DocDivaTraveller: March 2021

A very Happy Holi to all my lovely readers! I hope you had a wonderf)ul celebration! As much as everyone loves the vivid hues of Holi, a part of ourselves equally fear them...they are our skin and hair! Now a lot is advised as to how to protect your skin and hair before drowning them in colours. Because prevention is better than cure. However still we land up as victims because either we are unprepared or the wrath of colours is too much for the measures we took. So here I am with a few Post Holi hair care tips.

The best kept secret to healthy skin and hair (with or without Holi abuse is 'Goat Milk') . Yes, you read it right. And NEUD is here with their latest range of Goat Milk products.

Why Goat milk?

Some dermatologists consider goat milk to be the skin’s superfood. It locks in moisture to hydrate the skin gently. It also helps keep the skin looking like new.

Goat milk is naturally loaded with Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHAs), which remove age spots, prevent wrinkles, brighten skin complexion, remove dead skin cells and promote generation of new skin cells.

The fat globules in goat milk have small molecular size, which allow AHAs to penetrate the skin deeply to lock skin moisture and keep it baby soft.

1. NEUD Goat Milk Premium Face Wash for Men & Women
How to use:

Wet your face and neck with clean water and apply NEUD Goat Milk Face Wash liberally. Gently massage in a circular motion to work up a rich lather. Rinse off the face wash after a few minutes and pat dry with a towel.

It gives glowing skin by hydrating deeply, prevents infections and is excellent for daily care.

2. NEUD Goat Milk Premium Moisturizing Lotion for Men & Women
How to use:
Wash affected skin area on face or body, preferably with NEUD Goat Milk Face Wash. Apply NEUD Goat Milk Moisturizing Lotion liberally. Massage gently with upward strokes. Apply 15 minutes before any make-up.

The lotion prevents dryness and keeps skin baby soft. It also prevents infections and the vitamins present in goat milk prevents and reduces wrinkling of skin. Also it brightens complexion.

3. NEUD Premium Goat Milk Shampoo for Men & Women
Apply NEUD Goat Milk Premium Shampoo liberally on your wet scalp and hair. Massage it gently for a few minutes to create a luxurious, foaming lather. Rinse with water after a few minutes till the shampoo is completely washed off. For best results, follow with NEUD Goat Milk Premium Hair Conditioner.

Benefits:
Goat Milk helps get healthy, bouncy and lustrous hair due to the goodness of AHAs (Alpha Hydroxy Acids) present in NEUD Goat Milk Premium Shampoo.

Nourishes your scalp and hair strands with Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, C, D and E, as well as minerals like potassium, magnesium and selenium naturally present in goat milk.

Makes your hair soft and manageable by moisturizing your scalp deeply.

Enhances bioavailability of nutrients to your scalp and hair strands due to the tiny size of fat globules in goat milk that penetrate skin layers easily.

Goat milk helps maintains natural pH-balance of your hair, enriches them and helps prevent breakage and infections.

4. NEUD Goat Milk Premium Hair Conditioner for Men & Women
Liberally apply NEUD Goat Milk Conditioner to the tips and length of your hair after each shampoo. Leave on for a few minutes and rinse it thoroughly with water. For best results, use NEUD Goat Milk Shampoo before using NEUD Goat Milk Hair Conditioner.

Makes hair voluminous y deep nourishment, prevents scalp infections and strengthens hair.

Oil well afterwards before washing your hair. You can use the homemade hair mask till your hair achieves the softness. Your hair may even turn out better what you had pre Holi form all this TLC!

Precautions:

All these are for external application only. Do not ingest and keep away from children.

Some general post Holi care tips:

If your hair is with just dry colours or gulaal, then first brush them off with a napkin and a wide toothed comb before hitting the shower.
Once you are in the bath, wet your hair and apply soap all over your scalp (a baby soap is preferable) The scalp needs to be cleaned thoroughly to avoid any aftermath.
Wash your head (and rest of the hair) with luke warm water. Don't use hot water even if you are tempted to do so.
Now dilute the required amount of shampoo in a mug and apply all over your hair. Then rinse off.
You can repeat this process twice or thrice depending how stained your hair is.
Now time for deep conditioning. Apply a good coat of conditioner and keep it for 5 minutes.
Rinse off and then apply a hair mask and keep it for 10 minutes.
Rinse off and towel dry. Do not blow dry. It would make your hair more rough and drier.
After two days, make a homemade hair mask with eggs and yogurt and keep it on your hair for 15 minutes before washing it off with a mild/diluted shampoo. Don't forget to deep condition.

So now you know how to nurture that post Holi skin and hair with NEUD Goat milk products.. Do you have any other tips?

March 30, 2021 9 comments

'A person who has not travelled the world has only read the cover of the book' said Father Augustine. We all love to travel. Don't we? Travelling is the most popular hobby one would come across. However unlike other hobbies, travel is an expensive passion. But it is also true that travelling is the only investment that makes you richer. Having said that, one needs money to travel; whether it is luxury or budget. The key to easily fulfilling this passion lies in smart savings, which I am going to elaborate below.

