Body scrubs have always been a beauty must. Body scrubs have proliferated lately, with recipes including grains, nut shells, sea shells, salts and other minerals scrape-scrape-scraping away the layers and leaving fresh, new skin behind.

1. BODY SCRUB FORMULA 1
* 2/3 cup ground nuts or seeds (see helpful hints).
* 1/3 cup oatmeal, brown rice flour, or whole wheat flour.
* Enough liquid to make a paste (water, yogurt, milk or aloe vera gel).
* 1/2 to 1 teaspoon herbs (lavender, for example)–optional.
Combine the dry ingredients in a blender until they are reduced to a coarse meal. Pour the meal into a glass jar with a screw top. When you want to have a body scrub, scoop out about 1/4 cup‚s worth of the meal, and place it in a bowl. Stir in enough of the liquid to make a paste. Scoop up the paste with your hands or a washcloth, and rub over your body. Store the glass jar with the meal in the freezer.

2. BODY SCRUB FORMULA 2
* 1/2 cup Sugar.
* Any cold pressed oil (olive / sunflower / peanut) enough to dampen the mixture.
Mix the ingredients well and gently massage this scrub all over the body. Use a light soaping before shower and then rinse. Repeat twice a month.

3. BODY SCRUB FORMULA 3 – Anti wrinkle scrub
Mash 1/2 paw paw with 4 Tbsp rice flour. A few drops of orange oil and mix well. Apply to face, lightly scrubbing in circular movements. Don’t leave on face for than 5-10 minutes. Moisturize with natural plant oil. Rinse well.

4. BODY SCRUB FORMULA 4 – Anti toxin Srub
Mash 1/2 punnet of Strawberries with 4 Tbsp rice flour. Apply to face, lightly scrubbing in circular movements. Don’t leave on face for longer than 5-10 minutes. Moisturize with natural plant oil. Rinse well.

5. BODY SCRUB FORMULA 5
* Turmeric powder, 1 tsp
* Citrus blend, 2 Tbsp
* Apricot kernels, grounded, 1 Tbsp
* Glycerine soap, powdered,1 Tbsp
* Aloe vera gel, 1 Tbsp
* Almond oil or Rice bran oil, 1Tbsp
* Sandalwood oil, 1 tsp
Mix all the ingredients well, add water, and apply.

6. SUGAR BODY SCRUB
* 8 Cups turbinado (raw) or light brown sugar.
* 1 ½ to 2 Cups avocado, untoasted sesame oil or jojoba oil.
* ½ to 1 Cup apricot or peach kernel oil.
* Essential oil (we used ginger and vanilla).
* honey for smoothing the texture.
Mix well and apply.

For a healthy, radiant and glowing skin you just need to open your kitchen cabinet and with a couple of minutes your can make some very effective natural beauty products. Many of the items in your kitchen can provide natural skin care that even those expensive, chemical filled beauty cosmetics and products do not provide that cost a big portion of your pocket money.

NATURAL HOME REMEDIES FOR A GLOWING SKIN :
- Take a teaspoon of urad dal (a type of cereal) and 5-6 almonds in a cup and soak it for a night. Then make it a paste through the grinding and apply it on the face for an hour. This mask can enhance the complexion of the skin and nourishes the facial skin.
- Egg yolk mixed with honey makes a good face mask. Put it on your skin, leave it on for 20 minutes, and rinse off. It is excellent for sensitive skins.
- Mash avocados, smooth it onto your face, and rinse off after 20 minutes. It is a great treatment for dry skin.
- Mix honey, lemon and vegetable oil for a great home made moisturizer for your dry skin. Apply this concoction for 10 minutes.
- A paste of red sandalwood with honey can be applied on the skin to erase the scars on the skin.
- Pure castor oil can be applied on the skin to prevent the wrinkles and to soften the skin.
- Raw potato rubbing can remove the marks and pigments on the skin.
- Use of mint juice in a regular basis can remove the stains on the skin.
- Vitamin C can prevent the oxidation of tissue. Put a vitamin C rich tablet in a half tablespoon of water. After getting it cool mix with a small amount of eye cream, and apply it under the eye and also around the mouth.
- A powerful face mask can be made with Cucumber, Papaya, Sandalwood, and Pineapple to increase the glazing of your skin and also to prevent the skin disorders.
- A mixture of tomato juice and one teaspoon of lemon juice can be applied to the face to make the skin soft and glowing.
- Mix corn (polenta) flour with egg white and apply on your face. When your face is dried completely in about 1/2 an hour, put your fingers in warm water and massage your face. Repeat daily for 10-15 days.
- Grind 50 grams (around half a cup) of cabbage and extract the juice. Apply this on your face. After it dries, wash with cool water and wipe dry. This helps tighten your skin and prevents wrinkles.
- Whenever eating an apple, do not discard the skin. Use it as a skin cleanser. Just rub the inner side of the peel in an upward direction and let your face dry. Then, wash with cool water and pat dry. This helps tighten your skin.
- Apply coconut water and thick pineapple juice mixture for 15 minutes and pat dry.

