Fingernails: Do's and don'ts for healthy nails

Are you taking good care of your nails? Here's what you need to know to keep your fingernails in tiptop shape.

Take a close look at your fingernails. Are they strong and healthy looking? Or do you see ridges, dents, or areas of unusual color or shape? Many less than desirable nail conditions can be avoided through proper fingernail care. Others indicate an underlying condition that requires attention.

Fingernails: What's normal, what's not

Your fingernails — composed of laminated layers of a protein called keratin — grow from the area at the base of the nail under your cuticle. As new cells grow, older cells become hard and compacted and are eventually pushed out toward your fingertips.

Healthy fingernails are smooth, without pits or grooves. They're uniform in color and consistency and free of spots or discoloration. Sometimes fingernails develop harmless vertical ridges that run from the cuticle to the tip of the nail. Vertical ridges tend to become more prominent with age. Fingernails can also develop white lines or spots due to injury, but these eventually grow out with the nail.

Not all nail conditions are normal, however. Consult your doctor or dermatologist if you notice:

• Changes in nail color, such as discoloration of the entire nail or a dark streak under the nail
• Changes in nail shape, such as curled nails
• Thinning or thickening of the nails
• Separation of the nail from the surrounding skin
• Bleeding around the nails
• Redness, swelling or pain around the nails

Fingernail care: Do's and don'ts

To keep your fingernails looking their best, follow these simple guidelines.

Do:

• Keep your fingernails dry and clean. This prevents bacteria, fungi and other organisms from growing under your fingernails. Wear cotton-lined rubber gloves when washing dishes, cleaning or using harsh chemicals, and avoid long soaks in the tub.
• Trim and file your fingernails regularly. Use a sharp manicure scissors or clippers. Trim your nails straight across, then round the tips in a gentle curve. It might be easiest to trim and file your fingernails when they're soft, such as after bathing.
• Use moisturizer. When you use hand lotion, rub the lotion into your fingernails and cuticles, too.

Don't:

• Abuse your fingernails. To prevent nail damage, don't use your fingernails as tools to pick, poke or pry things.
• Bite your fingernails or pick at your cuticles. These habits can damage the nail bed. Even a minor cut alongside your fingernail can allow bacteria or fungi to enter and cause an infection.
• Pull off hangnails. You might rip live tissue along with the hangnail. Instead, carefully clip off hangnails.
• Ignore problems. If you have a nail problem that doesn't seem to go away on its own or is associated with other signs and symptoms, consult your doctor or dermatologist for an evaluation.

Indian Jewellery

India’s glorious history has affected each and every aspect of Indian lifestyle. Jewellery has remained an integral part of the Indian lifestyle. Thus, the diverse history of India has influence of the jewellery styles as well. You will be surprised to know that the history of Indian jewellery goes back to almost 5000 years. Since pre-historic times, people in India have had a penchant for adorning themselves with jewellery. Gold, silver, stones, gems, etc., were the defining aspects of Indian jewellery.

The Indian jewellery is varied in styles and designs in accordance to the different regions. Different states have different styles of Indian jewellery that are unique to that state and are not found anywhere else. For instance, the delicate filigree work in silver is unique to Orissa and Andhra Pradesh; the Meenakari (jewellery enameling work) is popular in Rajasthan; the temple town of Nagercoil in south is famous for its famous temple jewellery; Delhi is famous for its Kundan jewellery and so on.

Indian jewellery has a variety of ornaments in different styles and designs for just about every part of the body. In ancient times, people used to adorn themselves with necklaces, rings and anklets made of crude stones and other metals. As time passed by, people learnt the art of polishing metals like gold and silver and learnt to extract semi-precious stones and gems from the mines. As various ruling empires came, the rich kings wore jewellery that made them look like gods. Every big and small piece of adornment was made of gold and precious stones like rings, earrings, bangles, chains, crowns, anklets, etc.

