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Skin Care during Pregnancy- How to Look and Feel Good -Series

This is my third post on the series How to look and Feel Good During Pregnancy. As I mentioned in my first post of this series .that during pregnancy there are innumerable hormonal and chemical changes takes place which causes changes in your skin too. Changes like stretch marks , complexion colour change and spider vein, diminishes or disappear after delivery. However , neglecting these changes may infuriate skin problems during pregnancy. Therefore it becomes even more important to take good care and maintain regular care routine of your skin during pregnancy which includes cleansing, thinning, toning and moisturizing. Lets discuss Skin Care process in detail:

Cleansing : Your skin needs special attention while you are pregnant. Cleanse skin once or twice a day. A complete cleansing  removes surface oil, stale oil, perspiration and bacteria that accumulate during the day. A good cleansing agent is gentle, non irritating, easily removed and economical. A pure mild soap is the best cleanser. It is easily rinsed away and inexpensive. Problem result when you use harsh soap, scrub too vigorously, don’y rinse thoroughly or fail to use moisturizing lotion after washing.

Perfume, deodorant, antibacterial agents and medications added to cleanser may cause irritation and allergic reactions. Exotic oils, herbs, fruits and vegetables may also be irritating. These are included for advertising effect and add nothing to the cleansing value of the product.

When cleansing, moisten your face and apply lathered soap or rinsable lotion to your face and neck. Wash with gentle, circular motions. Rinse several time with clear, warm water and pat nearly dry with a soft, clean towel. Come morning, a warm to comfortable hot water wash may be all that’s required to remove away oil accumulated during the night.

Thinning : Thinning stimulates circulation and removes building of dead, dry skin cells that can clog pores and cause skin to appear coarse. During pregnancy skin may change and thinning may be necessary to skin clean and healthy looking. Thinning with an abrasive may be done once a week. Omit this if you have dry or sensitive skin. Effective thinning include a rough washcloth, complexion brush, Loofah body sponge or facial sponge. Thin your skin immediately after a night time cleansing, once or twice a week. Use light or moderate pressure and a circular motion.

Toning : Skin may need toning during pregnancy. It remove traces of soil or cleanser, dry up blemishes, stimulate blood flow to the skin’s surface and soothe and cool the skin. Toning with astringent( higher alcohol content )or freshener (lower alcohol content) can be done once or twice a day, as needed. Basic ingredients in toners are water and alcohol. Added ingredients may be irritating.

Moisturising : Moisturising creams and lotions replace natural surface oils removed in the cleansing process. They seal in body moisture, make Skin feel smooth and provide a film to protect skin from he environment. they also serve as a good foundation for makeup to follow. Water, oil and an emulsifier are basic ingredient in any moisturizer. Use more of a lotion than any other creams. As lotion contain more water and less oil, makes your skin feel lighter and less greasy while creams contains more oil and less water, so they are appropriate for night use. Use a light lotion if you have oily skin and heavy lotion if you have dry skin.

Tips for different skin type

Oily Skin

  • Use pre moistened towelettes for midday cleansing to reduce shine and leave skin feeling fresh.
  • Counteract oiliness with astringent.
  • Apply moisturizer, but avoid oily or blemished areas.
  • Use water-based foundation makeup, or omit it all together

Dry Skin

  • Cleanse dry skin with mild, non-scented soap or rinsable lotion.
  • Avoid rough or abrasive treatment and astringents.
  • Apply moisturizer to still-damp skin.
  • Drink 6-8 glass of water every day.

Combination Skin

  • Requires dry skin care in dry area and oily skin care in oily area

Sensitive Skin

  • Avoid non-essential added ingredients in cosmetics
  • Don’t use abrasive sponges, cleansing grains, masks or astringents.
  • Apply light, non scented moisturizer to still damp skin.
  • Use fragrance-free, hypo-allergenic cosmetics.