Some tips for dry skin:
- Do not use an astringent or a toner containing alcohol.
- Avoid the sun, harsh winds and hot baths i.e do not wash your face with hot water.
- Do not use medicated soap; use creamy and soft beauty soaps.
For your blackheads around the nose:
- Take 1 tsp of beauty grains or oatmeal and mix with rosewater. Rub the mixture gently on the skin with special attention paid to your nose and problem areas. This will help to dislodge hardened sebum. Leave to dry for a few minutes and then wash with cold water.

DIETARY CONSIDERATIONS FOR GLOWING HEALTHY SKIN :
- Fibre: This indigestible carbohydrate is concentrated in the peel and rinds of fruits and vegetables and in the outer layers of grains and pulses. Fibre rich promote radiant glossy skin and clear eyes.
- Water: Drink 7-8 glasses of water daily.
- Vitamin A : t encourages bright, healthy eyes, contributes to hair growth and discourages dandruff, keeps your skin healthy and prevents acne and also makes nails strong. A deficiency of Vitamin A causes rough scaly skin, brittle nails and inflamed eye lid. Vitamin A is found in pineapple, mango, strawberries, carrots, spinach, tomatoes, green leafy, milk, cream, cheese, butter, yoghurt, chicken and fish.
- Vitamin B : Deficiency of this vitamin can cause acne, excessive weight, dandruff, falling hair, and malfunctioning of the digestive system. Vitamin B is found in meat, liver, fish, poultry, lentils, cabbage, peas, beans, potatoes, coconut, milk, tomato, orange, bran, oatmeal, rye, almonds, nuts, peanuts.
- Vitamin C : Deficiency of this vitamin can cause skin eruptions.If taken in sufficient amounts, this Vitamin cures health problems, helps reduce weight, and encourages healthy bones, gums and body tissue. Vitamin C is present in tomato, potato, carrot, turnip, cabbage, lemon, orange, grapes, banana, mango, amla.
- Vitamin D : Adequate supply of Vitamin D prevents premature ageing. The deficiency of this vitamin can cause rickets, acne and brittle bones. Vitamin D is present in Cod liver oil, milk, cheese, yoghurt, eggs.
- Vitamin E : Besides helping cure hair problems, Vitamin E aids fertility and prevents premature ageing. Vitamin E is present in eggs, vegetable oils, peanut and wheatgerm oil, margarine.

Earache refers to the inflammation of the middle ear or the outer ear. It usually occurs due to cold and is most common in winters and spring months. It is most prevalent among children. In severe cases the infections and aches can cause hearing loss.

Causes of ear aches :
· infection of the middle ear.
· colds.
· allergies.
· sinus infections.
· buildup of ear wax or fluid.
· something stuck in the ear.
· teeth problems.
· ear injuries.
· changes in air pressure in a plane.
It is observed that earache is more common in the nighttime than during the day. This is because during the nighttime, the person lies down and stops using the throat muscles. Due to this, the Eustachian tubes can get more congested and hence there is more feeling of pain.

HOME REMEDIES FOR EARACHE :
- Put few drops of 3% hydrogen peroxide in each ear for 10 minutes. It will help curing the infection.
- Warm onion juice and put 2-3 drops in each ear. This is simple and effective home remedy for earache.
- Puncture a piece of garlic and pour the juice in the ear. Garlic being a natural antibiotic will help to take the pain away.
- Warm some sesame oil and immerse a few leaves of the castor plant. Dab this oil around the ear.
- Take some oil of ajwain and sesame seeds in the ratio of 1:3. Warm this mixture and apply it in the ear. Four drops of this would be effective in treating earache.
- Grind some basil leaves to form a paste. Warm this at room temperature. Once it becomes at a bearable temperature, put four to five drops of this oil in the ears.
- Take a few mango leaves and extract the juice. Warm this juice a little and apply it on the ear putting four drops at each ear. This would help cure earache.
- Chop a radish into small pieces. Immerse this into mustard oil and warm it. Store this oil in a glass bottle and put a few drops when there is pain.
- Extract some ginger juice and put a few drops of it in the ear. Warm this and put four drops of it. This would help treat earache.
- If the earache is due to flying, pop in some candy or chewing gum. Work the throat muscle as this would relieve from the earache.
- Add fenugreek seed to mustard or linseed oil. Warm this oil and filter it. Once cooled, put it in each ear in four to five drops.
- The following remedy works if there is a discharge of pus from the ears along with the pain. Take a piece of the guggulu herb (Commiphora wightii) and burn it. Extinguish it before it burns completely. It will start smoking. Let this smoke enter into the affected ear. This will reduce the pain and also stop the pus from oozing out. This is one of the earache home remedies.

Diet for ear ache – Intake of good amount of vitamin C fights infection.