Monsoon Skin Care – Essentials for Glowing Skin

The Summer months make everyone exhausted as the scorching heat drains out all the energies from everyone. We try to avoid the work which requires us to stay outdoors. Amidst all this, the monsoon brings relief and cheers to the people. As the atmosphere is heated, early showers lead to the generation of moisture in the environment which brings air in the atmosphere, and the germs and diverse pathogens find these conditions very conducive to them. Truly said, monsoon nourishes every living being on earth, but it also brings some serious problems with it.

Monsoon can take a toll on your skin due to this humid weather. This high humidity in the atmosphere can severely impact your skin and tresses, making them look oily, dull, and greasy respectively. Thanks to Monsoon, oily skin tends to look duller and greasier due to sweat and dirt that accumulates on the skin. Sweat acts as a magnet to dirt and pollutants in the atmosphere, which can then lead to a number of skin problems such as acne, blackheads, pimples, and other unwanted eruptions. During this season, the chances of developing fungal and bacterial infections on the skin are also high due to prolonged exposure to rainwater. Apart from this,we want to binge on some fried food like samosa or pakora along with a cup of hot tea or coffee, too much of which can affect skin health. Additionally, if your diet lacks the required nutrients such as vitamin A, B12, C, E and minerals like selenium, zinc, iron, folate and omega-3 fatty acids, and other healthy fats, it is likely to contribute to poor skin health

Better care of skin during monsoon can be accomplished by following some simple dietary habits and hygiene steps.

• Continue with your CTM routine, which is cleansing, toning, and moisturizing. This will get rid of clogged pores to avoid skin allergies and fungal and bacterial infections.
• The CTM routine at night time is a must as that will help to remove the impurities that have collected on the skin during the day.
• Do not forget your sunscreen. Apply a water-based sunscreen lotion on the skin to keep the skin protected.
• Avoid using oily or moisturizer-based products as that will make the skin oilier.

• Include iron-rich foods like legumes, lentils (chickpeas, black gram) nuts(cashew, Pine nuts), and seeds(pumpkin, sesame, flax, hemp). Iron helps in enhancing oxygen flow in the body which will eventually contribute in improving blood circulation thereby benefiting skin health.
• Include Omega 3 fats like walnuts, chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp, eggs, etc.as they help in regulating the skin’s oil production, hence reducing or preventing breakouts. It also improves hydration and minimizes signs of aging.

• Fruits are by nature very healthy and nutritious. Fruits that are rich in Vitamin C like litchis, pears, jamun(berries) and peaches, will make our skin look less dull and wrinkle-free. These have high antioxidant content which automatically makes our skin look radiant and dull-free.
• All in all, it is very important to keep yourself well hydrated as humid weather causes the body to lose fluids through sweat. So, make sure you keep your body flushed by drinking enough fluids.

So, while it’s the season to toss your worries away and enjoy the sparkling rains, make sure your skin is not the one to be taking the toll of that all.

After all, internal health matters and that reflects not only on your skin but overall health.

Healthy Skin Assures Hearty Smile.

Keep Glowing, Keep smiling, and Stay Healthy!

Happy Monsoon!

Precautions – Gut Health During Monsoon

As we all are witnessing, the monsoon has reached all parts of India. Throughout the country, it is showering at varying degrees. We all love the rainy seasonas it brings relief from the terrible heat of summer.But there is a huge downside to the monsoon season. We noticed that a number of digestive issues crop up when this season rolls in. It happens to us all.

Let’s first understand the link between monsoon and gut. Our entire digestive system becomes sluggish due to the humid weather during monsoon. If our digestive organs like the stomach, the pancreas, and the small intestine do not work at their peak capacity, problems like gas, acidity, bloating and the constant feeling of fullness arise. None of these conditions is pleasant! And since monsoon is when you feel like binging on snacks, the problems intensify because fast foods, sweets, and snacks are merciless on your digestive system.

Ayurveda describes aggravation of “Vata” and accumulation of “Pita” in the Rainy/Monsoon season. This is the major cause of various diseases occurring during the rainy season. The food and lifestyle should thus be such thathelp in balancing Vata and Pitta. The following changes in diet are recommended to maintain our Gut health during monsoon.

Include cow’s ghee in daily diet. Ghee stimulates the digestive juices and helps your body absorb nutrients. It is very effective in curbing gut inflammation. It will also ease constipation by smoothening colon muscles and increasing their contractility.