Bothersome skin conditions often appear during second trimester. For example under eye circles, which becomes more evident when you are tired, so take rest. Abdominal itching may be aggravated by stress or heavy perspiration, so generously apply lotion or olive oil over the area for relief. Skin discolouration may caused due to elevated estrogen and the presence of human growth hormones during pregnancy, so try and stay more at home, avoid sun or use sunscreen lotion when you are outside. Spider vein ( enlarged capillaries or blood vessels) may appear during pregnancy which can be hereditary. to reduce their occurrence avoid overexposure to wind, sun, cold, heat or rapid temperature change, wear protective lotion before going outside, avoid alcohol and hot spicy foods. Varicose veins may appear too, to lessen or relieve the severity, avoid standing and sitting for too long, wear support stockings to encourage the upward flow of blood, exercise daily to stimulate circulation of blood and avoid extreme temperature. Stretch marks are very common development during pregnancy, to lessen the severity avoid unnecessary weight gain, do not wear tight cloths and apply lubricating lotion.

I sincerely hope these tips can definitely help you to deal with bad skin conditions during pregnancy.

This blog post is part of the blog challenge #BlogaberryDazzle hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla, happily sponsored by RRE STUDIOS and SHOWCASE EVENTS

Image Courtesy /Edits – Pexels /Canva

@SwatiMathur

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Dressing For Pregnancy – How to Look and Feel Good – Series

This is my second post on the series How to look and Feel Good During Pregnancy. Multiple studies have shown that dressing good adds to confidence. The symbolism behind what you wear has more of an impact on your behaviour and self confidence than clothes themselves. The good news about having a pregnant bump is that you can get away with a lot during pregnancy, such as body-clinging tops (remember for once your body is firm not flabby). Experiment with styles, colours and clothes you’d usually avoid. Dressing the right way during pregnancy will definitely enhance your pregnancy glow.

Allowances for an expanding figure are usually incorporated into ready-to-wear maternity clothing and sew-at-home patterns so you can wear your usual size. Sweat glads and oil glands become more active during pregnancy. They contribute to increased perspiration and may cause chilling or overheating. Select fabrics in weights that maintain comfortable body temperature as they absorb and release body perspiration. On personal note I have seen people buying maternity clothes much before it is actually needed. This makes them feel foolish and disappointed as it might not fit. So my advise to all the newbie momies is – it is wiser to wait for a maternity wardrobe until you really need it.

TIPS FOR RIGHT DRESSING DURING PREGNANCY

Direct attention towards your face, away from your tummy. You can not hide your pregnancy and that’s not the intent. But if eyes are focused on your tummy, they won’t be focused on your face! Be creative with collars, necklines and yokes. They frame your face and can enhance simple elegance of any dress. Let the fabric flow over your body , you will appear less bulky. All this can be achieved with attention to each elements of design- line, shape, texture, colour and pattern. Lets discuss this one by one.

Line

Lines define shape of your body and your clothing. You may feel more attractive and comfortable if silhouette of your clothes are more dominant than silhouette of your body. Maternity coats, dresses and tops are generally more attractive and comfortable if closely fitted at the neck, shoulder and upper chest. Dresses and tops ties under the bust are not flattering as they drew attention to the tummy, add visual width and make you look bulky and cumbersome.

Maternity clothes should have enough ease to be comfortable. If they are slightly loose, they will be more comfortable. If there is not enough ease, fabric will be strained and pull into wrinkles, indicating poor fit.

Wear clothes which has straight or slightly curved lines as they balance enlarging abdomen. Avoid round lines as they visually enlarge a full figure. Wear clothes which has vertical lines as it creates illusion of slimness and increased height. Avoid wearing horizontal lines as it creates an illusion of width and decreased height.

Shapes

Shapes within a garment can emphasize or minimize your abdomen. Curved shapes repeat and emphasize the fullness of your tummy. Angular, straight shapes counter a rounded abdomen. Many divided areas of shape within a garment tend to increase visual width , decrease height and add visual weight. It is best to keep the style of maternity clothes simple. Size of shapes should be in accordance to the figure. Small to medium shape for short women, medium to large shape for tall women.