 India has been ruled by different empires over the past many years. All these empires have left an indelible mark on the jewellery styles as well. The Mughals gave their distinctive style of using precious stones and intricate carvings, the Rajputs had their enameled jewelry and so on. In the modern world, though new and sophisticated styles have emerged to cater to urban centers, the traditional style of jewellery is still in vogue and is usually the first choice in jewellery. In the contemporary Indian market, you will find a beautiful blend of traditional and modern jewellery in gold and silver that are decorated with gorgeous precious stones that never fail to attract and amuse buyers.

What is Mehendi (Henna) ?

Mehndi(Henna) is the traditional art of painting the hands, feet or body with a paste made from the powdered, dried leaves of the henna plant (Botanical name : Lawsonia Inermis). It stain's a usually cherry-red to brown color but this can vary with time left on and a range of other factors. Coffee, lemon, tea, and essential oils are sometimes added for texture, smell or to help the stain. Mehndi started in the Middle East and Northern Africa over 5,000 years ago. It has been used for artistic, ritual and ceremonial use. Archeologists have even found mummies with hennaed hands. It's becoming popular for a pain free, temporary body art here in the states.




MEHNDI is an ancient form of body art that has been practiced in the Middle East, India and parts of Africa for thousands of years. Mehndi is often viewed as a woman's practice though it has indeed been practiced by men. Mehndi is the art of applying designs to the skin through the application of pastes made with henna powder on different parts of the body. Henna was most often applied to the hands and feet.

Henna was first applied as a means to cool down the body. A dot was applied to the palm of the hands and helped to cool the body.

After becoming bored with the look of the single dot on the palm, the early users of henna began to add lines and other shapes. Eventually this elaboration became the beautiful designs we see today.

In the different cultures where the practice of Mehndi flourished, different styles and ways of application developed. There are the fine lines of designs of Pakistan and India. There are the more geometric patterns and designs of Morocco. There are the bold geometric shapes and patterns of various parts of Africa created with a method of tape resist. Mehndi patterns are created with the application of paste with gold rods, plastic cones, plastic bottles with tips, syringes, toothpicks and other tools henna artists have developed to get the job done and express themselves through the art of Mehndi.

Girls Salwar

 Shalwar kameez, also spelled salwar kameez or shalwar qameez, is a traditional dress of South and Central Asia, especially of Afghanistan and Pakistan, where it is worn by both men and women. In India it is worn mostly by women. It is also worn by women in Bangladesh. Shalwar are loose pajama-like trousers. The legs are wide at the top, and narrow at the ankle. The kameez is a long shirt or tunic, often with a western-style collar; however, for female apparel, the term is now loosely applied to collarless or Mandarin collared kurtas. The side seams (known as the chaak), left open below the waist-line, give the wearer greater freedom of movement

Bollywood Actress Katrina Kaif

   Katrina Kaif (born Katrina Turquotte) is a British Indian film actress and model. She is primarily known for her work in Bollywood films, though has also appeared in Telugu and Malayalam films. She is one of India's highest-paid actresses, and has achieved popularity due to her physical beauty.

  Following a successful modelling career, Kaif made her acting debut in 2003 with a role in the critically and commercially unsuccessful Boom, after which she was initially written off. She consequently appeared in a Telugu film—the hit romantic comedy Malliswari. Kaif later earned commercial success in Bollywood with the romantic comedies Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya? and Namastey London, of which the latter garnered her praise for her performance. She followed it with glamorous roles in a series of box office hits, though was criticised for having little to do in male-centric films like Partner (2007), Welcome (2007) and Singh Is Kinng (2008).

 The 2009 terrorism drama New York marked a turning point in her career, earning her praise as well as a Filmfare Award for Best Actress nomination. She subsequently featured in more prominent roles in hit films like Raajneeti (2010), Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (2011) and Ek Tha Tiger (2012). She has also featured in a brief role in the action thriller Dhoom 3 (2013), which emerged as the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics for her acting prowess, she has established herself as a commercially successful actress of Hindi cinema.

Sherwani - Male Costume

Sherwani is a long coat-like garment worn in South Asia, very similar to an Achkan or doublet. Sherwani originated as a fusion of the Shalwar Kameez with the British frock coat. It was traditionally associated with the Muslim aristocracy of the northern Indian subcontinent. The Rajput aristocracy had subsequently adopted it. It is worn over the Kurta and Churidar, Khara pajama, a shalwar. It can be distinguished from the achkan by the fact that it is often made from heavier suiting fabrics, and by the presence of a lining.

