A Little Bit Of Self Loving


Who else is rolling out of quarantine like a full grown gorilla? No? Just me, then? Great.


So far, I’ve had close to two months of down time to myself to really whip my body up to — I look like a blob fish. There’s nothing else to say.


I’m not here to tell you that after trying these ‘top secret’ tips, I’ve had an Average Mia to Princess Amelia of Genovia moment. (Because I haven’t.)

Ta-da! Not going to happen.


Disclaimer: These are just old tiny things that’ve been in the family. You should know that neither am I a professional nor am I qualified to be giving tips on skin care saying they absolutely work. What has worked for me doesn’t necessarily have to work for you. The only advantage of this is that everything is natural and easily found at home.
I’ve added certain links throughout the post which directs you to more websites that’ll give you additional information. They aren’t tried and tested by me and I’m not promoting them or pushing them onto you in any way or form. Just more information. Like say, reading a comic. 🙂


Heads up: For anyone that hates coconut oil, exit RIGHT NOW. I’m south Indian, particularly 3 quarters a Malayali so you’d expect coconut oil is my water and it is, as you will see below.


a) Hair: Since before I can remember, Sundays and Wednesdays are ‘oil your hair’ days back at home. I don’t keep that up now that I’m away at college because tell me why would I want to look like Undertaker in front of a lot of people like that?

Coconut oil Self care Anya Abraham

However, I do try and stick to oiling my hair once a week. These locks don’t come easy (Here’s when we assume I have a great head of hair.) It’s something I always carry from home because it’s totally worth the hassle of wrapping each bottle three million times and securing it in another 400 plastic bags whilst I travel. You just gotta trust me on this. (Organic coconut oil is the way I go. Anything scented or adulterated can be thrown right outta the window.)

This is why you need coconut oil for your hair: Click here.
This is why you need coconut oil in your life: Click here.


b) Face: *pops a pimple before writing this down* Thanks to the oily skin I get from dad, I find a need to wash my face four million times a day. BUT I DON’T because I’m not stupid! (Anymore)

STORY TIME: I’ve been to hell and back with treating the acne I had. If you gave me camel feces six months ago and told me it’d help, I’d be making packs out of it. I had grade two acne vulgaris (I went to a doctor for this. I’m not just throwing grades here.) and a mild case of cystic acne for a brief stint. Added to that I convinced myself that milk was aggravating my pimples so let’s add probable lactose intolerance to the list of things that I think caused my acne except my FABULOUS diet.

I found that my dermatologist prescribed medicated creams that worked for literally EVERY PERSON ON THE PLANET that used it, was worsening my acne. (Yay!) Then we began medicated face washes that costed way too much for the quarter of the tube that the medicine actually filled. I resorted to using an Ayurvedic oil. It drove the dermatologist I was seeing absolutely nuts but I did it anyway.



The expense of medicated facewashes began shooting way above the price I wanted to pay for three quarters of a tube filled with air. And so, the miser in me substituted it with Gram flour/Besan powder (At Rs 23 ONLY. Call me cheap, I dare you.)
The rest is history. In less than a week after that I cut out all forms of chemicals on my face replacing that with Besan/Gram flour and two tablespoons of tears (Of joy.) That had become and still continues to be my ‘face wash’.

Besan Powder Self care Anya Abraham
A teaspoon of curd for pamper days.


The big reveal: I still have pimples. However, it’s not the size of pumpkins and it’s popping up much lesser these days. Again, I don’t know why this works but it did for me. I’ve gradually reduced the chemicals on my face so that’s a big win for when I’m thirty and cut down a decades worth of chemicals.
This is why you need gram flour for your pimples: Click here.
This is why you need gram flour in your life: Click here.


c) Body: I’m the younger sibling and it’s wired in me to do everything the EXACT way my older sibling does. This past week I caught my sister sneaking in a bowl of something that looked like mud so naturally I had to get on to it.

