Beuty Talk

Sadia Moyeen , Beutician, La Belle

Q: I have got lots of problems. My problems are:
1.Nowadays my hair is becoming oily and sticky. What shall I do about it?
2.I am very slim but my upper and lower thighs are fat. Can you suggest anything for it?
3.My leg is wide where my toes are pretty tall. So my legs doesn't suits my toes. Please help me out. Can you tell me how can I make my hair long, straight, and silky? Thank you.

A: Yes I can help you with your hair, but there's not much I can do about your legs. Wash your hair every other day using a mild shampoo. Once a week apply lemon juice to the hair before shampooing off. Then apply conditioner to the length of your hair avoiding the roots.

Q. I am an 18 year old female and I need your help desperately. I have had sudden excessive hair loss for only one month (this February). My hair loss stopped after I cut my hair short and also after I had calcium tablets for a whole month (this March). Earlier I had thick hair and now only one-fourth of my hair is left. Is there any way that can help me get my original volume of hair back? Could you also suggest a remedy to lighten dark lips? Please note that my lips started to darken gradually from last year. -Desperate

A: Your hair has stopped falling, now you must give it sometime to allow it to grow back to its original volume. You can help it along by applying a pack with crushed fresh amla, 1tsp oil (any), 1tsp henna powder and 1 egg, every week for 2 months. Apply petroleum jelly with a few drops of lemon juice to your lips every night before going to bed. Next morning, apply a little more and using a soft cloth rub gently. This will soften as well as lighten the lips. Be careful not to use cheap quality lipsticks whenever possible use a chapstick which has sunscreen in it. Of course I'm taking it for granted that you don't smoke.

Q: Dear Sadia
I am a 22-year-old girl. I have a normal skin and my hair is also normal. I wanted to ask you the benefit of using castor oil for my hair. If its good then where can I get it from and also how do I use it. Thank you. -Robin

A: Dear Robin,
Yes castor oil has its benefits but should be used in small quantities preferably mixed with another oil like coconut or olive. Since you have normal hair, which are in good shape, don't experiment too much. Oil your hair weekly and have deep conditioning treatments professionally once a month for optimum health.

Q: I have a lot of dark hair between my chin and neck, which is very visible. I bleach my facial hair but can you suggest something else for that area which can lessen the hair growth. If I bleach or remove it becomes more visible.

A: Regularly removing the hair can make them more visible. Using hair removing creams to get rid of them should work well for you. It can be used as often as you need and you don't have to wait for them to grow too long before getting rid of them again. If the growth is not too dense then electrolysis, or permanent hair removal is an option.

Style Files
Maheen Khan Fashion designer, Mayasir

Q: I'm a little heavy on my arms. As much as I love wearing sleeveless and halter necks after gaining weight I don’t think I look good in them anymore. Can you suggest some cuts and designs for me (both in kamezes & westerns wear)?
Yana

A0. If you are heavy on the arms, you must be pear shaped. I would suggest you avoid halter tops although you could continue to wear sleeveless, provided the sleeves are cut from the far end of the shoulder pt. You will look nicer though if you switch to longer more tapered sleeves, the lengths can vary from elbow to full sleeves. Wear V-necks on a clean form fitted cut. Avoid large prints and contrast on suits. Stripes are always great to elongate your stature. Try it.

Q. What are some complimentary colours which could be put together for summer outfits. I am tired of wearing the same old solid colours. Please suggest.

A. Every colour has a opposing complimentary colour. If you are looking for cool hues check out light turquoise and coral, peach and light green, lavender and pale yellow. These can be used to mix and match pieces. The colours will pop and create a refreshing illusion.

Q. I feel most comfortable in cotton outfits, but it is really difficult to maintain, could you suggest a method where it remains in good condition over a period of time.

A. Cotton outfits are great for comfort. But it is evident that in a fairly short time printed cottons fade in colour and lustre. The key would be to use light detergents. You should also starch the outfits to provide stiffness and body. White cottons should always be washed separately and you can also mix a bleaching element with detergent to get back the whiteness.

Q. I am under five tall. It is very difficult for me to find ready-made garments that fit me well. When the chest fits the top and bottom are too long or sometimes the length is just right but I can't get into it. What should I do? Please help.

A. Ready-made garments are meant for average size persons. Therefore you really need to buy garments that match your chest size, and then reduce the body, shoulder and sleeve lengths. You may be a petite size, in Bangladesh this size is not available off the wrack. if you are very concerned about your fit I would suggest you make your own custom made outfits.

Q. I am a male in my mid twenties. I like to wear kurtas in my leisure time at home. I find the kurtas in the retail shops too over the top and garish. I don't like embroidered work. Please tell me how I should style my kurta.

