Home-made Hair Care Recipes

Regular care is essential to keep your hair looking good and free from problems. Actually, the hair attracts dirt and pollutants from the environment these settle on the scalp and can cause hair problems. In your home and right there on the kitchen shelf are some of the most powerful natural ingredients for hair care. From a quick fix to long term treatments, beauty care and remedies are so easily available to us. In fact, long before cosmetics were manufactured, women looked towards home remedies to enhance their beauty, or to deal with beauty problems. One such common ingredient that is available in the home is garlic, which is said to be beneficial for the hair and can actually control hair loss and help to promote hair growth. Research has indicated that garlic helps hair growth because it contains important properties like selenium and sulphur. Actually, these properties not only help to stimulate hair growth and reduce bald patches, but also strengthen the hair. You can make hair oil at home, which is infused with garlic. This can be done by chopping garlic cloves in small pieces and add it to pure coconut oil or olive oil. Keep it in a jar and store for seven to ten days in a cool, dry place. Or, you can mix chopped garlic with warm coconut oil. Massage the oil on the scalp half an hour before your shampoo. Hot oil therapy is also important for hair growth. The application of oil with a light massage stimulates blood circulation to the hair follicles. Avoid vigorous massage or rubbing of the hair. Using your finger tips, actually move the scalp in small rotary movements. Heat pure coconut oil and apply on the hair. Then, 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. This helps the hair and scalp absorb the oil better.
For dandruff and itching on the scalp, simmer Neem leaves in water and leave overnight to cool. Next day, make a paste of the Neem leaves and apply on the hair like a pack. Wash hair with plain water after 20 minutes. It is said that coconut milk promotes hair growth. You can apply coconut milk on the hair at night. Leave on overnight and wash hair the next morning. Coconut milk not only promotes hair growth, but also softens dry hair. Beat an egg with 2 tablespoons sesame seed (til) oil. Apply on the hair and again wrap a hot towel for 10 minutes. Eggs contain biotin, the vitamin which helps hair growth. They also contain protein and add body to the hair. Onion juice applied on the scalp is said to help hair growth, because onions contain sulphur. In South India, curry leaves (Kari Patta) are applied to promote hair growth. A paste made from the curry leaves may be added to yogurt and used as a pack for the hair. Or, mix it with aloe vera gel and then apply on the hair. It improves hair texture and also encourages hair growth. Twice a week, add coconut oil to the fresh curry leaves and boil them. This should be boiled till a black residue is formed. Cool the mixture and then add the black residue on the scalp. Keep it on for an hour and then wash the hair. Methi seeds can be powdered and added to a henna pack for dandruff and lice infestations. Add 4 teaspoons each of lemon juice and coffee, 2 raw eggs, one teaspoon methi seed powder and enough “tea water” to the henna powder, mixing it into a thick paste. “Tea water” can be made by boiling used tea leaves again in enough water, cooling and straining the liquid. If the hair is dry, add two teaspoons oil. Apply the henna on the hair and wash off after an hour. Remember that a healthy scalp grows healthy hair.
(The author is a beauty expert of Int’l repute. Views are her own)