It's most common nowadays. For a cold or head ache everyone seeks doctor’s help. Why to waste time for such silly things? If you just open your eyes and look around you can see a lot of plants that can be used to cure such problems and give you beauty packs with no side effects. Dark and pale skin beneath eyes, pimples, gloomy skin, obesity, beauty related or hair problems – solution is just near you with less cost and no side effects.  No need to buy expensive medicines and beauty packs to experiment on your skin. Ayurveda suggests a lot of quick remedies for all these disturbing problems. Most significant is that everything is easily available in your kitchen or court yard. If taken in right proportions and mixed together, they give miraculous effects on your skin and beauty. Through this column, I would like to give to 150+ such Ayurvedic tips that have been passed from ancient people to new generations through ages and reached us right now.

For beauty of hair and its health

Falling hair:

• Crush 8 goose berries and take its juice. Take two spoon juice and add one spoon lemon juice and a little salt. Mix these ingredients well and apply on your scalp. After 10 minutes, clean your hair with luke warm water. This water should never be a mixture of hot and cold water; instead lightly warm water needed to clean your scalp. Do it thrice a week repeatedly for weeks. Falling hair problem is solved. In addition to it, this treatment protects your hair from dandruff problems.
• Make a powder of black cumin and boil it with coconut oil. Use this oil regularly before bath.
• Make a fine paste of the roots of mehndi (henna) plant. Then boil it well in coconut oil. Use this oil regularly.
• Crush Malvaceae (Kurunthotti)’s leaves and use it as shampoo for your hair.
• Fenugreek (Methi) seed is an instant remedy for hair fall and it helps your hair grow well. Make a fine paste of fenugreek seeds and boil it well in coconut oil and use it regularly.
• Boil water adding neem leaves. Cool the water and use it for hair cleaning once a day. 

Hair fall in round shape:

It’s common, hair may fall from different regions of your head like small circle shapes. Cut a shallot into two and gently rub on those affected areas of scalp. After cleaning, apply a little lemon juice on those areas.  After 10 minutes, apply a fine paste made of garlic, carrot and goose berry. Clean it off after 1.5 hours. Your hair fall will seize suddenly. It stimulates hair growth too.

Premature graying: 

• 150 grams of Mehndi (henna) leaves, 150 grams of goose berry paste, tea powder of good quality 10 gm – Mix these three contents in a steel container and boil it well adding 200 milliliter water. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes. Then add 5 gm salt, 10 milli lemon juice and 15 milli rose water and keep it for 30 minutes. Then mix it well and filter. Apply this solution on your scalp and hair and clean it off in clean water after 2 hours. Do it twice a week to get a permanent solution to premature graying.
• Make a fine paste of goose berry and mix it in thick curd. Apply it on your hair.
• Make a fine paste of mehndi leaves and dry it in cool shade. Then mix it with a little coconut oil and apply on your hair.

To get black colour: 

• Take 30 gm gram flour in a container. Add 60 gm thick curd to it and make a fine paste. Apply it on your hair and have a bath.
• Home treatment for dandruff
• Warm lemon juice and coconut oil together and apply on your scalp.
• Boil juice of betel leaf, ixora flower and basil leaves in coconut oil and use it as your hair oil on a regular basis.
• Boil neem leaves in water. Cool it well and use this water for bathing.
• Soak fenugreek seeds and make a fine paste of it. Apply on your scalp.
• Make a fine paste of mehndi leaves and a little fenugreek seeds. Keep it for a while under direct sun and boil it well adding coconut oil. Apply this oil on your scalp.
• Make a fine paste of shallots and curry leaves. Then boil this paste in coconut oil and apply on your hair.

Glowing face and skin

To make dry skin soft: 

• Remove the skin of apple and make it pieces. Then crush it well to make a paste and add a little orange juice too. Apply it on your face and wash it off after 20 minutes.
• Add oats to boiling water and crush it well to make a paste. Apply it on your face and clean it off after 20 minutes using fresh water.
• To make dry skin shine:
• Take two table spoons milk powder. Add one table spoon honey and a small banana (Kadali banana) and make a fine paste. Add a spoon butter to it and mix well again. Apply on your face and neck. After half an hour, clean your face with luke warm water. If you do thrice a week, your skin will glow like moon.
• To protect oily skin:
• Take 20 ml barley cooked water. Add 10 ml lemon juice and 10 ml honey and apply on your face. Wash your face with luke warm water after 15 minutes. Your skin will lose that oily feel.
• Crush and take juice of cabbage leaves. Add honey to this juice and apply on your skin. Wash it after some time.

