounding straightens hair permanently. No, it has absolutely nothing to do with hair transplantation. A chemical product is used to straighten the hair and an iron is used as part of the procedure of straightening. If done correctly it is very effective compared to regular straightening rebounding is much more expensive. It can cost from Tk 6000 to 10000 depending on the length of the hair.

Q:I really need your help. My skin is oily on the T-zone but sort of dry on the other places on my face. Now I have been facing pimples on my face, which gradually grows bigger and then disappears it self for I don't think it is safe to pop it. But as it disappears, it leaves its dark red marks on my face. These marks are not holes but just marks. I want to remove these marks off of my face. Could you please help me? I have been asked to put neem paste on my face but some says that it is not good for all kinds of skin. I have been as well asked to put Uptan, but I have heard that before using Uptan one must know which kind of uptan is suitable for his or her skin type. Now should I use uptan? If I do, then could you please tell me which uptan I should get for my kind of skin? I would be very thankful if you can help me, because I am now in a very confused situation, for different people give me different advice. -Confused

Ans: Dear confused,
You have a combination skin type. Neem is a natural antiseptic, applying it on your pimples with a little haldi will help them heal faster. If you don't puncture the pimples they will not leave a mark permanently. The red spots will disappear slowly. Wash your face with the 'Aarong' uptan every night. Drink plenty of water and eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Avoid oily food.

Agony Medic

DR. Lutful Aziz FCPS, PHD, Consultant "analgesia", Pain relief centre

To Strengthen Your Muscles
First Stage Exercise
A. Sit on the bed or floor. Pull your toes up towards you, brace your knee flat on the floor, Keeping your leg stiff, lift it up abut 6 to 12 inches off the bed. Hold it for a count of five then relax.

Work in sets of 10 with a short break between each set. Try to complete three sets of 10 in all.

If this exercise becomes too easy, a weight can be added over the front of the ankle. Begin with a couple of pounds and then increase slowly if necessary.

b. Sit on the bed or floor with your legs out straight, roll up a towel and place it behind your knee. brace your knee down against the towel, your heel should lift off the bed, hold it raised for the count of 5, then relax. Repeat this 10 times, rest for a short while, then do another set of 10. Again it this exercise becomes too easy, a weight can be added over the ankle as before.

c. If you are able to take all your weight on the one leg, without any discomfort, add this exercise to your routine. Stand by the kitchen sink or a solid table, hold on to keep your balance. Now bend at the knee but not at the hip. Hold it bent for the count of 5 then lower it back to the floor. Repeat the exercise on the opposite leg, continue alternating legs until you have completed 10 on each leg.

d. For this exercise you should sit yourself on a chair with your feet on the floor, but anchored against the legs or front of the chair. Working with one leg at a time, press your heel firmly against the chair and hold for the count of five. Relax, then repeat the exercise 10 times on each leg.

e. Sit on a fairly firm chair with your feet on the floor. Now squeeze your buttocks together so that you feel yourself rise a little in the chair. Hold tight for the count of five, then relax. Repeat 20 times. This may seem a very strange exercise, but the muscles that are involved here do have a direct function in getting up from a chair and walking up stairs.

BY THE WAY

Let your skin breathe

Breakouts due to stress are common in the college years. But smothering spots with makeup congests the skin more. Invest in a facial at the beginning of each term and don't dehydrate your face with astringents or harsh cleansers. Apply soothing, natural facemasks for weekly skin relief.

 

UNDER A DIFFERENT SKY

Made-in-Bangladesh

I am a treacherous Bangladeshi. In my day to day affairs I barely ever use anything made in Bangladesh, except the instances when I unknowingly wear an over-priced piece of clothing from an over-rated store in U.S.A and the tag reads "Made in Bangladesh." I do not know if I am completely to blame for this unfaithful act. When I get gifts from Bangladesh, rarely any of them are useful for everyday purposes. I usually put away those beautiful saris for some occasion that might or might not occur, and the jewellery get locked up in the bank. The books sit and collect dust until I get the time to pull them out and read a page or two, realize the state of my deteriorating interest in Bangladeshi novels and hide the book back in the mess of other never-touched Bangladeshi books full of words.

I am certainly not proud of this depressing fact. What hurts me even more is that I use so many other products everyday that's made from the countries around Bangladesh. I even read the books published in India and written by Indian authors. I use electronics made in Japan and plates and glasses made in China. I went as far as experimenting with toothpaste made in Korea. Why can't a piece of where I belong come to my use in an every day basis?

The guilt that I have acquired from excluding the use of products of my motherland drives me to do very peculiar things, and I am not alone. I know it has driven many reasonable and sober individuals to act in the oddest manners. I once knew a fellow Bangladeshi who would go around wearing a t-shirt that read "Are you Bangladeshi? Let's get acquainted" in Bengali.

Our guilt of leaving but still loving Bangladesh leads us to meet one another in this distant land. Part of that guilt leads us to approach anyone who looks remotely Bengali and asking them if they are from Bangladesh Part of that guilt keeps us together even if not united.

I have seen the opposite too. There have been incidents when a fellow Bengali denied his link to Bangladesh blatantly in English using the thickest Bengali accent. There have been times when friends who just moved here from Bangladesh described their recent visits to Bangladesh as unsatisfactory and their shopping experiences as disappointing. One individual who had only lived in U.S.A for less than a year even mentioned how her tastes and standards have gone up and nothing in Dhaka looks suitable to her. The materials are too cheap to put on and the make is inadequate. She mentioned how clothing from Dhaka gives her allergies, the allergies that developed from breathing American air and setting "high" standards.

The difference of perceiving Bangladesh between the new-comers from Bangladesh and the ones who have been in U.S.A for some amount of time is often huge. It is not true in every case but it is true at least 50% of the time that the new-comers want to cut ties from the B-land as fast as they can to become Americanized and the old unfaithful ones want to reclaim their roots by wearing T-shirts with desperate messages.

I am not only a bad Bangladeshi, I am also a terrible daughter. I never miss to yell at my Mother when she cooks up a storm, making fish, meat and vegetables, in our authentic Bengali style. The odor of fish and curry sticks to our clothing and hair all week around, we carry around our distinguished curry stench to work home and play. I continue shouting at my mother for making us and our home reek, as I gulp away the smelly delicious food that I cannot live without.

Our double-standards are obvious, our confusion is blatant. Our denial is apparent and so is our desperation. When we step foot in this country we want to wash away all that's Bengali in us, when we realize we have washed away too much we search for what we have lost. In the middle we try to belong, loving or hating our Bengali accents, our smelly curry or our Bangladeshi products.

I recently stopped searching for items made-in-Bangladesh that I could use daily. I recognized there is an invisible tag stamped on me and all the new and old immigrants from Bangladesh living in America, we are the product, strong and durable, surviving and evolving everyday, made-in Bangladesh.

By Iffat Newaz