Natural Ingredients for Your Hair Care

Natural Ingredients for Your Hair Care

Henna Powder

Any tips you hear from anybody are suggestive; you can try them, but if they don’t work for you, ditch them!

1. Shea Butter:
Comes from a tree native to Africa which has soothing, moisturizing and protecting effects, also known as Butyrospermum Parkii. It displays a protective role against UV rays because of its cinnamic acid content. Shea Butter returns luster to skin and hair, and also protects the skin and scalp, especially in over-processed and/or heat treated hair.

2. Chamomile:
Is a member of the daisy family and is an herb that purifies, calms and soothes with virtually no adverse effects so it can be used for long periods of time. The active ingredients in chamomile are called essential oils and flavonoids which are good for healing skin and scalp irritations.

3. Sunflower Oil:
Has high amounts of Vitamins A, B, D and E, minerals, lecithin, insulin, and unsaturated fatty acids and is an excellent moisturizer because of its emollients. Emollients are known to soften skin and hair without leaving an oily residue.

4. Avocado Oil:
Is a rich heavy oil, more penetrating than most oils. It is therefore good for dry hair and skin. It is obtained from the pulp of the avocado pear and has a deep green color. It is stable, natural oil, rich in vitamin E. Avocado also contains Vitamins A, B1, B2, D, and Beta carotene. It is classified as monosaturated oil and is best suited for dry hair and skin.

5. Witch Hazel:
Is extracted from the bark and leaves of the Hamamelis tree and is an astringent and gentle cleanser which removes build-up on the hair as well as the scalp; it also helps to fight dandruff.

6. Olive Oil:
Is obtained directly from the olive after it has been harvested. It is made into a paste from which the oil is collected. Olive oil conditions and improves the strength and elasticity of the hair, helping to prevent breakage. It’s also very good for "frizzy" and damaged hair. 

Image source:By I, Alex Ex, CC BY 2.5, $3  Olive oil  https://en.wikipedia.org/

7. Honey:
Naturally attracts and holds moisture. It is also a natural antiseptic and contains antioxidants. Honey is packed with vitamins and minerals such as magnesium, potassium, calcium, sulphur, iron, zinc and vitamins B1, B2, B3, which aid in hair growth. It can be added to conditioners, rinses and pomades.

8. Aloe Vera:
Known as the true or medicinal aloe, aloe vera is a species of succulent plants now widely used as a moisturizer and can also be used as a gel to re-twist locked hair. Aloe Vera is also used for soothing the skin, and keeping the skin moist while eliminating the risk of flaky scalp in harsh and dry weather.

9. Henna and ayurvedic herbs:
Henna and ayurvedic herbs will strengthen your hair, add gorgeous shine, protect it from the elements, and help it grow stronger, longer and healthier. There will be persons who don’t want color. There are other ayurvedic herbs that are perfect to use for their varying needs and give you all the benefits of using henna.

a. Organic Cassia Obovata: This herb has all the benefits of henna, but it doesn't color dark toned hair. It has a very low yellow dye molecule and it will show on blond or grey hair with a golden tone. It isn’t as long term as henna and should be used every 3-4 weeks. This is a staple ayurvedic herb, as is henna, when recommending herbal hair treatments. This herb and henna can be used with any other herbs. Can be mixed and used within 15 minutes. For golden tones you can allow dye release from 3-4 hours. It will not lighten hair.

b. Organic Amla Powder: This herb is widely use to promote hair growth. It also tones down the red of henna. Some don’t want the amla to affect their color results, so they can use it as a separate hair treatment, especially so if they want to tighten up their curls from the loosening affects of henna. Amla can be added directly to the henna powder or cassia obovata. Can be mixed and used within 15 minutes.

c. Shikakai: It helps strengthen hair from its roots. It is known as a natural hair cleanser and has a very low pH. It won’t strip the hair of its natural oils, and also acts as a detangler. Can be mixed and used within 15 minutes.

d. Brahmi: This herb makes hair denser, long, shiny and dark toned. Controls dandruff, reduces premature grey, reduces the amount of hair hair loss, and strengthens hair at its roots. Can be mixed and used within 15 minutes.

e. Bhringraj: It helps prevent hair loss, stops premature graying, and helps get rid of dandruff. Can be mixed and used in 15 minutes

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Hair Care Tips For Any Length and Style

Hair Care Tips For Any Length and Style

Regardless of its length or style, we all want one thing: a healthy, great looking head of hair. But the first step to having healthy, luxurious hair is to know its exact type. Is it oily, dry or normal? It your hair naturally curly or straight? Are you troubled by dandruff? Has your hair been processed in some way? Is it brittle or strong? Knowing your true starting point will allow you to better care for your hair and keep it looking its absolute best.

