hair oil

Which Shampoo to Use? {Reader’s Query}

Swathy · March 13, 2014 · 5 Comments

“Could you please suggest a shampoo for 8 yr old girls? I am using J&J baby shampoo still but I have started observing it is not working on their hair and cleaning it properly? I see dandruff also started developing in their scalps. Any remedy for that?”

Actually, I would suggest organic surge shampoo for anyone. I would say stay away from sls shampoos and get organic products. They help keeping the scalp healthy and moisturized. The dandruff being developed might be due to the dryness of the scalp as far as I understand. Do you oil their hair? I would suggest you to oil their hair regularly and then use shampoos. Or, you can also go for body shop or schwarzkopf shampoos but all of them are definitely expensive!!

Thanks so much for the reply! I’m oiling their hair with J&J baby hair oil only. Do you suggest any other oils (brands)? Also can you please recommend any brand for organic shampoo? I heard Body shop products have lot of chemicals and they tend to dry hair. I’ve no idea about schwarzkopf shampoo. Should I get one for me first and see 🙂

I would suggest you to go for pure coconut oil or such things instead of J&J baby oil and all. It has mineral oil and might not suit everyone. Also, if possible, I can suggest to you the bhringraj oil or neelibrigandi sort of oil from arya vaidya sala shop or website or even pure coconut or sesame or mustard oils from 24 letter mantra or any other organic brand. If you stay in Hyderabad or Bangalore, I can suggest you to check out goodseeds website. And, for arya vaidya sala, they have lot of shops in Hyderabad and Bangalore as far as my knowledge goes.

Check out the following:
www.aryavaidyasala.com/(S(emocbj45sqglubyiy2aeivib))/Index.aspx
https://www.facebook.com/goodseeds

And, regarding organic shampoo, I would say Organic Surge brand is really really good. I have been using it almost since a year and its awesome. And, regarding body shop or schwarzkopf, I have not personally tried them so I can really not say anything about them. I just suggested coz I have heard good reviews about them!!

What do you say? Any pointers as to which shampoo should she use?

Do you warm up the oil before applying? {Hair Care}

Swathy · March 11, 2014 · 9 Comments

Yesterday, there was kinda a huge disaster averted. It arose from the same topic as I am about to discuss. Do you warm the oil before applying it? I love to do it as often as possible. I love the relaxation it gives me and I feel oil gets absorbed better on those days!

And, for me, its a perfect end for a stressful day. Anyways, what I used to do was boil a medium sized utensil full of water and then put the oil bottle into that utensil for like 15 min. Oh! make sure that the oil bottle is not plastic or the water is not boiling hot coz the oil bottle can deform due to excess heat.

And, then, pour the heated oil from the bottle into a small bowl and apply the oil using cotton ball immediately on the scalp. Or, if I am using this nozzle tipped bottle, I put that bottle directly into the hot water. You can get the water from the geyser as well, btw!

These methods of heating the oil are perfectly safe but since either of these methods have not been working out for me recently, what I was doing was taking a bowl of oil and heating it directly on the gas. Worst idea EVER! Keep the oil bowl for 2 minutes on the gas and oil boils over. But, I managed it somehow until yesterday.

I had kept a bowl of oil on the gas for like 1 minute probably and the moment I came back into the kitchen, the oil caught fire right in front of me!! I was like stunned. It was burning high and I could not use water to extinguish it coz any drop of water would make the fire blow up even more.

Then, I had to call my MIL. She tried to blow off the fire but the oil was igniting again and again. So, finally, she took the bowl with the handler and somehow managed to drop it into the sink. The oil spluttered and the fire blew up for a second and then extinguished. But, it was a lesson for me 😀

Never again will I try it and am before-hand advising you to stay away from such experimentations. It is a bad bad idea. Better to stick to dropping the bottle in hot water. I am not even going to microwave the oil ever again.

So, have you ever had any of such almost-kitchen disasters?

The Oil Cocktail {DIY}

Swathy · March 6, 2014 · 3 Comments

It has been so long since I have done any DIY!! Anyways, I mentioned in my hair diary that I have been using an hair oil cocktail. So, let me share the recipe with you. Now, it does have some not very easily available things. In fact, I have them on hand right now but even I have no idea how to procure them once they run out.

Ingredients

Mustard oil
Camphor oil
Clove oil
Oil of Wintergreen

Method

You simply mix all of them, right? Ok, so, let me explain all of them.

Mustard oil is the base oil in which all of these other oils go.
Now, all these oils are basically pretty strong oil so they should not be used in heavy quantities. They should be diluted with the carrier oil or the base oil just like the essential oils.
Put 20 tablespoons (20 ml) each of camphor and clove oils in mustard oil (100 ml).
Put only 5 tablespoons (5 ml) of wintergreen oil for 100ml.

And, the oil is done!!

Why?

Now, I have already talked about mustard, clove and camphor oils.

Oil of Wintergreen is basically a naturally occurring salicylic acid methyl ester from the family of aspirin. It is actually a medicinal herb which is widely used to relieve muscle joints and heal the skin diseases. And, it is highly toxic if used in high quantities!!

For our purposes which is how it is beneficial for hair and scalp, it acts like an astringent and helps contracting the hair follicles, there by, strengthening them. Also, since it belongs to the family of salicylic acid, it acts as mild exfoliant and keeps the infections at bay which is why it is used in cosmetics.

The oil stimulates blood circulation and is easily absorbed. It has a warming effect on the area where it is applied which is why it helps with pains. But, the oil should never be taken internally or used in huge amounts on skin or hair or anywhere else!! I think oil of wintergreen (which is also called gaultheria oil) might be available in ayurvedic stores. Will confirm and get back on that.

Btw, I do have EO’s as well in my recipe but it just struck me now that I have no idea how wintergreen blends with other EO’s so it is always best to use it in seclusion instead of blending with oils. Yes, clove, camphor and wintergreen can blend together coz all of them are stimulants and relieve pain.

So, what do you think of this DIY? Does it sound interesting for you to try out?