Hair dye

A paste of henna leaves, boiled in coconut oil to get a darkish oil, can be used as a hair to blacken grey hair. The pate itself can be applied to the hair and washed away after a few hours. Washing the hair and concentrated tea extract twice a week it also considered useful in colouring grey hair to brown or black.

Walnut shells also make a harmless hair dye, which progressively adds colour to the hair. Before the nuts are ripe, the green outer shells should be crushed in a mortar and covered with water. A pinch of salt should be added. This should be allowed to stay for three days. Then, three cups of boiling water should be added and simmered for five hours, making sure to replace the evaporated water. The dark liquid should be extracted by twising the shells in a cloth. The separated liquid should be replaced in a pot again and reduced to a quarter of its volume. A little alum and glycerine should be added to soften the hair. At first , it will produce a somewhat yellowish effect, but it will finally give the hair a good deep black colour.

Dietary consideration

Diet is of utmost importance in the prevention and treatment of premature greying of hair, and persons suffering from this disorder should take a diet rich in all essential nutrients. The vitamins considered useful in premature greying of hair are pantothenic acid, para aminobenzoic acid or paba and inositol. To obtain satisfactory results, all three of theses vitamins, belonging to the B group, shoul be supplied at one time, preferably in a form which gives all B vitamins, such as yeast and live. The three anti-grey hair vitamins can also be produced in the intestinal tract by bacteria. Thus drinking a sufficient quantity of yoghurt daily and having a tablespoon of yeast before each meal will be an excellent remedy for the prevention and treatment of premature greying of hair.

Devitalised foods like white flour, refined sugar, and all products made from them, soft drinks, pastries, jams and jellies should be avoided. These foods, besides causing premature grey hair, take away energy, bring about wrinkles, unattractive skin, and premature old age.

Natural Remedies.

Certain home remedies have been found useful in the prevention and treatment of premature hgreying of the hair. The foremost amoung these is the use of the Indian goosebery (amla) which is a valuable hair tonic for enriching hair growth and hair pigmentation. The fruit cut into pieces, should be dried, preferably in the shade. Thesek pieces should be boiled in coconut oil till the solid matter becomes like charred dust. This darkish oil is very useful in preventing greying.

The water in which dried amla pieces are soaked overnight is also nourishing for the hair. [This water shpould be used as the last rinse while washing the hair.
Should be used at last rinse while washing the hair. Massaging the scalp with a teaspoon of amla juice, mixed with a teaspoon of almond oil or a ofew drops in the lime juice. every night, has proved beneficial in the prevention and treatment premature greying of hair.

Amaranth (chaulai-ka-saag) is useful in hair disordered. Application of the fresh juice of the leaves of this vegetable helps the hair to retain its blackw colour and prevents. premature greyimng. It also helps the growth of hair and keeps it soft.
Liberal intake of curry leaves [is considered beneficial in preventing premature greying of hair. These leaves give vitality and strenght to hair roots. New hair roots that grow are healthier with normal pigmant. The leaves can be used in the form of a chutney or many be squeezed in buttermilk. When the leaves are boiled in coconut oil, the oil forms an excellent hair tonic to stimulate hair growth and bring back hair pigmentation.

Ribbed gourd (torai) boiled in coconut oil is another effective remedy for premature greying of hair. Pieces of this vegetable should be dried inm the shade. These dried pieces should be soaked in coconut oil and kept aside for three or four days. The oil should then be boiled till the mass is reduced to a blackened residue. This oil should be massaged into the scalp. It will help enrich the hair roots and restore pigment to the hair.,

Premature Greying of Hair

The hair has a tendency to lose its natural colour with advancing age. It is therefore natural for the hair to turn grey with age. But premature greying is a morbid condition and it makes even the young look order.

Faulty diet and worries are the two primary causes of premature greying of hair. It is mainly due to the lack of some of the B vitamins, of iron, copper and iodine in the daily daily diet that leads to his hair disorder at a young age. Worries produce an extraordinary tension in the skin of the scalp which interferes with the supply of vital nutrition necessary for the health of hair. Similarly, anxieties, fear, jealousy and failures have adverse effects on the hair. They dry out the scalpular marrow, the vital sap at the root of the hair.

Other causes for premature greying of hair are the unclean condition of the scalp which weakens the roots of the hair as the pores are blocked by the collected dirt; washing the hair with hot water and drying it with electric dryers which emit a blast of hot air; use of hairdyes when the hair has just started greying; diseases like chronic cold, sinusitis, anaemia, chronic constipation; and the use of factory-made hair hair oils, which are generally cleaned with acids which have a tendency to remain in the oil. Heredity is yet another predisposing factor which gives rise to this ailment.