To make your face clean: 

• Boil water adding neem leaves. Expose your face to its steam vapours for a while and make it sweat. After 10 minutes, clean your face with a soft piece of cloth and apply a mixture of 1 spoon cucumber juice and lemon juice. After 15 minutes, wash it off to attain a clean and clear skin.
• Grape juice to increase your beauty:
• Take dark grapes and clean it using fresh water. Make it a juice in the evening and apply on your face next day morning. This ‘grape treatment’ has been used by Roman woman centuries back to increase their beauty.

Pimple treatment: 

• Make a fine paste of tulsi leaves (basil) and tender leaves of lemon tree and neem using fresh water. Apply this paste on your face before you sleep. It is a quick remedy for pimples as well as many skin problems.
• Make a fine paste of turmeric and guava leaves and apply on your face.
• Make a fine paste of turmeric and neem and mix it well. Apply on your face.
• Boil water using neem leaves and expose your face to its vapours.
• Grind well cardamom seeds using curd and apply on your face frequently.
• Make a mixture of turmeric and neem and apply on your face.

To remove small pores and marks on face:

Make use of a spoon to take the gel of aloe vera’s stem. Take 10 gm of it. Add 10 milli tomato juice and 1 spoon lemon juice to it. Mix these three ingredients well and keep it for 10 minutes. after steam vapourizing your face, apply this paste. Continue this process for a short period and see the results. Those marks and small pits on your face will be leveled.

To make face skin soft: 

• Take a mixer to make a fine paste of papaya fruit. Apply it as a thick coat and wash your face after 30 minutes.
• To remove hair from face
• Make a fine paste of turmeric and apply on your face in a thick coat at night. Next morning wash your face with warm water.
• Make a fine paste of green papaya and turmeric and apply on your face.
• Take equal quantity of shallot juice and turmeric juice (after crushing) and mix it well. Lightly warm it and apply as a light coat on your face. When it dries completely, clean it off.

Extra brightness and shine to eyes

For beautiful and shinning eyes:

Take 4 goose berries, crush it well and soak in fresh water over night. Next day morning, filter it and use this water to clean your face. You can do Ayurvedic ‘dhara’ also, for beautiful and bright eyes.

To remove tiredness of eyes: 

• Dip cotton in rose water or chilled tea (without milk) and place it above your eye lids. Keep your eyes closed. Remove after 10 minutes.
• Slice cucumber pieces and place above your eye lids with eyes closed. Remove after 15 minutes.

To make your eyes clean:

Early morning, take fresh water in a spread container. Then dip your face in it 30 times with eyes open. When your eyes are immersed in water, repeatedly close and open eyes for a few times. Move iris on either sides and rotate them once also. You can see impurities in that steel vessel. If you do this exercise regularly, your eyes won’t be affected by any disease and stay healthy for long.

For attractive eye brows:

Apply castor oil regularly on your eye brows and gently massage them too. Your eye brows will get darkened and shiny.

Black colour below eyes: 

• Mix banana with milk and apply that paste on darkened areas around your eyes.
• Add honey to carrot juice and drink regularly.
• Make a fine paste of coriander seeds with coriander leaf juice and apply beneath your eyes.
• Make a fine paste of kasthuri turmeric and red sandal wood, adding a little milk powder and apply beneath your eyes.
• Use your index finger to gently rub beneath your eyes for 5 minutes. If you do it regularly, blood circulation in those areas will increase resulting in change of black colour suddenly. 

