Skin and hair care takes priority for everyone; especially when someone is in the entertainment field, it becomes mandatory.
Pushpa Impossible actor Indraxi Kanjilal agrees with it and shared that her skincare routine is really simple. However, she mentioned that sunscreen is a must for her.
She said, She said, “My skincare routine isn’t very complicated.” I wash my face, I apply toner, then I apply a serum, and after that I use a cream. Sometimes I don’t even apply the cream, so it’s mostly just three steps. It really helps my skin. I also use a peeling mask sometimes once a week. It helps detoxify my skin and removes all the dead skin cells. That’s one thing I always try to do.”
She further shared that no matter how busy her schedule gets, she always washes her face with a face wash and then applies toner. She said, “I make sure to use sunscreen as well, since it supports the skin’s natural pH balance.” Sunscreen is very important. Even if you’re indoors, you have to apply it because it helps maintain the pH level of your skin, and that is very important.”
Indraxi also agrees that long shooting hours can damage one’s hair, and she has herself suffered that. Her once long and luscious hair has now lost its shine and volume. She said, “If my hair could talk, it would probably be afraid of me because I wasn’t taking proper care of it.” When I was younger, I had such long, luscious hair.
Even till 2022, I had really good, long hair. Even though I was a model and had shooting schedules, it wouldn’t ruin my hair too much because I would tell them to be careful, and I would wash my hair thoroughly whenever I got time. I would keep my hair clean all the time, and because of that, I had long, thick hair. But when I came to Mumbai, the Mumbai water maybe didn’t suit my hair or something. That was one factor.”
“And during shoots, I’d spend 12–13 hours a day with curls in my hair, and in the early days of filming, they would redo those curls nearly five times a day. For the first seven–eight months, this went on nonstop. My hair started getting damaged too much. My hair wouldn’t stop falling.
Every morning I would wake up to a lot of hair fall. So I complained and said I wanted a wig from now on. They gave me a wig, but even with the wig, there were too many problems. My real hair was stuck inside; it didn’t get enough air, and it was full of sweat because most of the time we shoot in hot or heated places. So the sweat stays trapped, and it damages the roots. So I have struggled with a lot of hair damage over the years,” she added.
And even though she tried many home remedies as well as salon treatments, nothing worked for her. Indraxi Kanjilal added, “I think the most important thing is to wash your hair at regular intervals and comb your hair properly.”
She loves her hair, and like many, even she fell for the myth that if you tie your hair really tight before sleeping, your hair will grow much faster. Indraxi Kanjilal said, “When I was younger, I dreamed of having Rapunzel-like hair.
I wanted very long hair, so I thought tying it tight would help it grow faster. So I used to tie my hair in very tight plaits so they wouldn’t open throughout the night. I would sleep like that. It was actually painful, but I still did it because I wanted my hair to become longer quickly.”
“But later, I eventually realised that wasn’t true. It actually damages the roots of your hair. Tying your hair tightly before sleeping is not good at all. You should let your hair stay loose when you sleep, or tie it very lightly if you really need to. That’s what I learned,” she added.
Asked how her skincare has changed over the years, she said, “Till I was 12 years old, I didn’t even have any skincare routine. I would just wash my face from time to time and apply any cream that was available at home. I’m a Bengali, and our houses have Lactocalamine, Boroline, and Vaseline. So that basically defined my skincare routine as a child till I was 12.”
When I turned 13, I suddenly started getting acne as puberty began. I had so many acne marks all over my forehead, not on my cheeks, chin, or nose. People would make fun of me, and I didn’t like that. So then I started a 15-step luxury brand skincare routine. I told my parents, ‘You have to give me these products; I need to reduce my acne.’ So they gave me all the products, and three times a day I did that long routine of 10, 12, or sometimes 15 steps. And honestly, it still didn’t help. The acne went away on its own, when it wanted to,” she added.
When she came to Mumbai, her skincare routine was zero. She would just wash her face and apply toner and a serum. But recently, when she went to South Korea, she got some skincare products from there, and they are working well for her. She said, “My skin feels hydrated and finally happy, maybe because for the past few years I wasn’t able to take care of it properly. But now I think I am taking care of it properly.”
When she is going for her shoots, she makes sure she preps her skin before makeup. She said, “I have a proper pre-makeup skin ritual. I apply toner, serum, sunscreen, and then what is called a setting mist. I spray the setting mist on my face and let it sit. I let it sit for, like, five minutes. Then I apply primer and let the primer sit for five minutes. After that, I start applying makeup. So that is my shoot or pre-makeup ritual.”
“And my post-makeup ritual is also important. When I am done with the shoot, I can’t keep makeup on my face for too long. I am not a makeup person. I like my skin without makeup because makeup feels heavy. So when I am done with my shoot, I always remove my makeup as soon as possible. Then I do all the skincare steps. Of course, before the shoot and after the shoot, both times, I comb my hair. And when my hair feels oily, then I wash it with shampoo or go for a hair spa,” she added.
A golden tip for glowing skin or healthy hair? “Drink water. Hydration is very important. You have to stay hydrated to have glowing skin or healthy hair. Water is the key to everything. At first, I didn’t believe it, but it is true. If you want glowing skin, just drink water and stay hydrated. It’s very important,” Indraxi ended.
