Indian Hair Secrets

ms_kenesha

New Member
Diet:
Diet plays an important role in keeping hair beautiful. Diet rich in iron, proteins, vitamins and minerals help hair to be beautiful. Eat a lot of salads, green vegetables, carats, peanuts, soya beans, peas, spinach and sprouted cereals. Drink atleast a glass full of milk daily. Drinking carat juice and limejuice is good for hair.

Effective hair care requires cleansing, toning, conditioning and oiling of hair in a regular fashion.

Hair cleansing:
Regular washing of hair with Samrat Shikakai Powder/Shikakai Paste frees it from dirt and provides a shiny look. But remember wrong products are detrimental to hair.

Hair Toning:
Toning is done through gentle massage of hair. It helps to stimulate and helps to improve blood circulation leading to healthy growth of hair.

Oiling:
Oiling of hair is emphasized right from the childhood. Oiling strengthens the hair roots, removes dryness, gets rid of dandruff, repairs hair damage and improves hair quality.

Hair conditioning:
Conditioning of hair imparts a soft, smooth and lustrous touch to the hair. It is advisable to condition the hair after every wash.
Take ½ part of Samrat Shikakai powder, one part of henna powder, ½ part amla powder, and juice of one fresh lemon. Add boiled water to form a smooth paste, apply it on hair when it is lukewarm. Leave it for 20-30 minutes and then rinse thoroughly with plain water.
Another method of hair conditioning is, take mehandi and one small spoonful of castor oil or olive oil, mix these with lukewarm milk, make a paste and apply it on hair. After 20 minutes wash it, wrap a towel drenched with hot water around your head to blot out the oil and moisture.

To have straight hair:
1. Leave your hair to dry naturally after washing.
2. Never comb, braid/plait hair when it is wet, as wet hair takes any shape in which it is twisted or turned.
3. Use wide toothed comb to brush your hair while drying.

To avoid split ends:
1. Hair should be trimmed regularly (atleast ½ an inch at the edges)
2. If hair is left dry it leads to split ends, therefore massage the hair lightly with lukewarm coconut oil or olive oil once in a week
3. Rubbing of hair after washing leads to split end. Tugging wet hair pulls it out. Therefore natural drying or drying with hair dryer is always preferred.
4. Avoid combing hardly.

Bringing bounce to lifeless hair:
Rinsing hair after wash with one table spoon of vinegar in a mug of water helps to give bounce to dull, lifeless hair, it also helps in restoring the acid mantle of the hair that has just been washed away.
Rinsing hair with neem water gives a soft look to the hair.
Boil water with some tea leaves and shower with that water this will give a softer hair.

Hair loss:
Normally we loose 30-40 hair everyday, there is no need to panic on this. Lack of calcium and proteins can result in greater loss.

Check hair loss:
Boil few hibiscus flowers in coconut oil till it is completely charred and black. Filter and use it as hair oil. This checks hair drop considerably.
Grind coconut and squeeze milk from ground coconut and apply to hair and comb for 5 minutes and wash with Shikakai Powder/Shikakai Paste after 45min. or 1 hr. This reduces hair dropping and helps hair to grow thick.

Make Your Hair Bounce :
If your hair is dull and lifeless, you can make it bounce again with this simple method. Soak 1 tbsp. methi seeds in water overnight. Grind this to a paste and rub into your scalp. Wash it with Shikakai Powder/Shikakai Paste after half an hour. Again wash your hair with a mixture of vinegar and lemon juice in a bucket of water.

Dry hair:
If your problem is dry hair, first massage coconut or olive into your scalp. Then soak a towel in hot water, squeeze it and apply around your hair for 15 minutes. This hot-towel therapy is popular in the west also. Then massage scalp once again and wash it with Samrat Shikakai Powder/Shikakai Paste.
If you have a dry hair do not dry your hair with hair dryer after wash. Dry by sun or by fan air.
Use soft combs.
Condition your hair once in two weeks.
Take a high protein diet.

Dandruff:
Massage with carrot juice to scalp once in a week to cure dandruff.
Mix 3 tbsp of lime juice with ¼ cup coconut oil and massage to scalp. Wash it after 1 hour.

Thick hair:
Grind coconut and squeeze milk and boil that milk. After some time the water will evaporates and you will get the oil. Massage that oil on your scalp and wash it with Shikakai Powder/Shikakai Paste after 1 hr.
 

ms_kenesha

New Member
Also on the site:

Shikakai in olden days had lot of traditional values. During festivals, especially in South India, people would make it a point to apply castor oil or coconut oil to their hair/body, first thing in the morning. After an hour or so they have bath-using Shikakai. This process is known as “OIL BATH”. In South India, no festival is complete without family members having OIL BATH. By doing so it is believed to keep a person cool and tension free.

It's so funny that a lot of stuff we do on this site women with traditions of beautiful hair have a long history of doing like castor oil, coconut oil, olive oil, etc. It seems that with technology came cheap unworthy substitute hair care items
 

TinyT

New Member
This is very interesting. I am always at the indian markets. Maybe I will try the conditioning method and see how it works.
 

Ayeshia

New Member
My fiend Neha (it mans rain) is originally from india and she uses coconut oil and eats shredded coconuts all the time and she uses products from Ayurveda i think thats how you spell it. Her hair is really thick and long.
 

ms_kenesha

New Member
[ QUOTE ]
Rythim said:
Where can I purchase the products you are speaking about?

[/ QUOTE ]

The products are sold in India, but I'm sure their must be Indian markets that sell that brand as well. If you're just looking for some of the products and not the brand do a search on Shikaki powder, etc. their are places that are in the US and ship to the US.
 

DDHair

New Member
With the hair straightening thing, don't a majority of Indians have straight hair? I wonder would this apply for hair that naturally has a shape, all I am picturing is big fro, lol.
 

MariahB2KFan

New Member
Well DDHair, It depends where they are from. The fairer or lighter ones in the north tend to have straight hair. In most cases, the ones in the south have it wavy or curly. Just like in the case of my best friend Kathy. Her family is from southern India, and she has this gorgeous waist-length, curly, thick, hair. To straighten it, she has to use a blow dryer or flat iron.
 

happylocks

New Member
I started eating more Dal (beans) and I am not giving up my Amla oil, eating fresh coconut is not easy I dont know how to cut it correctly but I bought two of them.
 

Puddles

On Cloud 9
Thick hair:
Grind coconut and squeeze milk and boil that milk. After some time the water will evaporates and you will get the oil. Massage that oil on your scalp

[size=+1]My mom is from Panama and she says this is what her mom and grandmother did all the time to their hair.[/size]
 

Valerie

Well-Known Member
You can probably buy coconut milk and do the same think. I saw something like this in a Asian beauty book.
 

kiesha8185

Active Member
Check hair loss:
Boil few hibiscus flowers in coconut oil till it is completely charred and black. Filter and use it as hair oil. This checks hair drop considerably.
Grind coconut and squeeze milk from ground coconut and apply to hair and comb for 5 minutes and wash with Shikakai Powder/Shikakai Paste after 45min. or 1 hr. This reduces hair dropping and helps hair to grow thick.

I do this :yep:

This is known to promote growth, prevent shedding, darken the hair, and thicken the hair.

I'm so lucky to have a hibiscus tree right in my back yard!!
 
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