Beauty Talk

Beauty Talk

Sadia Moyeen, Beautician, La Belle

Dearest Sadia,
I am very hairy and am facing a social stigma for it. I tried shaving my arms but the hair grows back even thicker. There are flecks of hair under my chin and it just looks horrible. I am a school teacher and sometimes I see students laughing behind my back. No one wants to go out with me due to my "hair" problems! Could you suggest a cheap and easy way of getting rid of my body hair?

Hi! People can be so cruel…and I'm sorry to hear that you're suffering. Shaving should be avoided completely. Switch to waxing your body using warm wax. The hair will not grow back for at least 2-3 weeks. Repeated waxing seems to lessen the hair growth as well. As for the hair growth on your chin, you could thread it on a regular basis, or even consider thermolysis, which is the permanent removal of hair. The downside of this is that repeated sittings are required for each hair before desired results, and it can be a little expensive as well. Dr. Saiful Kabir sits at 17/A Rampura Skin Care, opposite Rampura Bazar. His cell no. is 0189-211542. You can call him and have a word with him.

Dear Sadia,
I would be very grateful if you kindly answer the following questions related to my hair and skin.
My hair is dry and slightly wavy. However with regular use of conditioner, the condition of my hair has more or less improved. I heard that deep conditioning is very good for dry hair. Can you please give me the name of a particular brand of deep conditioner suitable for my hair type? Also, kindly mention the place where it is available.
I believe I have combination skin. The dry areas are so dry that I have to apply some Johnson's Baby lotion even in this weather. I'll be going to UK next month and it'll be very cold there at that time, so could you please suggest a cold facial cream that I will be able to use? I guess I should also mention that I have always used all Johnson's Baby products all my life, and now I use Johnson pH 5.5 face wash and St. Ives apricot scrub (occasionally). Therefore, I don't really know if any other brand will suit my skin. Please help.
Zarin

Dear Zarin,
Have a deep conditioning treatment at a salon, because it will be accompanied by steam and ozone therapy, and you will reap its full benefits. Once a month is quite enough. Continue the use of Johnson's products, but start using the Johnson's pH 5.5 soft moisturising cream as well, especially at night. If you feel that the skin still feels dry, then add a few drops of Johnson's baby oil to the cream, mix it in the palm of your hand and apply.

Hi,
I am in desperate need of your help. I suffer from terrible depression and I had a fever that lasted 15 days. I had to take dozens of medicines. My skin has become rough and my hair has started falling. What will do? I have Combination skin. I also want to do fair polish on my hands. Please let me know where I can do it and what the prices are like. Thanks a lot.
Tisha.

Dear Tisha,
Come and have an Amla pack with hot oil for falling hair at La Belle. Two sittings twice a week will definitely help. You can have a quick 10-minute facial to restore moisture to the face and, if you wish, a fair polish as well. It costs Tk 250 for the face and neck, and Tk 400 for full hands. After eating lunch, have Vitamin C (500 mg) every other day, for two weeks to aid skin rejuvenation.

Dear Sadia,
I m 21 years old. I have white patches on my chin, which is gradually spreading on my cheeks. I want to know how to get rid of it. Is it contagious? How do I prevent it from spreading?
L.A

Dear L A
Please refer to a skin dermatologist as soon as possible.

Hi Sadia,
I would like some advice on the "Natural Breast enhancing cream". Nowadays, I find that there are so many products in the market, but I don't know which ones are the best. I would appreciate it if you could supply me with some names, and also, please advice if using these products would cause any harmful side effects.
Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,
I'm afraid I'm quite skeptical about the use and effectiveness of these creams. If they worked, we wouldn't have a flat-chested female population.

Hi Sadia! I am a 14-year-old girl who badly needs your help. My first problem is that I have dry lips throughout the year. Some people have this problem in winter, but I have it every day of every month. I use Vaseline but it makes my skin oilier. My face is oily, but my lips are dry. Can you suggest some remedies? My second problem is that I have very oily skin and very dry hair. So, if I put oil on my hair, my face gets oilier, and if I don't, my hair gets dry. What can I do to stop this? I hope you will give me an effective solution.
Thank You. Choyon

Dear Choyon,
Don't oil your hair; instead, use a conditioner every time after you shampoo your hair. If possible, once a month, have a deep conditioning treatment in a salon.
Apply petroleum jelly mixed with Johnson's baby oil on your lips only, then apply a hot towel on your lips. Keep warming the hot towel by soaking in hot water. Reapply petroleum jelly and repeat the process. Do this for 15 minutes, then gently rub your lips. You will see that the flaky skin comes off. Don't be too rough, or else your lips will become red. Do this, as and when you need to, and always carry a chapstick with you, and keep your lips moist by applying it as many times as you wish.

