Desi Diva

By Shweta Govindarajan

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Get rid of dry skin fast! Plus the low down on Brazilian waxing

Q: In a matter of weeks, my hands have gone from smooth and silky, to dry and itchy – what gives? Am I not moisturizing enough?

A: Nothing says winter like a bad case of dry skin. As the temperature outside drops, the air becomes drier, sucking the moisture out of your skin. Being locked in heated office buildings and homes doesn’t help either. With virtually no humidity in the air, there’s no faster way to start developing rough, chapped skin and lips.

Luckily, dry skin doesn’t have to keep you down, but you may have to upgrade your lotion to a heavier formula to lock in the moisture in your skin. How frequently you should use it really depends on how dry your skin is, but 2-3 times a day should be enough to chase away cracks and dryness. Always moisturize after showering, when your skin is most absorbent.

Remember, washing your hands too frequently, especially with hot water, will make dry skin worse. During the winter, try to limit your hand washing to only when necessary and promptly seal in moisture using a thicker moisturizer. Eucerin is a good choice–it has enough “grease” to protect your skin. For dry skin on the face, try Algotherm Moisturizing Original Gel to nourish and hydrate gentle facial skin.

Before getting dressed, apply a liberal dose of baby or talcum powder to any areas that might rub together. It should last for a few hours, but if it’s really hot and you're doing heavy duty walking, you'll probably have to reapply sooner. The best way to spread powder over your skin is with a large puff, available at the drug store. It will distribute the powder evenly over select areas and prevent it from getting all over the rest of your clothes.

Q: To get ready for the holiday round of cocktail parties and formal functions, I’d like to try feeling sexy on the outside and the inside – and I’ve heard Brazilian waxes are the way to go. But what’s the difference between that and a bikini wax – and is it safe?

A: The Brazilian wax is long famed to be the ultimate in sensuality, but be warned: it’s not for the faint of heart. The hair-raising procedure is said to have come to the United States in the late ‘80s through a bevy of Brazil-born sisters, but it became all the rage nearly a decade later. Performed at a clean, hygienic salon by a certified cosmetologist or esthetician, a Brazilian wax is generally safe and can be an effective way to remove unwanted hair. And, by the way, even though you didn’t ask, they can be pretty painful, too.

The difference between a Brazilian and a bikini wax? Simple. While a bikini wax just focuses on the pubic hair growing in and around your bikini line, a Brazilian is more serious: All the pubic hair goes, including the hair on the labia and between your cheeks. That’s where the ouch factor comes into play.

As with a bikini wax, hot wax is applied to all affected areas, and then a strip of cloth is used to pull the hair off. (How much hair you choose to leave in the front is your choice: some women prefer to keep a tiny strip of hair, while others remain true to the spirit of the Brazilian and leave no hair behind.)

Generally, the waxer will start in the front and move on down, stopping every so often to tweeze stray hairs. The procedure takes about 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how much hair you have. Remember, since the goal is to get all the hair off, you might have to contort in ways you never thought possible so they can have full access. Brazilians can last about 3 weeks to a month.

Beside the chance of feeling really, really embarrassed (but trust me on this one, there’s nothing they haven’t seen before), there’s always the possibility of breaking out in a rash or of getting ingrown hairs. Expect the area to be pretty sensitive for the first several hours afterward; hot showers, tight clothing and even sexual intercourse might cause discomfort. The good news is the pain usually lessens each time the procedure is done.