Natural Remedies

Several natural remedies have been found useful in the prevention and treatment of loss of hair. The most effective among thse remedies is a vigorous rubbing of the scalp with fingertips after washing the hair with cold water. The scalp should be rubbed vigorously till it starts to tingle with the heat. It will activate the sebaceous glands and nergise the circulation of blodd in the effected area, making the hair growth healthy.

The oil from the Indian gooseberry (amla), prepared by boiling dry pieces of amla in coconut oil, is considered a valuable hair tonis for enriching hair growth. A mixture of equal quantities of fresh amla huice, and lime juice used as a shampoo stimulates hair growth and prevents hair loss.

Lettuce (salad-ka-patta) is useful in preventing hair loss through deficiencies. A mixture of lettuce and spinach juice is said to help the growth of hair if drunk to the extent of half-a-litre a day. The juice of alfalfa (lucerne) in combination with thee juices is rich in elements which are particularly useful for the growth of hair. While preparing alfalfa juice, fresh leaves of the plant should be used.

Daily application of orefined coconut oil, mixed with lime water and lime juice on the hair, prevents loss of hair and lenthens it. Application of the juice of green coriander leaves on the head is also considerd beneficial.

Mustard oil, boiled with henna (mehndi) leaves, is useful for the healthy growth of hair. About 250 grams of mustard poil should be boiled in a tin basin. A little quantity of henna leaves should be gradually put in this oil till about 60 gram of these leaves are thus burnt in the oil. The oil should then be filtered through a cloth and stored well in a bottle. Regular massage of the head with this oil will produce abundant hair.

Another effective remedy for loss of hair is the application of coconut milk all over the scalp and massaging it into the hair roots. It will nourish the hair and promote hair growth. Coconut milk is prepared by grinding coconut shavings and squeezing it well.

Washing the hair with a paste of cooked black gram (urad dal) and fenugreek (methi) leaves lengthnes the hair. A fine paste made from pigeon pea or red gram (arhar dal) can also be apllied regularly with beneficial results on bald patches. Regular use of castor oil as a hair oil helps the luxuriant growth of the hair.
Certain remedias have also been found useful in case o patch loss of hair. The seeds of lime and black papper seeds, ground to a fine past, is a valuable remedy. This pastre, applied on the patches, has a mildly irriant action. This increases blodd circulation to the affected areas an stimulates hair growth. The paste should be applied twice a day for a few weeks.

Another useful remedy for the patchy loss hair is the paste of liqorice (mulethi) made by grinding the pieces in milk with a pinch of saffron. This paste should be apllied over the bald patches before going to bed at night.

2. Loss of Hair

Loss of hair at a very early age has become a common disorder thses days. It causes a great deal of concers to the affected persons, esp cially Indian women who regard thick long hair as a sign of beauty. The most important cause of loss of hair is inadequate nutrition. Even a partial lack of almost any nutrient may cause hair to all. Persons lacking vitamin B6 lose their hair and those deficient in folic acid become completely bald. But hair grows normally after the liberal intake of these vitamins.

Another important cause for the falling of hair is stress, such as worry, anxiety and sudden shock. Stress leads to severe tension in the skin of the scalp. This adversely affects the supply of essential nutrition required for the healthy growth of hair. General debility, caused by severe or long-standing illnesses like typhoid, syphilis, chronic cold, influnza and anaemia, also gives rise to this hair disorder. It makes the roots of the hair weak, resulting in the falling of hair. An unclean condition of the scalp cam also cause the loss of hair. It weakens the hair roots by blocking the pores with the collected dirt. Heredity is another predisposing factor which may cause hair to fall.

Treatment.

The healthy condition of the hair depends, to a very large extent, on the intake of sufficient amounts of essential nutrients in the daily diet. Hair is made of protein and adequate protein is necessary for luxuriant hair. Women require 60 grams, men 80 to 90 and adolescent boys and girls 80 to 100 grams of protein. Protein is supplied by milk, buttermilk, yoghurt, soyabean, eggs, cheese, meat and fish. A lack of vitamin A may cause the hair to be coarse and ugly. Adeficiency of some of the B vitamins, of iron, copper and iodine may cause hair disorders like falling of hair and premature greying of hair.
Women are generally deficient in iodine and vitamin B1, either of which slow down circulation to the scalp to such an extent that hair may fall out and new hair grows in vey slowly. Women who keep their diets adequate in iodine, the B vitamins and iron have better growth of hair.
Lack of inositol causes loss of hair. A person having trouble with his or her hair should eat foods rich in inositiol such yeast, liver and molasses.

