Hair Care

Dry Shampoo – What is it and should you use it?

Swathy · April 17, 2010 · 2 Comments

Ok, so shampooing is a really bad practice to follow everyday with products laden with loads of chemicals. But, we can not leave our hair dirty just so. So, Dry Shampoo is becoming popular as one of the ways to get rid of the oil (greasy hair) and dust in the hair.

What is Dry Shampoo?

It is a mix of ingredients which are good at soaking oil in the hair and trapping dust so that they can be brushed off immediately. Most common of the homemade dry shampoo are corn meal, baby powder, orris root powder and ground oatmeal. You can store mix these ingredients or use them individually. You can also mix hair-nourishing ingredients like essential oils or aloevera gel. The powder soaks the oil from your scalp and also the dirt from your hair strands.

How to use a Dry Shampoo?

The quantity of powder to be used depends on the length of hair. Take two heaped spoons of the Dry Shampoo you have made for hair length which reaches up to mid-waist. Increase accordingly for longer lengths. But, make sure you do not get too much on your hair. It would become difficult to brush off. Rub most of it on the scalp. And, put some on your hair strands. Now, brush your hair to free it of tangles and spread the Dry Shampoo evenly on your scalp and along the hair body. Let it stay for 10-15 minutes. After the waiting time is over, flip over your head and brush off all the shampoo from your hair. Keep brushing till you are sure your hair and scalp gets rid of the shampoo. Your hair should look clean instantly.

Advantages of using Dry Shampoo

saves a lot of time so is best as a quick fix
hair-nourishing ingredients can be fed to hair anytime
can add volume to hair and make hair look puckered up

Disadvantages of using Dry Shampoo

is lot messy and needs a lot of cleaning up to do
may not suit some of the hair types as it can be little drying

Most Important: Dry Shampoo, since being a mixture of various ingredients in their powdered form, when applied to scalp may sit on the scalp and not get brushed off effectively. This causes the hair follicles to clog and the scalp to become dry. And, ultimately, it needs a proper shampooing regimen. If Dry Shampoo is used quite frequently, it can lead to severely clogged pores and other scalp problems like dryness, itchy scalp or scaly scalp. It can, also, effect the hair growth and health of the hair overall. So, in my viewpoint, Dry Shampoo should only be used when there is an extreme emergency. Otherwise, either stick to shampooing your hair alternate days or you might consider co-washing your hair regularly.

Lakme Vital Indulgence: Review

Swathy · March 20, 2010 · 2 Comments

I recently received a booklet of Lakme coupons for free and the coupons gave good bargain prices. So, I went to Lakme Salon a few weeks back to make use of the coupons. Vital Indulgence had struck me particularly so I opted for the service. I thought it must be a luxurious kind of a facial but instead it turned out to be a hair loss treatment. I, nevertheless, decided to go with the service as I have thin hair.

The treatment started with a hair wash using a hair fall control shampoo from Schwarzkopf, a German company. Then, the lady attending me blow dried my hair and gave me a high frequency scalp treatment. A high frequency (violet rays) current was powered with the help of a vacuum (pipet look-alike) tube. The power of the current was adjusted according to the body tolerance and the tube was moved along whole of my scalp for 5 -7 minutes. This high frequency treatment is believed to kill the bacteria on the scalp. The scalp infections or bacterial growth on the scalp is one of the main causes for hair loss and thin hair. The bacteria inhibit the healthy growth of your hair. The high frequency current also stimulates your hair follicles and helps in detoxification process of the follicles.After that a hair growth serum, again from Schwarzkopf, was applied thoroughly on my scalp directly from the nozzle by partitioning my hair in different sections. This took around 10 – 15 minutes on me. And, I got a good massage starting from my scalp to the end of my back for around 15 – 20 minutes. It was pure heaven. After the massage, I was given an infrared radiation therapy for 5 minutes. The infrared light heats up the scalp and is able to penetrate to two inches in our body. This gives a deep conditioning treatment to the hair to ensure the complete absorption of the hair growth serum. And, finally, my hair was nicely styled.

And, if you are thinking about the potential effects of the high frequency current or infrared radiation therapies on the body, I can assure you that they are most commonly used therapies to eradicate scalp infections and promote hair growth. They do not possess any dangers to the human body. Infrared radiation, unlike the ultra-violet radiation, is used in the daily lives in forms of thermal radiation and is not cancerous. So, the Vital Indulgence treatment is perfectly safe and I can venture to say useful for people suffering from severe hair loss. I have taken only one sitting till now. And, it costs 800 Indian Rupees. The results may be visible after a certain number of sittings depending on the quality and condition of the hair.

Home Remedy for Hair Loss

Swathy · March 20, 2010 · 28 Comments

I will be sharing with you a very simple home remedy for hair loss and promote hair growth.

Collect the lime seeds and dry them in the sun for a day or two.
Mix the lime seeds with black pepper seeds and grind them or powder them.
You can store the powder for use but not more than a month. It is better to make a fresh batch every time.
For application, take an adequate quantity of the powder to cover whole of you scalp and mix it with water to make a paste. Apply everyday on the scalp for 30 minutes to 1 hour. And, if not everyday, make sure you use it once a week. Wash off with cold water. You need not follow it with shampoo.
Alternatively, you can take all the seeds (lime, black pepper and fengreek). Soak them in water overnight. Make a paste of the ingredients. Apply it on the scalp. Best results if done at least thrice a week.