Consume a small piece of ginger with rock salt before every meal. For any digestive problem, ginger should be your go-to food. Ginger increases the secretion of saliva, bile, and gastric juices. It helps your body rapidly break down food and assimilate the nutrients. It can also fight gastric inflammation and is an excellent remedy for an upset stomach. Many people experience heartburn when they consume raw ginger. Rock salt prevents this heartburn.

Ayurveda encourages the consumption of natural foods. And the kind of foods that will help your digestion is water-laden fruits and vegetables such as cucumber, tomatoes, apples, citrus fruits, watermelons, strawberries etc.

These foods keep you hydrated. Water helps with the absorption of nutrients from the digestive tract. It also moistens your bowels and ensures easy passage of stool.

Drinking boiled is recommended. Avoiding curds, red meat, and any foodstuff, which takes a longer time to digest is good during the monsoon. One may have buttermilk instead of curds. Consume light and fresh foods prepared from barley, rice, and wheat.
Consumption of ‘Haritaki /Harad (Terminalia chebula) with rock salt in the monsoon season is beneficial to health.
As per Ayurveda abrupt changes in diet and lifestyle suitable for a particular season should be avoided. The changes must be gradual over a period of 15 days by giving up the earlier lifestyle and adopting a new one for acclimatization. If abrupt changes are brought the bodymay not be able to cope with them and this could lead to other problems.

Stay Safe and Healthy This Monsoon. Happy Monsoon!

Regulatory Aspects of Cosmetic Testing

Cosmetic Legislation frameworks in the major markets are based on either broad or narrow definitions of cosmetics. A legal framework with broad definitions of cosmetic work includes extensive restriction lists of ingredients whereas one with a narrow definition does not feature restriction lists of ingredients but may classify a product as a drug on the basis of claims made. In general, the regulatory basics for cosmetics are different for different countries. Even the classification rules defining what a cosmetic is differed between the countries. Some countries may classify a product as cosmetic whereas other countries classify the same as a drug. This has implications for the testing of cosmetics. Depending on which country the testing is performed and/or the test product is to be marketed, different specific testing may be required, desired and/or allowed.
We are fortunate enough to find some universal similarities in the world of the differences in regulatory basics for cosmetics in different countries like-

As discussed in the beginning, the cosmetic regulation framework i.e. broad framework and narrow framework. The broad framework roughly describes the European Union (EU) cosmetics regulation where they have employed extensive lists with restrictions for specific ingredients as well as positive lists for allowed ingredients and require safety data to be available. It is not surprising that many countries like ASEAN countries, Mercosur countries, the Andean Pact countries as well as South Africa have similar cosmetic regulations as it is successful in regulating cosmetic product safety as well as allowing innovation of cosmetic products.
India is also a large market that was of less interest to major cosmetic manufacturers in the past, probably because of the low average income of the population. Considering its economic growth, it has become increasingly important to have cosmetic regulation. So, India developed its cosmetic regulation which is completely integrated with its drug regulatory system. Cosmetic guidelines are governed by the Drugs and Cosmetic Act, and the official government body is the CDSCO (Central Drugs Standard Control Organization) headed by DCGI (Drug Controller General of India).
To get marketing approval for cosmetics, the products must comply and be coherent with BIS (Bureau of Indian standards) guidelines which are put forward by CDSCO to ensure the safety of consumers. Certain documents like COAs (Certificate of Analysis), INCIs (International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredients), heavy metal, non-animal declaration, testing methods, labels with a description of product n direction for usage, manufacturing license, import registration in case of imports should be according to BIS guidelines and are required by regulatory approval for marketing of cosmetic products.
The narrow framework model roughly defines the cosmetic regulatory system in the USA. It has been discussed by O.Wunderlich that India too follows the same framework similar to the USA. Let’s see the difference between the requirements of India and the USA in the following table:

Earlier there was no robust mechanism or legislation present to ensure that the ingredients used in the formulation are safe. But as we all now know that the Indian Cosmetic market is the fastest growing in the world with dynamic changing regulations which represents the positive growth of the industry. India has put forward certain guidelines and regulations that ensure thorough analysis of documents and scrutiny of contents of the cosmetic products. This nature of the regulatory scenario will provide further opportunities for business in future.