Kitchen ingredients to revive your hair

Shahnaz Husain *

Every woman dreams of having a luscious, long, soft and healthy hair. Overexposure to harsh sunlight, weather changes, stress, inappropriate diets, pollution, chemical treatments and medical conditions makes our hair brittle, dull and and frizzy by nature even if you were born with gorgeous, lustrous hair. Damaged hair is extremely fragile and tends to break more easily.

Whether your hair is long or short, curly or straight, dealing with dryness is inevitable when your hair is constantly battered by heat styling tools, chemical treatments, and environmental pollution.

In our quest for gorgeous hair, every woman is ready to go to any length to cure and revive them with expensive salon treatments, medications and potions which promises to work wonders instantly but nothing works better than some patience and natural ingredients that are economical and often quite rewarding.

While it may take longer to see results, your hair will thank you in the long-term. Here's how to repair damaged hair with ingredients you most likely have in your kitchen.

The first thing to remember is that for healthy hair, the body must be in a state of good health. Hair is fed by the blood flowing to the follicles, which means that diet and good blood circulation are extremely vital for hair nourishment. The hair also needs external nourishment.

Right there on your kitchen shelf are many natural ingredients that can revitalize the hair. They not only nourish the hair but are also good cleansers, like egg white, lemon juice, gram flour (besan) or yoghurt. They also help to maintain the normal balances and condition the hair.

The application of oils also provides nourishment to the hair. Oil is a common kitchen ingredient. You can use sesame seed (til) oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, or almond oil, for the hair. Warm the oil and massage gently into the scalp, at bedtime, using the fingers to actually move the scalp.

Once or twice a week, heat pure coconut oil and apply on the hair and scalp. Apply on ends too. You could go for a turban therapy following this massage session. This works best for dry and under-nourished scalp.

For turban therapy, dip a towel in hot water, squeeze out the water and wrap the hot towel around the head, like a turban. Keep it on for 5 minutes. Repeat the hot towel wrap 3 or 4 times. Leave the oil on overnight.

Egg is one of the most versatile ingredients. It contains silicon, sulphur and fatty acids that help to nourish the hair. The white of the egg has a powerful cleansing action too. Applied on the hair 15 minutes before shampoo, the egg coats the hair shaft and adds thickness, shine and body.

Milk can easily be applied on the hair to nourish it and add body and shine. After shampoo, rinse the hair with milk and leave on for 5 minutes. Then rinse off with plain water. Beat an egg with a little milk to form a thickish consistency and apply it on the scalp and hair. After half an hour, rinse the hair well with water.

For dry, damaged hair with split ends: First cut off the split ends. Take one tablespoon almond oil and add 2 egg yolks. Mix together and apply on the hair. Apply on ends too. Wearing a plastic shower cap will help. Wash your hair after half an hour.

Both oily and dry hair can benefit from the application of yoghurt or curd on the hair and scalp. It helps to soften the hair, nourish it and also add body and shine. Curd also restores the normal acid-alkaline balance. Apply curd half an hour before shampoo. Rinse well with water when you shampoo your hair.

Banana pulp by itself can be applied on the hair, like a pack. It nourishes and conditions dry hair, adding body and shine. Take the pulp of two bananas, and add two teaspoons lemon juice. Mix together and apply on the hair. Leave it on for 20 minutes and then wash hair.

Ripe papaya is ideal as a nourishing and cleansing pack. It is particularly useful for removing scales that adhere to the scalp. For oily scalp and dandruff, mix ripe papaya pulp with gram flour and apple cider vinegar into a paste. Apply on the hair and wash off after half an hour.

Coconut milk is extremely nourishing and softening for the hair. It is said to control hair loss and promote growth, being rich in protein, essential fats, iron and manganese. Mix one cup coconut milk with powder of curry leaves and 2 tablespoons orange juice into a paste. Curry leaves are rich sources of beta-carotene and protein, which encourage healthy hair growth. Apply and leave on for one hour. Wash off.

The tannin in tea leaves helps to add shine to the hair if tea is used in hair rinses. Used tea leaves can be boiled again in enough water, cooled and strained and used as a last rinse after shampoo.

Gram Flour (besan) has a cleansing action and reduces oiliness. For a hair pack, mix a cup of curd, two teaspoons of besan, an egg white and the juice of half a lemon. If you have very dry hair, substitute the egg white with egg yolk or teaspoon of almond oil. Apply the paste on the hair and wash it off after half an hour.

For oily scalp and dandruff, mix ripe papaya pulp with gram flour, egg white and four teaspoons apple cider vinegar into a paste. Apply on the hair and wash off after half an hour.