With short hairstyles, it’s important to protect your hair and your scalp every time you are in the sun. Look for protective styling products, and be sure to wear a hat to avoid sunburn. If your hair is short and curly, you should know that curly hair tends to break easier and needs more moisture than other types of hair.The key to keeping medium-length to long hair beautiful and healthy looking is to protect it from split ends and becoming brittle. The longer hair is, the heavier it is, and as a result, more prone to breakage. If you have long or medium-length hair, never use a rubber band to pull your hair back into a ponytail as they can pull and damage hair. Instead, use a something elastic that is covered in a soft cloth to avoid breaking the delicate hair shafts.

Here are a few simple do’s and don’ts to remember for every length and style of hair :


6 Essential Hair Care Do’s :

- Do gently brush your hair each night before going to bed as it will stimulate blood flow to your scalp and promote healthy hair growth.

- Do be sure to hold the hair dryer at least six to eight inches away from your hair and keep it moving at all times to avoid scorching the hair.

- Do gently wash your hair using a mild shampoo suitable for your type of hair with lukewarm water.

- Do use a conditioner to keep your hair manageable, healthy, and free of tangles.

- Do be sure to drink plenty of water and follow a balanced diet. Many people aren’t aware of the important role that proper nutrition plays regarding healthy hair care. Water is essential to keep your body and hair properly hydrated.

- Do try to avoid touching your hair unnecessarily as the oils from your hands can cause your hair to lose its luster and become dirtier faster.

6 Essential Hair Care Don’ts :

- Don’t brush wet hair, use a comb instead to avoid pulling and risking breakage.

- Don’t blow-dry your hair every day, the constant heat will cause it to become brittle and prone to breakage. Likewise, use your curling iron on the lowest possible setting.

- Don’t over process your hair using strong dyes and chemicals. If you do relax your hair or have it permanently waved, be sure to wait as long as possible in between treatments to avoid over processing and damage.

- Don’t change your hair color to more than three shades, in either direction, lighter or darker, to avoid excessive damage.

- Don’t wash your hair in extra hot water, instead use warm, and use cool water for the final rinse.
- Don’t allow stress to adversely affect your health, including your hair.

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HAIRFALL AND EARLY GREYING OF HAIR

HAIRFALL AND EARLY GREYING OF HAIR

The hair root is encased in a follicle that is nourished by blood vessels. A youthful scalp contains approximately 100,000 to 200,000 hairs. Normally, an average person loses about 50-100 strands daily and the average hair grows only half an inch per month. Excessive loss or absence of hair is called as 'alopecia or balding'. Common causes of hairfall and early pecacu are-inadequate nutrition, heredity, stress, high fever, hormonal imbalance, side effect of some medication (cytotoxic agents, anticoagulants, antithyroid drug s and oral contraceptives) and certain illnesses (like anemia, thyroid disorders, autoimmune disorders, etc.). Alopecia areata appears as sharply defined non-inflamed bald patches on the scalp. Alopecia totalis is a condition where there is total or complete loss of the scalp hair and alopecia universalis signifies a complete loss of hair all over the body. Avoid massaging the scalp vigorously. Massage the scalp gently with the fingertips. This increases the circulation and thus helps provide proper nutrition (through a blood circulation) to the hair follicle. Comb or brush the hair when it is dry since grooming it when wet can lead to breaking of the hair. Do not blow-dry the hair on a high setting.

SOME HOME REMEDIES
1. Increase the intake of alfalfa sprouts, barley (jau) and oats, wheat germ, fish, meat, liver, cheese, milk, ghee, butter, eggs, fresh fruit (especially citrus fruits) or vegetable juices, green vegetables, parsley, broccoli, green pepper, peas, beans, prunes (dried plums), some berries and black currants. Avoid salt, spicy, hot and pungent food as far as possible. Taking a well -balanced diet with adequate proteins and iron, consisting especially of servings of seeds, nuts, grains, fresh vegetables, fish, chicken and fruits.

2. Washing the hair with a paste of cooked black gram (urad dal) and fenugreek (methi) lengthens the hair.

3. Applying aloe vera gel on the scalp is useful for hair growth.

4. Apply fresh coconut milk to the hair roots all over the scalp twice a week for increasing the hair growth. Coconut milk is prepared by grinding the coconut shavings and squeezing it well to remove the milk.

5. A mixture of lettuce and spinach (palak) juice, atleast half a litre daily helps to increase the growth of hair.

6. Lemon juice when taken internally or rubbed on the scalp at night proves to be useful to reduce the hairfall.

7. Drink a glass of water containing one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. Also apply vinegar to the bald spots with the help of a toothbrush.

8. Grapefruit (chakotra) juice if taken daily gives some relief.

9. Make a mixture of half a cup of castor oil (arandi), one cup of olive oil and two cups of coconut oil. Heat this and then store it and apply it after it cools.

