Hair today... gone tomorrow?

Hair problems like hair fall, dandruff and damaged colored hair are prevalent today due to factors like exposure to pollution, stress, hard water and repeated coloring or bleach. This obviously is bad news for all of us (except of course for the shampoo and conditioner companies who are striving on this!)

What can we do to combat this? Should we just blindly keep trying different products and pray that one of them works for us or is there anything else concrete that can be done to make a positive difference to our hair.

Hair can be cared for externally and also internally - both of which are equally important. What do I mean by externally and internally - well externally is for what we do physically to the hair and internally by what we consume such that our hair is well cared for. Having healthy food habits and lifestyle can actually improve your hair quality!

Here are some tips for having healthy hair:

• Oil massage your hair one hour before you shampoo it (at least twice a week)
• Eat food items rich in protein like sprouts, curd and soya for strong and shiny hair
• Wash your hair with hibiscus powder (this is easily available in the market) for reducing hair fall and thickening of hair
• For making your hair shiny, use vinegar and water or beer for the final rinse of your hair

Home remedy for dandruff:

Mix half a bowl of curd with few drops of lemon juice and 1-2 teaspoon of mustard oil. Apply this pack all over your scalp and hair. Leave in for one hour and then shampoo.

In addition to making your hair dandruff free, this also gives a good shine to your hair.