Refreshment to eyes:

• Use shallots a lot in your dishes.
• Use muringa flowers a lot for making side dishes for food.
• Treatment for sore eye/ red eye:
• Make a fine paste of leaves of cassia fistula and apply on eye lashes.
• Boil water using coriander seeds. Cool it well and wash your eyes thoroughly taking a little time.
• Put crape jasmine flowers (East Indian rosebay / Nandyarvattom) in water for 3 hours and use this water to wash eyes.

Treatment for Eye rashes: 

• Boil water using coriander seeds. Then expose your eyes to its vapours.
• Make a fine paste of Liquorices/Licorice (Iratti mathuram / Mulhati, Jetimad) using honey and apply outside your eyes.
• Make a fine paste of cloves using rose water and apply.

For beautiful lips

For faded lips: 

• Remove seeds from goose berry and crush it well. Add a little honey and apply on your lips. Rub it off after half an hour. Do it on a regular basis to get red coloured lips.
• Mix 1 spoon orange juice, one spoon betel juice and a little honey together. Apply it on your lips regularly and see the results.
• Make a fine paste of carrot, tender leaves of mango tree and rose water. Apply on your lips regularly. Eating fresh carrots regularly can also increase the colour of your lips.
• Make a fine paste of white sandal wool adding rose water and apply on your lips on a regular basis.
• It’s possible to make dark lips red:
• Mix together 10 milli carrot juice, 10 milli cucumber juice and 5 milli honey and apply it three or four times a day. If you do this process regularly, you can notice the colour change.

For cracking of lips: 

• Make a fine paste of turmeric using ghee and apply on lips.
• If you apply pure cow ghee on your lips, cracks, wrinkles and dryness will be diminished.
• Make a fine paste of sesame seeds using ghee and apply on lips.
• For your teeth and mouth

For shining teeth: 

• Make charcoal from a branch of neem tree. Add a little powdered sugar and a drop of cloves essence to it. Use it for regular brushing of teeth.
• Pleasant odour of mouth and for healthy teeth:
• Take a handful of mint leaves and boil in 250 milli water. When it cools, use it as mouth wash for your oral hygiene. It gives extra shine to your teeth too.
• To check bad breath:
• Take the pulp of mango seed (5 gm), 2 cloves and a little honey. Chew it for 5 minutes and use warm water to gargle. Do it regularly.
• Take one spoon gingerly oil and gargle it.
• To remove fungus infection of tongue:
• Make a fine paste of turmeric using curd and apply on your tongue.
• Use honey to make a fine paste of sweet flag (Vayamb in Malayalam and Tamil) and apply on tongue.
• Grind cloves using lemon juice and apply.

For toothache:

Grind together a clove, a garlic clove and a little salt. Dip cotton in it and make a small ball. Place that cotton ball in the affected area and bite it with your teeth. You will get quick relief.

• Dip a piece of cotton in cloves oil and place it in affected areas.
• Make a paste of camphor and turmeric. Place this paste in the affected area, bite it with your teeth and close your mouth.
• Powder rock salt and nutmeg and use it to clean your teeth.

Quick solutions for stomach pain

Common digestive problems:

• Make a fine powder of dried ginger, cumin seeds, cardamom and cloves. Mix it with warm water and drink it.
• Peel off the skin of ginger, add a pinch of salt. Chew it well and drink its extract.
• Make a fine paste of ginger. Boil butter milk using curry leaves and turmeric powder and mix it with this ginger paste and drink.
• Eat ginger-garlic paste twice a day.
• Boil water using ajwain (Ayamodhakam in Malayalam). This water is a good ailment for digestive problems.

Feeling of tasteless: 

• Make a fine paste of nutmeg and drink adding warm water.
• Mix honey with pomegranate juice and have it.
• Mix sugar with ginger juice and have it.
• Take equal quantity of lemon juice and ginger juice and add a little salt. Place it repeatedly on your tongue and allow it to dissolve completely.
• Fry asafetida and grind it. Mix it with butter milk and drink.

Feel of vomiting: 

• Make a fine paste of nutmeg and serve it with honey.
• Powder a little dried ginger, add jaggery to it and serve it before meals.
• Make a fine paste of curry leaves; mix it with butter milk and drink.
• Boil water adding cumin seeds and ajwain. Drink this water luke warm.
• Take equal quantity of garlic juice and cow’s ghee. Heat it before you serve.