Texture

Texture refers to characteristics of a fabric that determine its suitability for style , occasion and figure type. Texture is important because the same style can appear to be different when made in fabric with different characteristics. Shiny fabrics reflect light and make your figure appear larger. Dull surfaced fabric absorb light, visually decrease size and are more wearable for maternity clothes. Avoid wearing thick, bulky, rough and heavy fabric though they conceal body shape but increase visual size an weight. Wear medium weight fabric as they hold the shape of the garment without revealing yours. Fabrics like crinkled seersucker, crepe, light weight corduroy, flannel and velvet have textural interest. When used in the upper bodice, hey lead the eye up.

Before purchasing a garment, try it on, evaluate how it falls over your figure. During pregnancy you feel warmer due to increased estrogen, increased blood volume and a higher metabolic rate. You may perspire more so avoid synthetics , wool or silk. A blend may be more comfortable.

Colour

Colour is the most memorable and stimulating element of design. When choosing maternity clothes consider colour. Try wearing bright colours as they get more attention and boost your spirit. Knowing how colour works is important if you hope to control the effect of colour in clothes. For example if you chose a light bright -pink outfit, you attract attention and appear somewhat larger. If you choose a darker, dull burgundy outfit, you draw less attention to your figure, yet appear warm and vibrant. You can actually control the effect of colour.

Using one colour to your maternity clothes is a good idea as your figure will not be divided into contrasting areas. the eye can travel up and down the outfit without any interruption, creating the illusion of decreased width and increased height. You can emphasize you own individuality and create a more memorable more attractive appearance by wearing colours that repeat some of your personal colours like your hair, eye and lip colour. Do not restrict yourself..if you like particular colour wear it. Making it look right on you depends on how you choose and wear colours to help you look your best.

For example

IF a colour is so orange and doesn’t not complement your complexion, choose a cooler version or pair it with a cooler colour.

IF a colour is so blue, and does not complement you,choose a warmer version or pair it with a warmer colour.

IF a colour is so light, washing you out, choose a darker version or pair it with a darker colour.

IF a colour is so dark, and makes you look pale, choose a lighter version or pair it with lighter colour

IF the colour is too bright, overpowers you, choose a duller colour or pair it with duller colour.

IF a colour is too dull and makes you look faded, choose a brighter version or pair it with a brighter colour.

Remember colour is easily altered by other colours around it.

Pattern

Pattern is the result of line, shape and colour woven or printed on a fabric. Patterns brings interest and variety in a wardrobe. Plain, solid-coloured fabrics focus more attention on your silhouette. Patterned fabrics can draw attention away from your silhouette and act as a camouflage. People tend to focus more on a print rather than pregnant figure.

Wear clothes with small patterns as small, all over pattern blends into uniform design and makes you look slim than larger scale patterns which increases the size and weight. Patterns with strong vertical direction visually increase height while patterns with strong horizontal direction add width. Larger border designs and circular shapes, such as polka dots and circles add width and fullness and decrease height.

Patterns usually emphasize the part of the body where they are placed and make it appear larger. Used in small amounts, patterns can draw attention towards your face and will not call for an undue attention to parts which makes you look large.

What outfit you wear can make a big impact on how you feel during pregnancy.  Keeping all the tips in mind but remember no matter what style you adopt or clothing you adopt, it is important for you to feel comfortable in your maternity clothing.

