Don’t Get Zitsy!- Femina

This summer, create your own skin care potions with a dash of green and a touch of tangerine to deal with zits, acne and blemishes.

Unlike the skin on, say, your big toe, the kind on your face can be pretty demanding (thirsty yesterday, pimply today and sallow tomorrow). And we all do need to save face. But for this time round, we bring out our home-made arsenal of oil and blemish-control liquids (the water-based fruits and veggies) and declare war on our over-active oil glands. The need of the hour is to keep our skin thirst quenched at all times, and what better way than with fruits and vegetables that supply around 18 per cent of an adult’s daily fluid intake, besides the H2O that is.

Diet & Nutrition
Unhealthy skin may have more to do with what you do not eat than with what you do. If your skin is acne-prone, then make sure that your diet contains plenty of Vitamin A, beta-carotene, polyunsaturated fats, Vitamin C and water. Beta-carotene is found in dark green or orange vegetables such as spinach and carrots, and in orange-coloured fruits, including apricots and mangoes.

So drink to good health this summer by playing chemist with stuff in your refrigerator. Make a mess with a dollop of pink and a pint of white, green or orange and you have what you need to treat skin problems.

Health Cocktails To Clear Zits
* To make a tangy drink packed with Vitamin C, squeeze the juice of a lemon and add chilled water to it.
* Liquidise a cup of orange segments with half a cup of raspberries and drink up to refresh your skin.
* Get your dose of Vitamins A and C in a blend of five carrots and a cupful of pomegranate seeds; it helps cleanse the body, too.
* Make a blend with a cup of watermelon pieces and a few grapes. Strain, chill and say cheers to a glowing, blemish-free skin.

Foods To Combat Acne
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* The cool, crisp cucumber belongs to the family of the pumpkin, watermelon and courgette. Its exceptionally high water content (96.4 per cent) is what makes it stand out in a crowd. Anyway, no amount of skin care lotions can make up for the skin-sapping effects of a lousy diet. So, go munch munch on cucumber and tomato salad, and make a meal out of sandwiches and soups to stay skin happy.

* Eating lettuce (95 per cent water) and watermelon (99 per cent water) also helps improve the skin quality; makes a lot of sense indeed, since these help wash away the toxins from the body.

* Find a healthy dose of Vitamin C in oranges. It helps make collagen, an essential for good skin.

* The sweet, juicy papaya is not only extremely nutritious, but also contains papain, which is a skin softener. So what are you waiting for; sink your teeth into one.

* The orange-fleshed cantaloupe melon is a good source of beta-carotene and Vitamin C, both of which are antioxidants, and prevent the formation of zits. A watermelon may contain lesser Vitamin C, but its high water content stimulates the kidneys to work more efficiently, thereby flushing out the system.

* In addition, to rid the skin of pimples and zits, you need to supplement your diet with the minerals MSM (Methyl Sulphonyl Methane) and zinc. Get rid of blackheads and whiteheads by replenishing the body’s MSM with a supplement. As for zinc, yoghurt and skimmed milk can supply it in small amounts.

The Beauty Coach For Sensitive And Oily Skin Cleansing
A necessary step to control acne is to keep skin clean using gentle cleansers. Excessive washing may actually precipitate acne. But there are cleansers that do not strip the skin of its natural moisture.

A Few Tried And Tested Recipes Are