For hunger: 

• Eat papaya regularly.
• In empty stomach, take a little ginger juice adding dry ginger.
• Make a fine paste of nutmeg and serve it with honey.
• Make a mixture of equal quantity of lemon juice and sugar cane juice and have it.

Solution to hiccups: 

• Mix ginger juice in honey and serve little by little.
• Serve the mixture of dried ginger and jaggery.
• Put a pinch of sugar little by little on your tongue and allow it to dissolve slowly.
• Make a fine paste of cumin seeds and sandal wood, mix it with butter and serve.

Rolling gas inside stomach: 

• Make a fine paste of curry leaves, dried ginger and salt. Use this paste along with ghee and serve it with your supper.
• Dry fry cumin seeds and boil it well using half glass water. Drink it 3 or 4 times.
• Crush shallots, boil in milk and serve that milk.

For tastelessness: 

• Make a fine paste of rock salt and tender mango leaves using lemon juice. Apply on tongue a few times.
• Chew salt and ginger together and swallow its juice.
• Mix a little pepper powder in curd and apply on tongue.

Gas trouble: 

• Dry fry in a vessel – cardamom seeds, dried ginger and asafetida. Powder it and mix in warm rice starch water and drink.
• Crush a little ginger, mix it well in warm water and drink it.
• Grill a little garlic and chew it.

Treatment for vomiting:

• Boil water using fried rice (Malar/Pori in Malayalam) and ginger and serve it adding a little sugar.
• Mix cardamom seeds (powdered) with tender coconut juice and drink.

Solution for constipation: 

• Eat Palayam kodan banana (a type of small banana) after dinner.
• Mix lemon juice with tea (without milk) and drink.
• Soak dried raisins over night. Next day, make squeeze it to get juice and have it.
• Clean lady’s finger and soak in water over night. Next day morning, drink that water.

For stomach pain: 

• Make a fine paste of nutmeg and drink it along with butter milk.
• Ginger juice is a quick remedy for stomach pain.

Mouth ulcer: 

• Mix goose berry juice with honey and apply on those places. You can serve it too.
• Chew tender leaves of guava plant.

Treatment of minor diseases at home itself

Skin rashes: 

• Mix the extract of touch-me-not plant with coconut oil and rub strongly on affected areas.
• Make a fine paste of basil leaves with lemon juice and apply on affected areas.

Acid indigestion (heart burn): 

• Grill a little garlic and chew it. Swallow its extract.
• Chew some fennel seeds and swallow its juice.

Sneezing:

Wash and dry curry leaves. Powder it and keep in a bottle during cold season. Serve it with turmeric if you need.

Sweat smell: 

• Apply turmeric paste to your body before you bath.
• Rub your body with fenugreek powder.
• Add salt to the water to bath.

Piles: 

• Crush shallots, fry in ghee and serve.
• Grind sesame seeds, mix it with goat milk, add a little sugar and serve.

Worm infection in kids: 

• Make a fine paste of roots of basil plant and serve with hot water.
• Mix lemon juice and basil leaf juice and serve.

Sore eyes/ red eyes:

Pour 2 or 3 drops of the extract of Muringa leaves or basil leaves in eyes.

Ringworms:

Add a little lime juice to sulphur and apply on affected areas.

Finger itching / worm infections: 

• It’s common in monsoons if you ignore using sandals. Make a fine paste of turmeric and mehndi and apply.
• Make a fine paste of curry leaves and turmeric and apply.
• Finely grind goose berry using curd and apply.
• Take equal amount of garlic and turmeric. Make a fine paste and apply on itching areas.

Treatment for lice: 

• Crush the leaves of bitter gourd and boil its extract in coconut oil. Use this oil as hair oil.
• Make a fine paste of neem and apply on head. Rinse it off after half an hour.

Treatment for agnail: 

• Grind mehndi leaves using lemon juice, scrap a little coconut to it and cover your nail with this mixture. Use a cotton cloth to tie it safe.
• Grind turmeric using neem oil and apply on nail.
• Make a fine paste of turmeric and mehndi and apply on your affected nail.
• Make a mixture of lime and jaggery and apply a coat on nail.
• Make a fine paste of neem and turmeric and apply on affected areas.

