JP/ Jerry Adiguna

When fasting, your body will get less water during the day. And since the weather is quite hot, both will have effects on your looks: drier skin, weakened body, sluggish appearance and other disruptions. So how do we stay fresh and healthy when fasting? The answer is simple, just follow our beauty tips on how to stay pretty '€“ while fasting '€“ during Ramadhan.

Maintain your beauty from the inside

- Take good care of your water intake by drinking a lot of water during iftar (the meal at sunset to break the fast) and sahur (the pre-dawn meal) while avoiding too many sweet drinks. With this, you can prevent yourself from getting dehydrated because your body will not be getting any water for more than 12 hours.

- Avoid caffeine, soda and juice. Caffeine makes your body dehydrated faster and should be avoided during this month.

- Try drinking detox-water, combined with cucumber, mint and lemon. Those additions will moisturize your skin faster since they are very rich in vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6 and C and also have calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphor, potassium, folic acid and zinc.

- Get more protein in your iftar and sahur meal from meat, fish, vegetables, nuts or fruits. It will also keep your skin, nails and hair healthy and moisturized. Do not forget your carbs, but do not have too many. It will only made you feel stuffed.

- Avoid salty foods and use less salt in your diet during the fasting month so your body can keep a good amount of water.

- Eat more foods high in anti-oxidants and fiber. These kind of foods will help hydrate your body more and will in general be great as an anti-aging diet.

- Get enough sleep. You should still do your tarawih (extra night prayer during Ramadhan) prayer in the evening, but also be prepared to sleep at 9 p.m. afterwards. Since at 3 a.m. in the morning, you should be ready to prepare or have sahur.

Maintain your beauty from the outside

- The days will be hotter than usual. Apply sunscreen to keep your skin hydrated. Since you must not drink during fasting, you can choose and apply moisturizer with a high water content and one that can be quickly absorbed by your skin.

- You can also spray face mist once in a while. The spray will cool of your skin and make it hydrated.

- Never wet your lips as it will only make them parched. For better results, use lip-balm.

- Use hair tonics or hair vitamins to keep your hair shiny and well moisturized.

- Apply lighter cosmetics to give the skin on your face room

to breathe but also avoid using concealer during the day. The combination of thick make-up and extreme sunlight during the day is not only unsafe for your skin but could also cause acne.

- When you can'€™t get enough sleep, use eye creams to conceal dark circle or puffiness around your eyes. The easiest way is by placing cucumbers, the natural eye pads, on your eyes before you go to sleep.

- Spray fresh scented perfume with green tea or mint fragrance on your body. This will keep you fresh during the day. But avoid using fruit-scented fragrances since the smell could make you hungry.

- Last thing, don'€™t forget to apply light moisturizer after wudlu (ablution).

JP/ Jerry Adiguna

Stay fit while fasting during pregnancy

Expectant mothers are not required to fast. But naturally, they will still want to attain pahala (rewards from God) during the holy month of Ramadhan by fasting during pregnancy. As long as the mother has routine checks with her doctor or obstetrician, and has been confirmed to be fit and healthy, she is allowed to fast during pregnancy.

But certainly, this fasting month will be different than usual. Here are some tips that expectant mothers can apply so their fasts can go smoothly while staying fit during the day, ultimately supporting the health of the mother and the baby.

Sahur menu for expectant mothers

- Have foods with adequate protein and fats. These two nutrients stay longer in the mother'€™s digestion so they can prevent hunger until fast-breaking time. For example, the mother should have more meat since it has both calories and proteins that can stay longer in the body.

- Put foods with a high amount of vitamin C and zinc in her diet to maintain her vigor. Those are useful, especially, to avoid anemia.

- Avoid consuming sweet foods on sahur to prevent the mother from feeling weak or getting hungry because of an insulin shock.

- Drink a lot of water until imsak (the beginning of fasting) time. Also put a glass of warm milk on her daily sahur menu. While good for fetal growth, milk will also prevent her from getting anemia.