Most of us Indians (girls and guys) love a good champi (remember the old Johnny Walker song Sar Jo Tera Chakraye? Tel Maalish!). It can be relaxing, energizing, de-stressing, cooling and more…. whatever you want it to be.
Oiling is an ancient Indian tradition and coconut oil is a pan-India favourite. But oiling seems to have fallen out of favour with young Indians and hence Parachute Advansed Knowledge Centre is now seeking to revive this tradition with their Art of Oiling campaign. I got introduced to the Art of Oiling by actor Nargis Fakhri and international massage expert Moses Chundi.
The Art of Oiling is closely linked with massages, DIY and otherwise, using coconut oil. The best way to learn it is to do it, of course, so Moses took us through some quick, cool and easy DIY massages. As he explained scalp and face massage techniques (called The Art of Facial Glow), Nargis happily demonstrated them, while we followed with our oiling kit.
These simple massages take barely a few minutes but are quite effective. As I massaged my forehead, I could feel the difference already- my thoughts disappeared and I was less tense. Couldn’t get a better testimonial, right? 🙂
The good news is that these massages don’t need lots of oil, so if you don’t like greasy hands, you can still try them. Moses suggested applying oil with a cotton ball instead of pouring it into our palms.
The Art of Facial Glow:
Use your fingers and thumb for step one of this technique. Starting with the middle of your forehead press and rotate your fingers in small circles in upward and outward movements. Move downward, across the forehead, temples, cheeks, nose, under the nose, under the lips, chin and the neck. Then repeat with small pinches, and then just the first three fingers. Choose a comfortable pace—the massage can be as fast or slow as you want.
I had a chat with Nargis Fakhri about what she thinks of the Art of Oiling. Here goes:
PS- Coming soon- DIY massage and #artofoiling videos with Nargis Fakhri.