Treatment for headache: 

• Pour 5 drops of breast milk to nose.
• Heat ghee and apply on forehead. Then expose to steam using a vapourizer.

Treatment of Flue:  

• Crush together – pepper seeds, dried ginger, basil leaves and shallots. Boil water using this mixture and drink frequently.
• For a clear throat, mix equally honey, ginger juice, basil juice and shallot juice in equal proportions and serve 1 spoon each frequently.

Cough, cold and related problems

Sore throat: 

• Mix cinnamon powder with Licorice and serve.
• Burn ginger in direct fire/hearth and then chew it well.
• Make a fine paste of sweet flag in honey and serve it.
• Gargle your mouth and throat using warm salt water. Allow hot water to stay in throat for a while.
• Boil water with a few basil leaves and drink that water a little hot.
• Boil milk, add a little turmeric powder and drink it.

Cough: 

• Powder sugar candy and serve it with cumin powder.
• Boil thulsi leaves and add honey to that boiled water. Drink this water.
• Take equal proportions of dried ginger, cumin seeds and sugar. Powder the mixture and serve.
• Mix lemon juice or pepper powder with honey and serve.
• Heat French thyme (Pani koorkka in Malayalam and Tamil) and extract its juice. Mix a little honey and serve empty stomach.

Specially for infants

As soon as monsoon begins, season of cough and cold also begins. Common treatments for kids below one age are given below.
For cough: Mix 7 drops of honey with 5 drops of ginger juice. Apply it on his tongue 3 or 4 times daily. Never bath him if he is suffering from cough.
Running nose and cold: Add rasnathi powder to breast milk; boil it taking in a small container till its water content is dried up. Then cool it and apply on his head. Rub it off after 20 minutes. If he feels difficulty in breathing, make a mixture of 7 drops of lime juice, 5 drops of honey, 2 drops of salt and 3 drops of ginger juice in a spoon and apply on his tongue.
Vomiting: Boil 5 gm malar (a type of fried rice) in 50 ml water. Add 2 drops of ginger juice to it. In the gap of 2 hours, give him 7 drops of this solution. 

Ayurvedic methods to reduce cholesterol

• Chew and eat 5 neem leaves.
• Drink frequently the water boiled with ginger and coriander.
• Take one or two Bird's eye chili (Kanthari mulak in Malayalam and Tamil), crush it or grind it and serve with butter milk once in a day regularly. 

Now, some quick tips 

• Take extract of red thulasi (basil) leaves and serve with honey. It’s a quick remedy for flu.
• Chop cabbage and fill it inside a cabbage leaf. Then tie it to the region where you have joint pain. It should have direct contact with your skin.
• For cracked heal, make a fine paste of neem leaves and turmeric using curd and apply on your heal.
• Cut beet root into two pieces and rub on your lips. Do it several times a day. Your lips will get good red colour.
• Is obesity troubling your mind and thoughts? Here is the Ayurvedic solution. Dry fry horse gram without adding oil. Powder it and keep in closed container. Take 1 table spoon of horse gram and mix it with hot water and drink regularly.

So, let me conclude

Now let me say a few words before I conclude. If you observe the ingredients used in the treatment of these most common diseases, it can be noticed that they are cheap and easily available in our courtyard or kitchen. Also only a little time is needed for its preparation. It never gives any side effects. So, next time, you can surely try it. Yet I would like to tell you that I have prepared this article based on a woman’s magazine and I am not an expert in Ayurveda to give you more explanations. So, kindly ask an expert’s opinion before testing these mixtures if you are not confident enough. Thank you. 
All images added from Wikipedia and Wikimedia common.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Plants_related_to_Ayurveda
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henna
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Shallots-Whole.jpg/320px-Shallots-Whole.jpg

Read what Ayurveda says about strict disciplined life for healthy today and tomorrow.

http://www.boddunan.com/articles/health-fitness/232-aging-and-longevity/20633-discipline-needed-for-good-life-says-ayurveda.html