I have been a bad blogger!!!

So, this is a belated apology post to all those readers who have sent me queries but not received any mail from me. I have over 100 of them sitting in my inbox!!! And, yes, I have been lazy, irritated and frustrated and can't say what not!!! So, please give me time to respond to your queries and I shall try my best to reply to you. If you have urgent requests, you can mark them on high priority. 

And, if you are missing the August month hair diaries, its because I had literally ignored my hair and did nothing for it. So, as a result, they are rough, dry and frizzy and unmanageable. I haven't even applied any hair mask since a month and ends have become hard enough to poke my back!!! That's something I realized when talking to my friend. So, I have started the Kamini treatment again!!! Hope my hair gets back to what it was. 

Is rheumatoid arthritis hereditary? {Your Opinion}

I would request you all to please answer the question in case you know any doctor, you are a doctor or you have any one in your family or friends with such cases. I need some information regd. this disease.

For the uninitiated, rheumatoid arthritis is an auto-immune disease which occurs mainly in the joints but not necessarily restricted to it. The cause of the disease is as of yet unknown but a mistaken identity flares up the disease. The white blood cells start killing the body's own cells thinking them to be foreign substances. In case of rheumatoid arthritis, they mainly attack the joints.

Apparently, according to wiki, low levels of vitamin D can also trigger this disease. For those who do not know, Vitamin D is extremely important to prevent any disease related to the bones. So, if you are getting less of Vitamin D, I would suggest you to eat a balanced diet and get good dose of sun everyday. Also, deficiency of calcium leads to arthritis so better to get a good dose of it. Waiting for your comments :)

Image Courtesy:topnews.in

SOS Organics Wild Mint and Herb Garden Handmade Soaps {Product Review}

Wild Mint

Price: Rs 80 for 100gms

Ingredients

I know the print is totally illegible so I shall put it down here - coconut oil, vegetable oil, lye, peppermint, rosemary essential oil, nettle leaf powder

the swirls had nettle leaf powder on them so the soap was little scrubby as well but not harsh or even enough!!

Pros

this one feels really really cool, perfect for hot summers!!! In fact, whenever I used this soap, my skin was cold :D you would understand what I am saying if you know the peppermint coolness like you get when you eat Polo or any other mint!

wasn't very moisturizing but not drying either!

Cons 

expensive coz it does melt away in 20 days for one person!!  
would love to know what exactly is the vegetable oil they use!

Herb Garden

Price: Rs 80 for 100gms

Ingredients

Pros

after using the Wild Mint, this one didn't really make a mark!

decent soap with moisturizing properties!!

Cons

again expensive coz it melts super fast but there is a way to use handmade soaps and that should be followed stringently. Check the tip here (at the end of the post). 

Availability

Natural Mantra (recently hiked their prices because of shipping costs but I do hope they bring them down soon!)

SOS Organics (you can order from their site directly but minimum order is 500 and no COD)

Interesting Fact: I would also love to bring to your attention the fact that the soaps sold by Earthy Goods are manufactured by SOS Organics only. Check out my reviews on their soaps as well :)

Related Posts:
Earthy Goods Forest Honey Nourishing Handmade Soap
Earth Store Cinnamon Spice, Jasmine Lavender and Mountain Rose
Earthy Goods Vanilla Patchouli Indulging Handmade Soap

How much help are my reviews to you?

So, in view of the third anniversary coming soon (in December), I want some feedback about the blog from you all. Time just flew!! Join in and comment. You can rant or rave on my reviews and tell me how to improve them to help you more. So the stage is all yours and lemme know what ever is in your mind!! I'm waiting :)

Image Courtesy:act-model.com

How to take care of your feet? {Five Series}

Second post in the series, I thought I would write about feet because I have never touched on the topic before in the last 3 years almost!!

Wear Socks when going out

Yes, that's my formula to protect my feet from sun, rain, wind and what not!!! I always wear socks when out unless, of course, I am dressing up! 