A. Kurtas are ideal to lounge around the house and can be equally comfortable to sleep in, whichever it may be there are a zillion ways to style a kurta. Here are a few tips.
Round neck with button down front half opening.

Make sure the buttons match and are fairly small in size.
The cut should be straight not flaired with normal arms.
Use small pleating turning in opposite direction as it runs down the front and around the opening to create a interesting pattern. Use as many as six to eight pleats to form a 1" embellishment. Repeat on sleeve ends.
The length could be over or below your knees.
Use fabric of your choice.

BY THE WAY

Seeking Attention

There are some children who act as clowns in class or home. Did you ever stop to consider what lies behind the demeanor? Your child may be crying out for help. The child may be feeling lost and lonely and could be crying out for help behind the mask of clown. These are children who often do not have many friends and therefore use humour to attract the attention of others. Some times they do it to divert attention from their learning difficulties. These are attention-seeking children who venture into silly pranks asking for importance. The reason could range from conflict in the home, a death in the family to some event in the kid’s life that they regards as more significant than you have perceived.

 

UNDER A DIFFERENT SKY

Afternoons of a living-dead

Her afternoons are long here. The sun gets lazy crossing her sky and her eyes get heavy keeping in track of time, unhurried, ever-stalling moments. Her afternoon prayer ends with a lunch, left-over rice with some special curry she prepared the night before, then the rest of the noon lies in front of her like a piece of difficult reading, the ones too complicated to comprehend with few pages missing here and there. Her son calls, he asks, she answers, he listens, or does he? Time is precious to all but her; her hours make big circles and her minutes long pauses.

The arrangement was that she would spend half her year with her son here in the suburbs of New York and the rest of the year at her home in Dhaka. Her son just out of a divorce needed her by his side. She didn't want to delay her presence, and it was after a long time that her son had needed her. The last time she felt such desperation from her son towards her was when he was just a mere child, when he depended on her for his life, for food and safety, fulfilling few basic human needs.

Isn't that what she is doing now? After her son was tired of drive-through junk food and order-in Chinese dishes it was time for her to fly in. He wasn't much of a cook, the ex-wife did most of it, and with her absence the place started looking like an animal farm. Dirty clothes and unwashed dishes piled up next to each other, unclean bathrooms and dirty bed sheets. Her son didn't make any effort of pretense at tidiness. The jungle was waiting for her to be groomed, and upon her arrival she made it livable again.

Now that there is no dust to wipe, and now that she has become an essential part of this couple of thousand square feet her days and nights have stopped moving. It's not that she misses her life in Dhaka, although in Dhaka she could go out once in a while if she wished all she had to do is call a Rickshaw. No such convenience as rickshaws exists here and when she looks out the window, no ferriwala or street kids roam around making fusses, just a few squirrels and occasional sparrows, even they are too civilized to make a ruckus. Her eyes almost wait for some chaos in the middle of this still and picture-perfect world, a world too empty like her inside.

You can not call her son a mama's boy, he is far from it in fact. She is not sure when they grew apart, but now there is detachment between them, and being Bengali she was never trained to express her emotions directly, without tears or without bringing up the sacrifices of the past. The right way to work out this kind of very invisible and very existent problems was never taught to her. So she lets it be, the void remains carrying its faint echo through the dishwasher and laundry machines, and they sit every evening having dinner just like any other American family, creating small talks and cold silences.

Her husband died ten years back. She had a typical Bengali marriage; a marriage which was based on habits not love. It was like a square which held no room for expressions and growth and was consumed by duties, obligations, sacrifices and lonesomeness. Now in her mid-50s she often wonders what it feels like to be in love or just to have a meaningless relationship, the ones which only create bliss without much attachment or forgoing. In this free land she can go out and find herself a date if she wishes to, she knows it's accepted for older people to have a relationship and start fresh, it's quite common. Thinking of such things is unthinkable for a woman of her background and position. A Bengali woman of a certain age is no longer allowed to think of love, relationship and starting over, and she knows she is there, where life stops, love stops, only things which go on are fruitless, shameless imaginations, blank dreams and hopeless still breathing bodies, like the one she is carrying.

At this age she has all the wishes but none of the courage of starting fresh. What can she do? Walk out, seek an odd job and live with roommates in semi-poverty untying herself from all Bengali traditions and attachments and search for love in some male 50-year old eyes? She knows that's only possible in movies and not in her life composed with comprises and sacrifices and living for others.

So she continues to breath silently, continues being strong looking weak and meek. Spending long afternoons in her the stale and still world her existence dissolves into another insignificant, deceased and forgotten tale.

By Iffat Nawaz
*You can contact the writer by emailing nituta@hotmail.com