By: Dr Tania Bardhan, ESPA, The Leela Palace New Delhi
While the word summer conjures images of exciting getaways for many of us, it also brings on the thought of unique skin and hair care challenges, not to mention specific health problems. Not that you’ll hear it from many, but summers can be a great time to refresh and rejuvenate ourselves, while making the most of the bountiful energy of the sun.
Picture perfect
While common perception is that skin becomes oilier and stickier during this time, constant exposure to air conditioned environments, being out in the sun for long, or spending a day at the beach along with excessive sweating can also lead to parched skin. An instant fix for this at home could be to keep some fresh aloe gel at hand in the summers. Aloe Vera gel helps in soothing skin exposed to the sun and provides deep hydration without adding to oiliness.
It is wonderfully balancing for the skin, helping those who suffer from acne to moisturize without making the skin feel oily, and is suited to the most sensitive skin types. For those with mature skin types, aloe gel may be further fortified with some honey to make it a more nourishing moisturizer. It is always best to use organically grown fresh aloe gel for skin care. A little aloe plant won’t look too bad on your window sill too!
For a very effective summer toner for the face you could use green tea leaves brewed in water. Once it cools down, the mixture can be stored for up to a week in the refrigerator. In addition to refreshing the skin, green tea also packs in high doses of antioxidants which keep the effects of environmental pollutants at bay.
For those who want to combine DIY home care with some top of the line natural products for their summer care regime, ESPA has many wonderful natural ingredients in their products to benefit skin during summers. The skin radiance moisturizer helps in achieving a wonderful glow with extracts of bearberry, mulberry and liquorice combined with Hawaiian algae to smooth away dead cells.
For the tresses
Our hair demands special attention during summer months as they tend to get either too flat or frizzy from increased levels of humidity. Frequent shampooing to combat these problems often causes overly dry hair. A better solution is rinsing hair with apple cider vinegar which imparts a deep shine, giving your hair body and bounce, while also helping to eliminate dandruff, itchiness and rashes on the scalp.
Pink hair and scalp mud from ESPA is a very popular hair care product. It contains the goodness of Vitamin C rich watercress extracts and apricot kernel oil combined with mineral rich clays to keep the scalp healthy and leaves hair soft and easily manageable.
Not many know or have tried dry skin brushing. This summer, however, try your hand at it. For this, investing in a good quality body brush with natural bristles helps immensely; ESPA makes a body brush with bristles of Mexican cacti for this purpose. Dry skin brushing is an invigourating practice which helps in exfoliating dry dead skin cells, increase lymphatic drainage of toxins from the body, improves circulation and also helps with cellulite. It is an inexpensive, easy to do yourself way to keep your body looking summer and beach ready at all times.
Similar effects can be achieved by using ESPA salt and oil scrubs regularly during the summer. These scrubs combine sea salt with natural ingredients like lavender and menthol to help exfoliate dead skin cells while keeping the skin baby soft and nourished.
As scared as we women are of summer, it’s time to make it fun and happy. There are easy and luxurious solutions to all woes!
With a wealth of experience at leading national and international hotels, Dr. Tania Bardhan is a Doctor of Homeopathy and Acupuncture. Currently at ESPA at The Leela Palace New Delhi, she believes in integrating holistic practices with wellness and lifestyle programmes. In her current role, she leads a diverse team of therapists, gym instructors, nail technicians, and attendants to deliver memorable spa journeys. She was recently conferred the ‘Spa Manager of the Year’ award at GeoSpa asiaSpa India Awards 2013. ESPA at The Leela Palace New Delhi combines exquisite interiors and design with state-of-the-art treatment rooms and advanced rejuvenation techniques. Treatments offered blend European wellness with ancient therapies from Ayurveda. The spa was recently chosen by thousands of readers of Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Travel Awards.