Dietary Consideration

Diet plays as important role in the treatment of dandruff. To begin with, the patient should resort to an all-fruit diet for about five days. In this regimen, these should be tree meals a day, consisting of fresh, huicy fruits, such as apples, pears, graps, grapefruit, pine apple and peaches. Bananas and dried, stewed or tinned fruits should not be taken daily to cleans the bowels and all other measures adopted to eradicate constipation.

After all-fruit, the patient can gradually adopt a well-balanced diet. Emphasis should be on raw foods, especially fresh fruits and vegetables, sprouted seeds, raw nuts and whole grain cereals, particularly millet and brown rice. Further short periods on the all-fruits diet for three days or so may be necessary at a monthly interval, toll the skin's condition improves. Strict attention to diet is essential for recovery. Starchy, protein and fatty foods should be restricted. Meats, sugar, strong tea or coffee, condiments, pickles and refined and processed foods should be avoided, as also soft drinks, candies, ice-cream and all products made with sugar and white flour.

Exposure of the heat to the rays of the sun is also a useful measure in the treatment of dandruff. Simultaneously, an attempt should be made to keep the body in good health. This also healps clear dandruff.

Natural Remedies.

Numerous medicted shampoos are available in the market for the treatment of dandruff. Most of these, however, in the process of curing the disorder, cause irreparable damage to hair roots because of the synthetic ingredients contained in them. The treatment of dandruff has to be largely constitutional if a permanent cure is pdesired.

The foremost consideration in the teatment of this disorder is to keep the hair and scalp clean so as to minimise the accumulation of dead cells. The hair should be brushed daily to improve the circulation and remove any flackiness. The scalp should also be thoroughly massaged every day, using one's fingertips and working systematically over the head. the procedure for massaging the scalp has been explained in the previous chaptor.

Several home remedies have been found useful for treatment dandruff. The use of fenugreek (methi) seeds is one such remedy. Two tablespoons of these seeds should be soaked overnight in water . The softened seeds should ground into a fine paste in the morning and apllied all over the scalp. It should left on for half an hour, and hair should then be washed thoroughly with soap-nut (reetha) solution or shikakai.

The use of a teaspoon of fresh lime juice for the last rinse, while washing the hair, is equally beneficial. This not only leaves the hair glowing but also removes stickiness and prevents dandruff. Washing the hair twice a week with green gram (mung) powder mixed in curd is another useful prescription.

Dandruff can be removed by massaging one's hair for half an hour with curd which has been kept in the open for three days, or with a few drops of lime jice mixed with amla juice every night before going bed. An other measure which helps to counteract dandruff is to dilute cider vinegar with an equal quantity of water and dab this on to the hair with cotton wool in between shampooing. Cider vinegar added to the final rinse after shampooing also-helps to disperse dandruff.

Protection Against the Sun

The hair is constantly exposed to the environment as very few of us cover our hair. It can be damaged by over-exposure to the sun. The sun dries the hair, makes it dull, cause breakage and frays the ends. Sun damaged hair is weak and unhealthy. It is therefore esential to protect to protect the hair from the sun by covering it with a scarf or by using umbrella.

Hair Disorders And Their Natural Treatment

The hair, like the skin, is a barometer to the state of general health. Sickness, deficiencies and mental tension have an adverse effect on the health of the hair and lead to hair disorders. The more important of these disorders are dandruff, loss of hair and premature greying. These disorders and the natural remedies for their treatment are discussed this chapter.

1. Dandruff
Dandruff refers to the flaking of the scalp which falls like snow flacks and settles on one's brows, shoulders and cloths. Is is the greatest enemy of healthy hair. It assumes an unpleasant, irritating condition associated with bacteria in the case of excessive formation of scals with bacteria in the case of excessive formation of scales on the scalp. These scales are formed from the horney layer of the skin.
The scaliness increases whenever the hair is brushed or rubbed. It may also appear as lumps or crusts on the scalp. Often there is itching as well, and the scalp may become red from scratching.

The main causes of dandruff are impairment of general health, toxic condition of the system brought on mainly by wrong feeding, constipation and lowered vitality due to infectious diseases.
Other factors contributing to dandruff are emotionaltension, harsh shampoos, exposure to cold and general exhaustion.