Every working woman values her Sunday or the weekly day of rest. She owes to herself to manage the time to catch up with her beauty needs.
Luxury pre-bath exfoliation and massage
Exfoliation: For a body scrub, mix rice powder and almond meal with yogurt and add a pinch of turmeric. Apply. Leave on for 10-15 minutes. Then, rub gently on the skin with circular movements. Wash off. Using olive oil, give your body a good massage or add fragrance to your oil and derive aromatherapy benefits from it. To 50 ml olive oil or sesame seed oil, add eight drops of essential oil. Choose one essential oil from rose, lavender, neroli, jasmine or lotus.
Essential oils should always be diluted. They should never be used by themselves. During massage, pay attention to elbows, knees and ankles. Use circular strokes on the shoulders, elbows and wrists. Stroke down the muscles of the inner arms and then upwards on the back of the arms in a smooth movement. Using the palms of the hands, massage in large circles over the whole front of the body, moving upwards and outwards from the centre. Use circular strokes for the abdomen.
Apply oil to the whole leg, stroking upwards. Using both hands, one on the inside and one outside, massage down the front of the legs, from knee to ankle and then upwards at the back of the legs, from ankle to back of knees.
Luxury bath You can try one of these bath additives to remove fatigue and leave your body soft, smooth and fragrant.
Honey bath Add two tablespoons of honey to a bucket of bath water. It is said to induce relaxation and leave your skin soft and moist.
Vinegar Add two tablespoons of vinegar. This helps to relieve itching.
Eau de cologne Adding a few drops of cologne makes you feel cool and leaves the body fragrant.
Almond oil Add one tablespoon almond oil to your bath water if you have a dry skin.
Powdered milk Add powdered milk to the bath water for dry skin.
Epsom salts If the water is hard, try adding one tablespoon epsom salts to the bath water.
After-bath body lotion Mix together 100 ml rose water with one tablespoon pure glycerin. Keep in a bottle with a lid.
Body and face mask Mix ripe papaya pulp with two parts honey, two parts yogurt, two parts powdered dried orange and lemon peel and three parts oatmeal. Apply on face/ body and wash it off after half an hour. Mix liquid ingredients gradually, to get the right consistency.
Beauty bundle for bath An ideal way of using natural ingredients is to tie ingredients in a clean cloth, wet slightly and then rub the cloth bag on the skin. You can use besan, oatmeal, dry and ground mint leaves, rose petals, almond meal, a little turmeric powder.
Noorjehan’s rose petal bath
Rose oil is said to have been discovered by the Empress Noorjehan. Here is her bath recipe which helps to beautify the skin and calm the mind.
Rose petals
1 cup powdered milk
Salt
5 drops essential oil of rose
2 tablespoons pure almond oil
Add to water in a bathtub
Tips
Your bath or shower water should not be too cold or too hot. Give your body a scrub with a loofah or sponge. This helps to stimulate the skin and remove dead cells, leaving the body thoroughly cleansed. Pay special attention to areas where the skin is hard, like the elbow, knees and feet. If you have a dry skin, use a glycerine soap. A baby soap is also gentle on the skin. After drying the body, apply the moisturising lotion, while the skin is still damp. This helps to seal in moisture.
You can also use your Sunday to give yourself a manicure or touch-up your nail polish on finger and toe nails.
Use your Sunday to apply a face mask and while it is drying, soak cotton wool pads in chilled rose water and apply over the eyelids. Lie down and relax for 20 minutes.
