Hair Care!
Monsoons come and our search for natural hair care tips begin!
Monsoons are probably the worst season for hair, for after the scorching summer when heat and dehydration have done enough damage to the scalp and hair, excess humidity loosens the hair follicle and hair fall off very easily.
Well, nature has a cure for almost everything if we take timely precautions, here are some natural hair care tips that will definitely help you overcome monsoon hair miseries.
Precaution is always better than cure!
Avoid Exposure to Heat: Excessive heat is always damaging to the hair. Whether it is exposure to the sun, blow-drying, straightening or curling, or hot showers, heat damages the hair.
Just the way heat would damage and dehydrate your skin and cause wrinkles, heat dehydrates the hair cuticle, and as a result, it loses elasticity, becomes brittle, wavy or curly and weak and easily breaks.
Wearing a hat or a scarf while going out in the sun, using normal to tepid water for washing hair and avoiding or reducing heat treatment will definitely reduce damage and help you maintain healthy hair and scalp.
Hair Treatment
Old Fashioned Oiling
There is no alternative better than oiling the hair. Oil gives a protective film to the hair, and the fatty acids in different oils penetrate the hair cuticle, give elasticity and lubrication while delivering essential nutrients they carry.
Oiling also reduces the damage caused by synthetic shampoos and hair products by closing the pores in the cuticle. Oiling is probably one of the best ways to protect your long beautiful hair from the effects of harsh chemicals that take away the natural sebum or oil present in hair and skin.
Oils that are good for hair include coconut, castor, black sesame, olive, walnut, and nigella combined with essential oils and herbs like Rosemary, sage, Brahmi etc. You can use single or combination of oils according to the season and your individual constitution.
Use Herbs for Nourishment
In India we have many common garden plants that are excellent for hair, probably we do not make as much use of local flora oblivious to their wondrous properties for hair and skin. Here are three commonly available herbs one can pick anytime from a kitchen or home garden to use in hair care remedies.
- Neem always captures the top position in all natural hair care tips. Whether it is monsoon, summer or winter, Neem is always available and always beneficial. You could use Neem oil or Neem leaf juice or Neem leaf decoction to reap the numerous benefits of Neem in hair and skincare.
Neem leaves can be boiled or soaked overnight and that water can be used for shampoo or bath.
- Hibiscus is used for shine, strength and to give a vitamin boost for the hair. Rich in Vitamin C, iron and antioxidants, hibiscus enhances color, luster, and elasticity. Hibiscus can be added to hair oil, can be made into a decoction for a rinse or ground into a paste to make a hair mask. You can use Hibiscus flower as well as leaves as the leaves are also packed full of antioxidants and saponins.
- Aloe Vera is rich in enzymes, saponins, fatty acids, mineral compounds, amino acids, salicylic acids and much more, which makes it indispensable in skin care and in natural hair care tips. It also penetrates various layers of skin and hair and makes for an excellent carrier of nutrients for the body.
Aloe can be mixed with other herbs like hibiscus, neem, amla etc to make an extremely healthy hair mask for hair. On its own aloe juice can be added to the last rinse while washing hair to give conditioning to the hair.
Give a calcium boost
According to Ayurveda hair and nails are by-products of bones. If your bones are healthy, your hair will naturally be healthy. Application of milk, yogurt or buttermilk nourishes the hair to the core. Probiotic enzymes and proteins in dairy help strengthen and thicken the hair along with providing shine and moisture to your locks.
The other sources of calcium for hair are sesame seed oil, eggs, Moringa leaf juice, these can be incorporated in your hair care remedies to promote hair growth and feed you hair externally.
Nourishing Diet
There is nothing, which will work, topically in the long term if your body’s immunity and internal organs are weak. As we know that our hair and skin are reflections of the internal functioning of our body, we must nourish the body inside out to achieve long-lasting effects in anti-aging and beautification.
Your diet should be in accordance with your Prakriti or nature. We can know very easily the foods that do not suit our constitution, if a food is giving you gas, bloating, heartburn, fatigue, or any kind of discomfort, it is not right for you.
For healthy skin and hair, the body’s digestive system has to proper functioning. When digestion is poor, there is hardly an assimilation of nutrients in the body, which reflects in the condition of our skin and hair.
A combination diet of fresh and properly cooked foods, dairy, green vegetables and fruits, nuts, seeds, and fats will not only strengthen the immune system but also slow down the aging process, of which thinning of hair, hair fall and gray of hair is a part. Remember to soak all nuts and seeds for better assimilation of nutrients in them.
Switch to Organic/Chemical free options
Our bodies have to work overtime in combating the harmful of chemicals that most of our foods and skin or hair care products are laden with these days. That not only tires the body but also fastens the aging process. As much as possible try to buy natural hair care products that are devoid of harmful synthetically derived ingredients most cosmetics are made of.
No matter how many natural hair care tips you adopt and make use of, if you are using shampoos, conditioners, serums made of harmful synthetic ingredients like silicones, sulfates, phthalates, PEGs, synthetic quats, you are nullifying the effects of your labor and time you invested in practicing natural hair care.
So my best advice to you would be to turn to Nature and get rid of any toxins in the body by eliminating harmful chemicals from your foods and personal care products.