In India, the sherwani is generally worn for formal occasions in winter by those of North Indian descent, especially those from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Hyderabadi-Muslims. The sherwani is generally associated with Muslims while the achkan was historically favored by Hindu nobles. The two garments have significant similarities, though sherwanis typically are more flaired at the hips. The achkan was also modified into the Nehru Jacket, which is popular in India.

The Hyderabadi Sherwani was the dress of choice of the Nizam of Hyderabad and Hyderabadi nobles. The Hyderabadi sherwani is longer than normal sherwani reaching below the knees.

Ghagra Choli

Gagra choli or Ghagra choli, which is also known as Lehenga choli, is the traditional clothing of women in Rajasthan,Gujarat,Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Sindh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Jammu & Hindi speaking Terai region of Nepal. It is a combination outfit of a Lehenga, tight Choli and a Dupatta.

Ghagra Choli - 1

Lehenga or Ghagra is a form of skirt which is long, embroidered and pleated. It is worn as the bottom portion of a Gagra choli. It is secured at the waist and leaves the lower back and midriff bare. The ancient version of skirt or Ghagri evolved from Bhairnivasani, which in turn evolved from the Antariya when stitched on one side became tabular and was worn gathered together at the waist, and held by a girdle. This was one of the earliest forms of a clumsily stitched skirt. It was worn using drawstring or nada. The ghagri was a narrow skirt six feet long the same length as original antariya. This style can still be seen worn by Jain nuns in India.

A choli (Hindi: चोली), (ravike in South India Telugu: రవికె, Kannada: ರವಿಕೆ) is a midriff-baring blouse shell garment in the Indian sari costume worn in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and other countries where the sari is worn. The choli is cut to fit tightly to the body and has short sleeves and a low neck. The choli is usually cropped, allowing exposure of the navel; the cropped design is particularly well-suited for wear in the hot South Asian summers.

Indian dressing style

 India has been known to have wonderful dresses and costumes. Indian dressing styles are marked by many variations, both regional and religious. One is likely to witness a plethora of colors, texture and styles in Indian clothing. To a foreigner, the powerful attraction is the colorful attire of the people in India. With globalization, dresses are also getting westernized. Though the majority of the first generation Indian women wear traditional costumes, the newer generation are more experimental and wear Indian, Indo-western and Western suits. The majority of men are more comfortable in western clothing. Men from all classes and regions of India wear shirts and trousers

Clothing in India varies widely and is closely related to local culture, religion and climate.

 Western culture is developing a grand love affair with the distinctive fashion style that is India. Along with Indian music and spirituality, Indian Clothes is having a huge impact on the mainstream identities of western style and culture. Though the majority of Indian women wear traditional costumes, the men in India can be found in more conventional western clothing. Tailored clothing is very common in India as women’s blouses have to be made- to-fit. Indian fashion varies from one village to another village, from one city to another city. India’s fashion heritage is rich in tradition, vibrant in colors and prepossessing. Bold colors created by the inventive drapes of these textiles catches the imagination like no other contemporary clothing. Indian fashion and Indian clothing for both men and women has evolved and is keeping designers busy.

Why is Indian Clothing so popular?

Beautiful designs, luxurious fabrics and attention to detail makes our Indian clothing ideally suited for any occasion, be it an important social engagement or just simply relaxing at home in style and comfort.

Our Indian clothes are Popular with all age groups, they have been well accepted not only in the Indian market but also internationally and our designs are created keeping in mind the trends fabrics and colures of the season.

Our Indian clothes go well with regular western wear, ideal for a great unique look. They come in various lengths, sizes designs and fabrics which are suitable for all sizes.

You can be sure that Ethnic Fashions selection of Indian clothing are taken from the latest trend in Indian fashion, Some are embellished with intricate embroidered work in pleasing designs, they manage to look smart enough to be worn for casual family gatherings in the lounge, or even for an that afternoon tea session with friends in the garden.