We started a separate budget for our world travels ever since we decided to globe trot once a year at least. Saving carefully is the key; whether you plan to travel domestic or international. Having explored 23 countries and almost entire India till date, here I am sharing my smart investment tips with you all so that the budget never becomes a burden.

1. Normal Savings: You can decide a small, specific budget to be set aside every month. It can be as low as 500INR per month which will yield 6000 INR at the end of the year and hence 30,000 INR after 5 years, which can be used for a nice domestic trip. Easy plan but not too viable if you plan to travel frequently. You can cut down on 'unnecessary' expenditures on clothes and fancy coffees for travels.

2. Recurring Deposit: Again you set aside a fixed amount every month for your sojourns. The benefit here is that you get to reap the interest. You can also start separate recurring deposits for different members of the family who wish to travel. The end result is substantial depending on your savings and requirements.

3Mutual Funds: This is an excellent way to invest for travelling and one reaps humungous benefits.

Mutual fund can be explained as a pool of fund that comprises of many investors who put in small deposits of their earnings which are in turn invested in securities like bonds, stocks etc.

SIP or Systematic Investment Plans: SIP is an easy way to achieve life's goals; whether it's planning your child's education or saving for that exotic vacation, building your dream home or plan your retirement.

Depending on what your financial goal is, you can calculate your monthly SIP amount investment.

The power of saving works better when investment is done at an early age.

Now one may think why not opt for EMI instead of investing in SIP?

In EMI you pay interest while in SIP, you earn interest. So if you plan that holiday earlier, you not only earn through interest but also get good deals on airfares and accommodation; as well as extra time to research and plan for that dream vacation of yours.

Benefits of investing in SIP:

SIP is an investment that can be made by people of all ages. The duration, fund options and amount may vary from one age group to the other but investors of all age groups can enter and gain from SIPs.

SIPs provide you with liquidity i.e you can have access to all or part of your invested funds as and when required. This means that there is no lock-in period i.e no minimum specified period for which you compulsorily have to keep your money invested.

In simple words, SIP:

It leverages the power of saving.

Rupee cost averaging

It is convenient.

It is disciplined investing.

Helps you through market volatility.

Gives you a long term advantage.

An SIP investment can help you save from as little as Rs.500 each month, and it can help you to accumulate an sizable amount over time to reach your goals.

Those looking for investing in Mutual Funds can opt for these types of MF depending how soon you want to go for a vacation.

a. Short Term Fund: These type of funds are ideal if you want to get returns within a year. They generate returns of around 7% per annum. This fund aims for consistency, stability and liquidity by keeping the duration and credit risk low. The Macaulay duration of the portfolio is between 3 to 6 months.

* The Macaulay duration is the weighted average term to maturity of the cash flows from a bond. The weight of each cash flow is determined by dividing the present value of the cash flow by the price.

For the uninitiated, Liquidity means how quickly you can get your hands on your cash.

The objective of this fund is to generate reasonable and stable income and provide liquidity to the unit holder.

So if you are looking for an annual exotic vacation, this may help you.

b. Low Duration Fund: The Macaulay duration of the portfolio is between 3 to 6 months. So you can opt for this for a biannual vacation.

The objective is to generate reasonable returns primarily through investments in fixed income securities and money market instruments.

c. Balanced Advantage Fund: These mutual funds offer annualized returns of up to 9% for a time horizon of three years and have relatively lower risk involved. So it is ideal if you are planning for a grand vacation for a special occasion.

Having summing up everything in a nutshell, people are quite skeptical about mutual funds because of some common myths lurking around. Let me bust some of them for you:

Myths about mutual funds:

1.You need to invest a lot of money. False. You can start as low as 500INR. SIP or Systematic investments plans are the best!

2. Top rated mutual funds are the best. False. Mutual funds are subject to market fluctuations. So if an MF has done well before does not necessarily mean it would do great again. You need to do your research before investing.

3. You need to be an expert to invest. False. You can start at any age. In fact investing at a younger age is more beneficial in the long run because of the longer duration.

You can refer to the Mutual Fund Dictionary to clarify your doubts regarding all the technical terms related to investment.

Always have the habit of reading the scheme related documents before investing to understand the scheme type, investment patterns and the risk factors associated with particular investments and consult your financial advisor to understand the implication of any investment.

I hope I have helped you to some extent in guiding how to invest to travel more. You can head to L&T Mutual Fund for detailed information on investment in mutual funds.

How do you invest and save for exotic travels? Let me know in the comments below!

Disclaimer: This information is for general information only and does not have regard to the particular needs of any specific person who may receive this information. L&T Investment Management Limited, the asset management company of L&T Mutual Fund or any of its associates; does not guarantee/indicate any returns/and shall not be held liable for any loss, expenses, charges incurred by the recipient. The recipient should consult their legal, tax, and financial advisers before investing. The recipient of this information should understand that statements made herein regarding future prospects may not be realized or achieved.

Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.