10. Apply a sliced onion over the bald spots in the evening and wash it the next morning.

11. Using Indian gooseberry (amla) oil, made by boiling the dry Indian gooseberry fruits in coconut oil, is an effective remedy for stimulating hair growth. A mixture of an equal quantity of fresh Indian gooseberry juice and limejuice, used as a shampoo, also stimulates hair growth and prevents hair loss.

12. Grind a few pieces of liquorice (mulethi) in milk with a pinch of saffron and this paste is then applied over the bald patches at night before going to bed.

13. A fine paste is made from pigeon pea (arhar dal) or red gram and applied regularly on bald patches.

14. Local application of til oil helps one get rid of early pecacu.

15. Fresh leaf juice of amaranth (chauli) when applied to the hair will promote hair growth and make the hair softer.

16. Massage a beaten egg  on the head and then rinse it out and shampoo it.

17. Washing the hair with a decoction of the leaves of the Margosa (Neem) tree will stop the hair from falling and stabilize its blackness. It will also kill the lice and make the hair longer.

18. Henna leaves (mehndi) are ground to a paste and this is then boiled in mustard oil and the darkish oil is then filtered and used to blacken grey hair. The paste is applied to the hair and washed away after a few hours to dye the hair.

19. Make a mixture from two tablespoons of vodka and one tablespoon of honey and one tablespoon of onion juice and apply it on the scalp daily.

20. The seeds of lime and black pepper seeds are ground and made into a paste by adding it to plain water or ginger juice. This paste is applied on the bald  patches once  or twice daily for a few weeks to encourage growth of new hair

21. Coconut milk is applied all over the scalp and massaged into the hair roots. Coconut milk is prepared by grinding the coconut shavings and squeezing them well.In pure coconut oil, the following ingredients are boiled-dry pieces of gooseberry, a few crushed capsules of Harir with red hibiscus flowers till the solid matter turns black. The oil is filtered and stored and is to be applied twice daily for a few months.

22. Crush raw fruit of Indian gooseberry (amla) and apply over the head and allow it to dry for a few hours and then wash it off. This is a useful method for preventing premature pecacu of hair.

23. Increase the intake of chutney made from curry leaves for hair growth since these leaves provide good strength and vitality to hair roots.

24. Wash the hair with concentrated tea extract twice a week. This will gradually change the hair color from brown to black.

25. In the olden days it was said that rubbing the nails of your palms with each other for three minutes continuously at least thrice daily helps hair growth.

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Hair removal Methods

Hair removal Methods

Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Creative_Commons

Hair removal has been around for centuries, perhaps, some contend, since the dawn of humankind. Tools once thought to be used for scraping fur from animal skins were discovered to contain human hair and are now believed to have been used as crude razors for shaving the face 20,000 years ago. Threading and sugaring, both ancient methods used in the Middle East, are still used today. Ancient Egyptians waxed hair off with beeswax and sported clean, shaven faces as status symbols. Ancient Sumerians and Romans tweezed eyebrows and facial hair. In the modern United States, people continue to develop and improve hair-removal methods for home use, whether through improved shaving tools, depilatories, or home-waxing products.

Before choosing a method it may be a good idea to at least know what the options are.  Here is a list of the various methods for hair removal.
Summary of Hair Removal Methods 

Shaving: This is the most common, it’s the cheapest and it’s the one that has the least amount of lasting effects.  Most people that shave must shave every day and sometimes twice depending on their tolerance and speed of re-growth.  Whether with an electric razor or blade –we will not distinguish here.

Creams: A common product like Nair on the body (never on the face) can remove hair for a longer period than shaving.  The creams penetrate further into the hair follicle and remove all of the hair where shaving does not.  There are also prescription creams that can be used on the face but seems like a lot of effort and cost so we won’t address those in this guide just wanted to acknowledge that they exist.

Epilators: There are many epilators on the market - these are electric devices that rip the hair from the root.  They hurt, but they are as good as waxing.  So they can last for 4-6 weeks before you experience re-growth.

Waxing: This is the process of spreading hot wax on your body and then taking strips to place on top of the wax that then adheres to the hair and to the strip. Then you pull the strip removing the wax and hair from your skin. This can hurt

Home Laser: These are temporary devices contrary to what the infomercials may tell you.   They are epensive and the laser does have a life to it so eventually it will have to be replaced. They basically accomplish the same results as Epilators and waxing

Tweezing: Yes people tweeze.  This is more commonly done on brows.  There is no difference in threading and tweezing.  It’s just a technique.  They both are effective. Some people do tweeze their body or face for a stray hair here or there.

Professional Laser: This is using one of the many laser methods at a clinic.  This has some lasting effects but does not permanently remove hair.

Electrolysis: Permanently removes hair if there are the right techniques and the right number of treatments employed.

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