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Beauty From Leaves  

Many effective beauty aids are made from ordinary leaves. Here are some of them which will help you to maintain a flawless complexion.

• Celery leaves - Clean, slice and boil a couple of handfuls of celery leaves in a small bucket of water. Remove from fire, cool and strain the water. Mix in a tablespoon of vinegar. Rinse your hair after shampooing with this water and see how your hair grows long and lustrous.
• Leaves of ribbed gourd - Clean, slice and grind the leaves of this vegetable to a paste and apply over dark patches (on your body) left-over from some skin disease a few times daily. Within a week the patches will vanish, leaving no trace behind.
• Bilva leaves -These are green leaves used in the worship of Lord Shiva. If you are suffering from offensive body odour, grind a handful of these leaves to a paste and apply this paste all over your body half an hour be. fore going in for your bath. Do this twice a week till you effect a cure.
• Bay leaves - If you want to make your teeth sparkle, rub them twice a week with a dry bay leaf and see how women envy your bright smile.
• Lettuce leaves - Grind a lettuce leaf with a small rose to a paste and mix in a few drops of lime juice. Apply this paste over your face and leave it on for 15 minutes. Remove with water. This is excellent for counteracting a greasy skin.
• Mint leaves - Wash and grind a few mint leaves to a smooth paste. Apply over your face every night before you go to sleep. This helps you to get rid of pimples and other embarrassing blemishes of the skin.
• Mehandi or henna leaves - These leaves are being used for centuries in India by women to dye their hair and to decorate their palms and feet. You can have best results if you soak fresh leaves for a whole night in water. The following morning drain out the water and grind them to a paste with a little Indain kattha, some lime juice, sugar and turmeric powder. This way, the color of the henna will come out bright red. They are also used for darkening -the hair and encouraging their growth. Soak a few Indian gooseberry in a little milk for a couple of hours and then grind them to a smooth paste along with a handful of henna leaves. Mix well and rub into the roots of hair an hour before you go in for your head bath.
• Neem leaves - These leaves are very useful for removing scars from the body caused by chickenpox and small pox. They also help in the case of small boils, itching and prickly heat. Boil a couple of handfuls of tl1ese leaves in a bucket of water till the water is reduced to three fourths its original quantity. Remove the water from fire, cool and strain and let the patient use it in his bath and within a week you will find a definite improvement in his condition.
• Tea leaves - Left over tea leaves are very good for preventing the hair from falling and they also make the hair glossy and soft. Therefore, next time do not throwaway used tea leaves, use them for washing your hair. Put the leaves in a bucket of water and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from fire, cool and strain and use this for washing your hair instead of ordinary water. If lime juice is added to this water and it is used as a last rinse, it gives a lustrous sheen to the hair. These leaves are also excellent for reviving tired eyes. Mix some crushed ice in used tea leaves. Tie them up in two small pieces of cloth and put them on each eyelid for 10 minutes. They will not only remove tiredness from the eyes but will also make them brighter. They are also very good for treating sunburns. Dissolve four teaspoons tea leaves in boiling water. Strain and mix with clear, greasy surgical jelly and place in airtight jar.
• Basil leaves - The leaves of Indian basil are very beneficial to the human body. Make a habit of taking a teaspoon of these leaves mixed with honey once a day to put a glow in your cheeks and to keep all the diseases away. This juice is also very effective for getting rid of lice. Apply it liberally to the head in the night and cover it with a towel. Next morning, wash your head in the usual way. Do this for a few weeks to effect a cure. If your baby has lice, scatter them on his pillow for a couple of days. These leaves also help in cases of almost all the skin diseases and removal of patches from the skin. Grind them to a paste and apply to the affected portions of the skin a few times daily for a few days and you will be completely relieved of your ailment. These leaves help even when all the other medicines have failed. It is rightly said-'A basil leaf a day keeps all diseases and skin ailments away'.

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