This blog post is part of the blog challenge #BlogaberryDazzle hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla, happily sponsored by RRE STUDIOS and SHOWCASE EVENTS

Image Courtesy /Edits – Pexels /Canva

@SwatiMathur

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How to Feel and Look Good during Pregnancy- Series -Tips from an Image Consultant

I am writing”How to look and feel good during Pregnancy” series because somewhere I feel there are lot many women like me who have not taken enough care of themselves both physically and mentally during their pregnancy and after effects are really nasty. Hair thinning , flaking and dry skin are the most common after effects. Mood fluctuations , depression , not feeling confident, feeling vulnerable and anxious are few things which makes them mentally feeble. So this series is about positivity, how to feel and look good during pregnancy,

When you are pregnant, you reflect a special beauty about you that is unparalleled at any other time in your life. Yet pregnancy can be difficult as you anticipate and adjust to the changes in your body. Even though you may be thrilled about being pregnant, you may not be thrilled with the way you look. Your figure, skin, hair and nails may change. You may feel insecure about your appearance. You may feel frustrated by the decision about ” what to wear” or defeated by a limited selection of maternity clothes – often at affordable prices.

But you don’t have to feel anxious or insecure about the way you look. As an Image Consultant I can help you look and feel terrific, even glamorous, if you follow my tips. Gone are the days of secrecy and seclusion surrounding pregnancy. Today, You are encouraged to maintain your usual lifestyle during the maternity months. You can work, exercise, entertain and enjoy until your baby is born.

Being attractively groomed and neatly dresses will help you look and feel terrific. Use your cosmetics and clothes as an outward expression of the beauty developing inside you. I will be giving you tips on four factors :

SKIN CARE

During pregnancy, hormonal and chemical changes in your body causes changes in your skin. Some changes may please you, others will not. Some women enjoy clear complexion during pregnancy. Other women are plagued with dry, flaking skin or dry skin and blemishes. However , neglect can aggravate skin problems during pregnancy. Good care includes Cleansing removes surface oil, stale oil, perspiration and bacteria that accumulate during the day. A good cleansing agent is gentle, non irritating, easily removed and economical ;Thinning stimulates circulation and removes buildup of dead, dry skin cells that can clog pores and cause skin to appear coarse, rough and blotchy. During pregnancy skin may change, and thinning may be necessary to keep skin clean and healthy looking ; Toning ,Toners remove tracers of soil or cleanser, dry up blemishes, stimulates blood flow to the skin;s surface and soothe and cool the skin ;Moisturizing creams and lotions replace natural surface oils removed in the cleansing process. They seal in body moisture, make Skin feel smooth and provide a film to protect skin from he environment. they also serve as a good foundation for makeup to follow.

MAKE UP

Most women are pleased that they are pregnant and it shows. Their faces reflect and radiate the excitement, happiness and hope they feel. Even if your energy level is low or your skin is blotchy, makeup can enhance your glow. It is important during pregnancy to maintain your normal routine, including a daily makeup routine. Plan time for yourself each day. The finished effect will give you a lift to last all day long.

HAIR CARE

Hair problems during pregnancy may be abused or complicated by neglect or mistreatment. Whether you have problems or a beautiful head of hear, practice good hair care while you go through the change of pregnancy. A regular routine like brushing ,washing and conditioning. With care, beautiful hair can be one of your finest assets.

DRESSING

As you get used to the idea of being pregnant, your thoughts turn to maternity clothes. If you are aware about the changes in your body, you can plan for clothes to help you look and feel your best. Maternity clothes should not restrict you, they must allow for good circulation and accommodate your growing body.

Pregnancy is exciting, with a new life growing inside you, you are probably anticipating the first feeling of movements. You may be wondering what your baby will look like. These and other fascinating sensations combine to make pregnancy a wonderful experience to enjoy.

During the first trimester, you will notice many changes in your body and not all of them are what you expected. Your skin and hair may change. You need to be aware of what adjustment you many need to make as you embark on your first trimester. During the second trimester of pregnancy your body has adapted to change and you will probably begin to feel better. In third trimester you may find difficult to walk gracefully as you carry a 15-pound weight directly in front of your stomach. Yet there are many attractive pregnant women near term who radiate a glowing beauty that come only with pregnancy. So relax and enjoy my tips based on all the three trimester in my next few post which will give you in-depth detailing into all the four factors.

