How to get soft and silky hair

Can you please give me a homemade remedy for smooth skin and soft, silky hair?
- Sanya
Add 1 teaspoon of yoghurt,1 teaspoon of puréed papaya, half a teaspoon of honey and mix this with rice powder. Apply this on your face and wash it off with cold water after 30 minutes. This mask softens, smoothens and brightens the skin. Do this three times a week for quicker results.
For the hair, add 2 tablespoons of yoghurt, 1 banana and 1 tablespoon of honey. Mix them together in a blender to form a paste. Massage this on the scalp. Rinse off after 30 minutes with shampoo. Through this mask, your hair will get rich conditioning and shine. Use twice a week for healthy, glossy hair.
You advised a friend of mine to mix tomato juice, lemon juice, oats and rice powder for oily skin with acne scars. I would like to know how many times a week it should be applied. Also, I exfoliate my skin every alternate day with a scrub for blemishes followed by a sandalwood and honey pack. I do not have pimples anymore but I have all types of acne scars on the sides of my nose and cheeks. Should I continue with the scrub and sandalwood pack along with the homemade remedy you recommended? Perhaps use them on alternate days? I also have a lot of stretch marks on the lower half of my body. Should I use coconut oil?
- Sana
The pack for acne scars should be applied every day and masks bought from stores aren't necessary as this should be enough. Sandalwood is very cooling for the skin and you may use this every alternate day after your tomato scrub. For the stretch marks, it's better to mix coconut oil and almond oil and massage the mix on the marks.

My face complexion is normal but my neck is darker than my face. How do I lighten it? Please advise.
- Name withheld
To lighten the neck, make a mask of coconut milk and rice powder. Apply this on your neck and, when dry, gently damp the mask with rose water and scrub off. Do this every alternate day for quicker results.
I wear glasses with a power of minus 2.25 and 1.75. Please suggest something that can make my eyes feel fresh and cool and also get rid of the glasses.
- Name withheld
Using an eye mask of cucumber or rosewater pads will keep your eyes cool. Doctors recommend several eye exercises to improve eyesight, if you wish to read up on this. Adding fresh juice of carrots to your daily diet is also known to help.
I am a new follower of your column and I'm 16 years old. I have oily skin around my nose. Recently, I had an outbreak of pimples and it looks bad. You have earlier suggested using sandalwood paste, but when I apply it, I get a burning sensation. In my area, it is a common practice to apply gram flour with water. Is this an effective remedy? Also, can rose water be used for the type of skin I have?
- Name withheld
I am surprised that sandalwood paste gives you a burning sensation. Gram flour helps the skin in reducing the oils and is a great scrub. Adding rose water to the gram flour, instead of water, would be better. Tomato juice is also excellent to mix with gram flour. Do this daily and it will help control pimples, shrink pores and brighten your face.

(Got a beauty-related query? Write to Rima Soni at wknd@khaleejtimes.com)