Baby Oil = Baby Soft Skin?

I have never been a fan of petroleum based products. While everyone around me was swearing by Vaseline and related products, I kept a nonchalant distance from them, for the simple reason that they never seemed to work so much for me. Also, I did not like the waxy feeling that came with these products.
Recently, however, looking for a cheap solution to an eye makeup remover, I picked up a bottle of Johnson’s baby oil. Now, I am generally an experimental beauty product user, but this time I took care to call my friend for her opinion. She confirmed my vague belief that it was a good idea. After all, it was a baby product, how harmful could it be? Besides she was using it too, with good results. I was sold to the idea. Before hanging up though, she added, “Baby oil is nothing but liquefied petroleum jelly.” The alarm bells should have rung then, but I was distracted by the lovely smell of it.
Happy with my purchase, I came home and started using it almost immediately. Well, it wasn’t exactly a miracle-in-a-bottle but it did the job well enough. I was satisfied.
However, yesterday I decided to give my hands some TLC.  Impulsive that I am, I decided what’s good for my eyes will be good for my hands too. What better way to nourish my hands than a general dollop of baby oil, right?
Wrong, very wrong.
I coated my hands with the baby oil for 5 minutes, washed it off, following it up with my favourite Body Shop hand cream. Today my hands are in a terrible state. The skin is peeling off my entire palm and fingers. In fact, my hands have never been this dry ever. The liquefied petroleum jelly or as the bottle calls it “mineral oil” had struck!

So, after a slight wandering, I am once again back on my natural products track. Nothing can ever beat good, old cocoa butter, shea butter, jojoba oil and olive oil. In fact, I’ve tried olive oil to remove my eye makeup and it works much better than baby oil.






Parting Tip: Read product labels before buying them; stay away from mineral oil, liquidum paraffinum, paraffin oil, paraffin wax and petrolatum.

The Fair Food

Leafing through one of the old editions of Vogue India, I came across the extraordinary story of an extraordinary woman. Part Indian – part English, Geetie Singh took the dining scene of London by a storm, when she opened the Duke of Cambridge Organic Pub in 1998. Twelve years and numerous awards later, this visionary has made a whopping success out of this unique restaurant. If you are wondering what makes it so unique, read on.



Well, to begin with the food is sourced from local independent farmers, and small farms   and producers promoting organic and fair trade produce. The restaurant recycles its entire kitchen waste, tin, paper, glass and even furniture! The pub’s electricity is generated from renewable sources like wind and solar energy.

Going another step further in giving back to the community, the chefs train the local school cooks to provide students with nutritious and sumptuous food made from organic sources. Also, for the past two years, they have hosted fund-raising nights for a homeless shelter, Shelter From The Storm.



I could go on and on, but if you are in London, what you should be doing is giving the Observer “Best Sunday Lunch” a try. Or if you are in India, try to recreate some of the magic in your home with organic, fair trade food from the local supermarket and Geetie’s Cookbook.