Hi Sadia,
I am 19 years old. I want a haircut, which will suit me. My hair is wavy and I have an oval face. What is the new look this Eid? Also, I've been using Lady Diana Sunblock (SPF UV-40) for nearly a month. My skin has become dark now. Please suggest the name of a good brand.
Thanks Anika

Dear Anika,
Layer your hair; the natural wave will add bounce and body to the hair. Most people are straightening their hair and feathering it this Eid, but you can go for a look that will suit you, irrelevant of what the new look is. Use Lotus Sunblock. Try a fair polish to rid yourself of a tan.

Dear Sadia,
My lips are very dry and dark. I use chapstick but it doesn't help. My complexion is becoming darker and dark circles are appearing around my eyes. My hair is very dull and rough and full of dandruff. Can you suggest a good treatment for this?
Tasnima

Dear Tasnima,
For dry lips, use the same treatment as stated above for Choyon. Have an oil massage on a weekly basis. Apply oil, massage, rub a lemon rind on the scalp, keep on for 15-20 minutes, then shampoo off using Selsun Blue Anti-Dandruff shampoo. Use conditioner. Give a boost to your complexion: do fair polish. Apply chandan, mixed with cucumber juice everyday to rejuvenate your skin. You must rest enough; get enough sleep everyday. Eat healthy, drink plenty of water, and put yourself on multivitamins.

UNDER A DIFFERENT SKY

Calling all
Webmasters

My small world of a few hundred square footage often keeps me locked in a flat screen. What is there to do anyway? It's the middle of Ramadan. My on-and-off roja days are hard to deal with, in an office that fills up with gourmet aroma between 12-2pm. The company lunches, prolonged by appetizers and desserts are no match for an impatient roja keeper like me. Most days I want a break; I want special consideration for fasting, and I don't want to be bothered with last minute requests at work or stay late to finish up a project. No; I just want to be left alone. Unfortunately since that is not an option, I try to dive into the computer screen with my thirsty throat and make grand plans for online shopping, trying to figure out what will I get everyone for Eid. And by everyone I really mean myself. Selfish? Well, well be considerate now…I AM fasting remember?

So like a professional my first task every morning is to check for new arrivals at the online stores. There are quite a few of them, a few hosted from India, and a few from USA. Some of the Indian sites do take over a month to deliver (speaking from professional online shopping experience) so I usually don't amuse myself with those sites as much as I do with the US born Deshi designer ones. My anxious soul always seeks short waits and long item satisfaction periods you see… Although I must say, while I keep adding and subtracting items from my shopping cart, I do keep on wishing for more Bangladeshi online stores.

So what's up with that anyway? From what it seems, all of Bangladesh has taken over MSN and Yahoo messengers. There's something for every Bangladeshi, from chat rooms to dating services, to porn sites… catering to every taste but mine, and those of ones who share my needs. Why are we discriminated against? Why isn't there a decent Bangladeshi designer site online to feed the hunger of this aching online shopper?

It's not that there are no Bangladeshi online shopping sites. I know there are a few, but they contain messages next to their items such as "In case the sari shown in the image is not available, a similar sari will be sent to you as it is not possible to recreate an identical piece. Prices are all inclusive, no extra charge applicable." So from this what I understand is basically I might order one thing and they will send me another that they think is similar…what is the definition of "Similar" here anyway? For a finicky shopper like me, this is too big a chance to take, letting my money go to unwanted, (unneeded?) items which I never fully desired. Granted I could always give it away as a gift, but why isn't there a 100% guarantee, is it because we are Bangladeshi and we give out no 100% guarantees unless it's the tag of a Gap shirt made in Bangladesh which by default is always 100% cotton.

As a lousy option to online shopping people like me who wants to support the Bangladeshi clothing industry have to settle for those "Bhabis," "Chachis" and "Apus" who bring from their trips to Bangladesh a hoard of Saris and kameezes to sell to desperate fools like us. You may want to know why this is a lousy option. Well it's lousy because not only are we stuck to someone else's taste and made-up fashion buzzes, we are also obliged to buy at least one outfit no matter how horrific it may look when we go to these houses of such friends and family. Because what kind of cheap, tasteless person are you if you don't even buy one outfit after driving 30 minutes to an hour? A pathetic one for sure.

So after being a victim of others' bad tastes thrown at me way more times than I ever preferred, I have stopped going to do good at the do-gooder Sari sellers' houses. Now I only have one dire wish, and it is that, will the progressive Bangladeshi dating site creators and hosts please hook up with the progressive Bangladeshi Sari and kameez designers so that my deprived ravenous body can have a nice outfit to wear this Eid?

By Iffat Nawaz