Coconut oil Coffee powder Self care Anya Abraham


What you’ll need for an organic exfoliator:
a) Coconut oil (What did I tell you about being South Indian, huh?)- 4 Tbsp
b) Coffee -1 tbsp
c) Curd -A dollop of it
d) Lime -One half (This contains citric acid. You might not want to use it too frequently.)

You know what a baby’s butt feels like? Your skin after this.

This is where you’ll find more organic exfoliators: Click here.

d) Heel: Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of crusty heels (I mean, who is, really? But if you’re into that, I’m still leaving it open.) and it’s been specifically drilled into us at home how cracked and not supple heels are the worst things you can have. And so, I’ve tried to always carry around a pumice rock. It’s just one of those ‘home things’ I need to have. My cracked heels during different times of the year can’t speak for this but you should just know it’s important to keep them clean. You’re welcome.

Pumice stone Self care Anya Abraham


Tips from mistakes I’ve committed:

a) Don’t oil your hair when you’re sweating a lot on your head – You catch a cold faster.

b) Coconut oil in the sun is a recipe for disaster.

c) Don’t forget the tips of your hair. Those are important since they’re the driest and catches fire faster.

d) Besan is a mild exfoliator so don’t rub it in like a freak. For how over exfoliation can damage your skin: click here.

e) You can mix besan and curd too to feel fancy. If you want to feel fancier you can call the curd ‘yogurt’.

f) For real, you might want to check if milk is aggravating the pimples. I had my biggest and roughest acne when I drank milk everyday for breakfast. Just a theory, not diagnosed. For more on why I arrived at that: click here.

g) You’d probably not want to try coconut oil and coffee for your face if you’re pimple ridden. I shouldn’t have to explain that to you.

h) The body exfoliator is going to mess up your walls because of the coffee so don’t do the ‘Ek Pal Ka Jeena’ if you have light colored bathroom walls.

Don’t do like this.

i) I’ve had horrific experiences with pumice rocks when I decided to scrub holi colors off my body using that . DO NOT TREAT THE PUMICE ROCK LIKE A LOOFAH!

j) Clean your pumice rock and make sure it’s dry when you’re not using it. I’ve grown a nice layer of fungi on it one time. It was not fun.

Fini.


I just spoke like I know half the things I just said but it’s worked pretty well for me and I’m not pushing chemicals in your face so there’s no harm in trying it. Again, I am in no way or form qualified to tell you anything about your skin. These are natural products and easy to find at home. They may not work for everyone so do a patch test first before you try anything else out.

Thanks for reading 🙂

This post contains amazon affiliate links. For more on the affiliate marketing on my site: Disclosure Policy.

Category: Life    

48 Comments on “A Little Bit Of Self Loving”

  3. Fun reading your inclusion of that Undertaker and other one liners!!😂😂😂 You too have an oily skin, really it sucks especially in Summer!! 😓😂 Good going Anya, Really this post made me smile….😄

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  6. You, girlfriend, are funny! There were many but this one was a wee bit more special than most because of your disclaimer.

    “These locks don’t come easy (Here’s when we assume I have a great head of hair.)”

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  8. Your one liners rocks 🙂 unfortunately i am unable to follow your site , because of some settings problem in my profile , Do you have an Insta or FB page for your account madam ?

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  12. Lock down was a really great time to rejuvenate the mind and soul. I have been trying some home DIY skincare recipes to reduce my intake of chemical products. These recipes that you have shared will be of immense help. I also had problem with dairy until I understood that it was a reason. Pimples have reduced after quiting on that. Thanks for sharing this lovely post.

    Best wishes from The Strong Traveller and have a great day.

    Do have a look at my blog whenever you find the time. There are some travel and lifestyle content which you may find interesting. Your thoughts will surely be very valuable. Stay connected. 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  13. I really enjoyed your post. Although I can’t relate to a lot — except for an appreciation of coconut oil — I loved the way you shared your personal thoughts, feelings, and experiences. I look forward to reading more.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

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The Author


This is she. She writes everything about life and a little more from a medical student's, a daughter's, a friend's, a sister's, a lover's and small city girl's point of view. She posts every Monday and Friday at 7:00 pm IST.

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