Stay tuned………

This blog post is part of the blog challenge #BlogaberryDazzle hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla, happily sponsored by RRE STUDIOS and SHOWCASE EVENTS

Image Courtesy /Edits – Pexels /Canva

@SwatiMathur

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Ways to Tackle Procrastination

In my previous post I have talked about Procrastination and reasons Why procrastinators procrastinate. And as promised I am here with different ways to tackle procrastination.

We procrastinate about things that make us a little bit uncomfortable. You think about something you don’t particularly like and the pain centers of your brain light up so you shift and narrow your focus of attention to something more enjoyable. This causes you to feel better. At least temporarily but sadly the long term effects of habitual avoidance can be nasty. When you put off your studies it can become even more painful to think about studying it. You can choke on tests because you haven’t laid the firm neural foundations you need to feel comfortable with the material. Procrastination can be a single monumentally important keystone bad habit, a habit in other words that influences many important areas of your life. If you improve your abilities in this area many other positive changes will gradually begin to unfold.

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10 Reasons – Why do people procrastinate?

I have been talking about different learning techniques and various barriers which hinder the process of effective learning from quite a some time now. One of the most crucial and widely accepted barrier which I would like to share in detail is “Procrastination”. Someone rightly said “Procrastination is a grave in which opportunity is buried”. This article is inspired by one of my all time favorite book “What our habit reveal about us” as it is beautifully described there.

Stop nagging me, I will do it. How many times have you said it or heard it at some stage of your lives, only to remember a week later that we still haven’t done what was required?

Procrastination is almost endemic amongst the human race, with one in five people being classified as chronic procrastinators. Internet has made it even more worst as it is so much more fun to check your emails , go gaming, view in a few web pages, enroll in yet another dating sites or head for the chat room. Rather than increase our productivity, 45% of the time we spend online is to avoid actual working. Which is a huge dent in the work life of an average employee. Time management and procrastination are related but not to an extent that one might assume. In fact low self esteem is the most significant trait of the procrastinator, which leads to larger ego. Lets understand this better. In order to compensate for feelings of inadequacy one needs to inflate oneself. To do this our ego creates a world where it can thrive, at the expense of our higher self. Most of us suffer from low self -esteem in some area or another. Why do procrastinators procrastinate?

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Result Oriented Learning (ROL) – Workshop

I was invited as an expert to to have a session with final year engineering students .I decided to address them on the most crucial topic ” Result Oriented learning”. It is a very important education strategy which every educational institute should adopt while planning their core curriculum in order to choose appropriate pedagogy.

What is ROL?

Result oriented learning is also known as outcome based education. As per Wikipedia, Outcome based education is an “Educational theory that bases each part of an education system around goals(outcome). By the end of educational experience, each student should have achieved the goal. There is no single specified style of teaching or assessment in outcome based education, instead , classes, opportunities and assessments should all help students achieve the specified outcome. The role of faculty adapts into instructor, trainer, facilitator and mentor based on the outcome targeted.”

Growing competition and fast changing technology makes it imperative to align learning with elements like time, skill based and adaptive to achieve the desired result. Therefore result oriented learning becomes vital for meeting the growing and changing corporate requirements to have an access to right knowledge at the right time.

Result oriented learning encourages students to focus more on higher order thinking rather than just acquiring and understanding the concept to gain credit points. While designing the learning process or a plan one needs to define the desired outcome and objective.

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Spotlight Syndrome – Feeling Self-Conscious

Pic Courtesy : Google/Canva

As an EQ Coach I interact with clients who have got lot of emotional issues. And one of the most critical one is being overtly self conscious. This leads to poor self and body image. So in this particular post I will be talking about what is Spotlight Syndrome, why does this happens and how to deal with it.

What is a Spotlight Syndrome?

The Spotlight Syndrome causes people to assume that they are being observed and noticed by others more than they actually are.

Most of the time this happens when a person interact with others they know that they will be assessed, evaluated and judged based on their appearance, this makes them more conscious. But does this happens with every individual? Then my answer is No.

