'Foe'ful Remedies

Ever since Riddhi became an adolescent, she has been plagued with acne-prone skin. Initially, she placed her trust on anti-acne lotions. However, they did not work for her and she decided to go for home remedies. A friend had told her that ice packs were the best for treating pimples. However, just to be doubly sure, she decided to verify the claim online. Upon doing so, Riddhi instead came across plenty of other solutions. She decided to try one of these — complete with the listed ingredients — only to end up with scars. Six years later, the 21-year-old's scars are yet to fade away and regret still follows her around, as it will for the rest of her life.

Indians have known home remedies or natural therapies for skincare and treating skin problems since ancient times. However, people nowadays forget about the fine line between tried-and-tested and experimental formulas. As a result, Internet hacks have become immensely popular. But are these tricks for glowing skin, silky smooth hair or attractive body shape worth the effort?

Beauty guide videos that delineate DIY treatments will definitely have us believe so. The information they convey seems quite legitimate, however, when tried out in real life, they do more harm than good to our skin and body. As per Dr Nipun Jain, a dermatologist at Columbia Asia Hospital, “While we tend to believe anything extolled by the Internet, that wouldn’t be a prudent way to go about something that is as sensitive as skin. Some of the new-fangled DIY assessments and treatments might cause skin degradation or the most fearful — skin cancer.” Using glue to make peel-off masks that result in skin diseases, is one such horrific example of a fake Internet hack.   

Shahnaz Husain, a prominent beauty expert, shares her experience. She says, “Yes, I have come across many such impractical natural beauty tips on the Internet. A beauty hack is a procedure that may be used to replace or revamp one’s beauty routine.

Nowadays, as the Internet has changed the way we communicate with others and even do business, people consider it to be their primary source of information."

However, not every DIY beauty video creator is well-meaning or knows what they are talking about. Dr Ekta Nigam, a dermatologist with Paras Hospital, reveals, “So, millennial mostly rely on their YouTube or other social media pages to know more about the product without knowing the fact that most of them use the Modiface, an app that lets you see yourself in different lighting conditions with different make-up and hair colours. Besides, make-up enthusiasts at a very young age have started using anti-ageing products, which are causing an adverse effect on their skin, as surveys have shown that millennials are scared of ageing.”

Chandrama Pal, a 19-year-old college student, claims to come across such videos quite often. According to her, it has become a trend now. "These hacks contains chemicals which can burn our skin, even becoming the root reason for skin cancers," she laments. "Recently, I came across a video for removing blackheads from the nose. It showcased the usage of paste and scrubbing with a toothbrush; one of my friends applied the trick and her skin over a lot of her face started peeling off badly," Chandrama concludes.

Luckily, the Internet can never fool you if you keep certain things in mind. For instance, Shahnaz recommends some natural ingredients that are safe now, then and forever. She reveals, "Among these are rose water, milk, aloe vera gel, coconut oil, olive oil, and sandalwood paste. Fruit and vegetable extracts are mostly safe to use, unless there are known allergies. For rashy skin, mix sandalwood paste with a little rose water and apply on the area. Rose water is a natural coolant. Wash off with plain water after 15 minutes. For sunburn, apply cold milk daily, using cotton wool on the area. It soothes and keeps the skin soft. It also helps remove your tan over a period of time, if used daily." She also adds, "For the hands, take two tablespoons sunflower oil and three tablespoons coarse sugar. Mix together till it becomes a paste. Apply and rub onto hands. Rinse off after 15 minutes."

The damage, once it is done, takes a lot of effort to undo. Thus, it is important to take precautions and not get all excited and try out new Internet hacks. “Yet the convincing power of blogs and vlogs are such that one tends fall into the trap. Prudence would be to visit a good dermatologist, who provides you tailor-made solutions with regards to skin, rather than consulting random Internet columns, ” Dr. Jain concludes.