Salt Foot Baths

Second high on my list are the foot baths. If you haven't yet given a warm foot bath try, you are really missing on one of the divine pleasures of life. Try adding salt to relax the tired feet or add essential oils or body oils for a great-smelling feet.

Moisturize, Moisturize and Moisturize!!

That's the next. Always keep them moisturized. If at night, you sleep with body oils applied on your feet, the better. It keeps the heels from cracking and looking ugly. Even when you are heading out or going to wear socks, moisturize first. 

Hygiene is the Word

Yes, socks, dust, pollution, heels, all play havoc on your feet. So, keep your feet clean at all times. Make sure to put your feet inside shoes or socks only when dry. You can use body powders or foot powders to keep the sweat away from the feet. 

When you are back home, first act should be to free the feet from your shoes and socks and wash them, preferably in warm water and mild soap. Dry them in a soft towel. Yes, go for these little luxuries. They make you feel good :) And, get some cute fluffy bunny bedroom slippers.

Footwear

The most important thing for your feet. Keep heels reserved for occasions and go for flats in daily life. These days, there are countless and amazingly chic alternatives - be it flip flops, floaters, ballerinas and I don't know other names :D For me, its always floaters and shoes most of the times and with two left feet, I can never carry heels anyways so wedges it is!!!

How do you take care of your feet?

Related Posts:
5 tips on How to use Bath Oil?

Soul Tree Travel Size Samples Preview

Before starting the post, I would like to state that this is just a preview post as I know many of you are waiting to hear my views on the Soul Tree shampoo. Also, these are only sample sizes which I have tried out so I am not doing a full review. So, let's start :)

Soul Tree Indian Rose with Cooling Vetiver Shower Gel

I totally liked it. It smells really nice in sort of a natural way. I don't think I really felt any cooling but it didn't leave my skin stretched or dry. The sample was small so I could get only 4-5 uses out of it. My dad also tried it once and said it was ok. Worth trying out!!

Soul Tree Triphala with Conditioning Henna Hair Repair Shampoo

I have a full size product of this so a detailed review will come sometime in first or second week of October. But, for now, I would say that it does leave the hair soft and shiny and doesn't let it frizz much. But, I think this shampoo is for oily or normal hair and not for dry. 

Soul Tree Licorice, Shikakai & Bhringraj with nourishing Coconut oil Shampoo

This I thought would be more suitable for dry hair. But, otherwise, pretty much the same. 

Now, a small point on both shampoos which I am not yet clear of - the triphala one didn't remove oil at all when I used it for the first time but the trick I found out eventually is that leave the shampoo on for 2 minutes and it cleanses really well. Since they do not have SLS/SLES, the product probably takes a little time to cleanse the oil (totally my theory!!). So, if you are a beauty who loves to oil her hair regularly, make sure you keep the shampoo on the hair for 2-3 minutes before washing off. And, don't worry, that doesn't dry out the hair at all :) 

Rest of the details, you can ask in the comments section and I shall definitely try to put more detail and experience in my detailed review. This post has been put up only because I have finished up all the samples.

How many times do you avoid sun at noon? {Your Opinion}

This has been my issue since quite long. So, I thought I would pose this question to you all. How easy or difficult do you think is avoiding sun at the peak time in the noons? For me, its always the noons when I can get my works done or find time to go out for shopping or anything!!! Especially, when on a vacation, you are always out in the noons. So, how do you exactly avoid the sun in the peak time of 10-4? 

For me, I do put on a lot of sunscreen which gives me protection and use umbrella and scarf both to avoid the sun. But, sometimes, its just not possible!! Anyway, reapplication of sunscreen is very important when you tend to stay out so please bear that in mind. Also, its very important to follow with an after-sun treatment so as to control some of the damage done to the skin. But, it is advisable to avoid sun at the peak time at any cost. 

So, what do you say?

Image Courtesy:healthmeup.com

Related Posts:
Sunscreen: Role in anti-aging Skin Care
Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock
How much sunscreen do you apply?
Use sunscreen 365 days a year
Sunscreen Ingredients