In order to be less self-conscious and more confident it is important that we should understand Why this happens and How to deal with it.

Why does this happens?

This generally happens when an individual is unable to differentiate his own perspective with the perspective of others towards world views. In spotlight effects, since we are so focused  on our own appearance and action, it becomes difficult for us to remember that other people are not as focused on what we look like or on what we do , since they are already preoccupied with their own lives for the most part. This is mostly associated with negative thoughts and emotions. People kind of overestimate how likely other people are to notice negative things about you, this leads to increase in anxiety and prevent you to take actions that are in your best interest.

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Changing Minds- Human Psyche is Multi-faceted – Campus To Corporate

And finally, we have reached to the last post of the series “Campus to Cooperate”. I consider this as the most important of all . There are two reasons for it,

Firstly I chose this theme to help students and freshers who are looking for a job and due to the pandemic finding it difficult to prepare. To deal with this, I came up with some extremely valuable tips which can aid them with tools and strategies to have smooth transition from Campus to Corporate. The topics which I covered were:

Professional Dressing Skills

Resume making tips

Tips on Group Discussion

Tips on Personal Interview

Tips on Virtual Interview

Ways to boost confidence

Emotional Intelligence

Secondly after understanding the Insight from Blogchatter ,the top themes which emerged were Mental health, Education and Motivation. As most of the time I talk about developing inner strength which deals with various critical skills and reflecting the same through appearance, I realized this is what my niche is ,which I need to capitalize on and I am certainly going in the right direction.

This Post has all the three elements in it and that is the reason I consider it as the most important and crucial post of this series.

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Emotional Intelligence leads to Success – Campus To Corporate

According to HelpGuide – “Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict. Emotional intelligence helps you build stronger relationships, succeed at school and work, and achieve your career and personal goals. It can also help you to connect with your feelings, turn intention into action, and make informed decisions about what matters most to you”.

I have talked about seven rainbow rules to increase Emotional Intelligence in my earlier post.

There are four key skills which helps you to increase your EQ – Self Awareness, Self Management, Social Awareness and Relationship Management.

These skills can be developed but prior that it is important to understand how to deal with emotions. If I say it’s our thoughts which creates emotions, I won’t be wrong.

Now there are two common beliefs which contradict each other. First -you should always trust emotions and second – is feelings are irrational and cannot be trusted. In reality both these beliefs are wrong.

People generally ask questions like should emotions be trusted, So if you understand that your thoughts create your emotions, you can learn how to control your thoughts. Emotions are just body reactions to what you are thinking in various situations. They are neither right nor wrongs it is just reacting to your thoughts. Unhappy is an emotion, you can be unhappy because you don’t have something you desire but you are unhappy because of the thought of not having something you desire.

 Your unconscious mind is always working , that’s why sometimes people have no idea why do they feel the way they do. Sometimes people’s emotions get triggered by cues which we get from the environment but most of the times it is our thoughts which triggers our emotions. It is our interpretation of the situation that causes emotional reaction to the situation.

There is something called as CBT (Cognitive behavioral therapy) which provide us evidence that we have control over our thoughts and that’s when we can actually control our emotions. This is difficult but this skill can be learned. For that you need to recognize the negative emotion, you identify the thought behind it and then you can change the emotion. If you succeed in doing that , you can have better personal and professional relationships, which in turn can accelerate your success.

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10 ways to Boost Confidence at a Job Interview- Campus To Corporate

The one thing that held people pursuing their dream is fear of failure and to overcome that, one needs to have self-confidence. If we do anything with the mindset of having nothing to lose than no uncertainties can ever stop us achieving what we ever dream of.

Being interviewed for a job can make you nervous, sacred and doubtful about your own abilities. And to add to these feelings you need to come across as cool, clam and confident during the interview. The question is How to build self-confidence? Do you believe in yourself? If the answer is yes than why to worry, but if the answer is No , than why to worry, as I have the list of ways that can help you overcome this fear and make you a confident interviewee.

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