Swathy and Sky - Page 78 of 415 -

Infused Herbal Oil to promote Hair Growth

Nayantara Karnik · June 17, 2015 · 12 Comments

The other day, I was shopping at Spar and saw some wonderful fresh basil and thyme and picked up a packet each. Unfortunately, when cooking for one, there’s only so much you can use. After making some pasta with basil and avocado sauce, a couple of other dishes and a toner with thyme, I was wondering what to do with the remainder while it was still fresh.

It struck me that I could try making an infused oil with them along with other things I had at home. My goal was something that would stimulate hair growth and combat hair loss. Unfortunately, Bangalore has been mainly cloudy of late, plus I don’t have any sunny window-sills or terraces, so I realized I couldn’t use the usual method of infusing for weeks with the help of the sun. Besides, when using fresh herbs, they need to be dried first or else the oil will develop mold from their moisture content.

Also Read : How to infuse herbs in oil?

I’ve seen many people heating the herbs in a base oil directly in a iron wok or kadhai, but I wasn’t sure about the herbal contents withstanding the heat, as some of them produce volatile extracts. I looked up the kashayam process commonly used in Ayurveda to make herbal oils. But that process involves first boiling the herbs in water and then heating the extract in oil. While this does have its benefits, I decided to shorten the process by directly infusing the herbs in the oil as many people do, but using an oven instead. I have a gas oven at home with reasonably accurate temperature controls, and I checked the lowest temperature setting on mine is around 70-80 deg C, which is not too high for this purpose. Some newer models may have even lower settings than that.

For those concerned that heating oils reduces their efficacy, what you need to be concerned about is the smoke point of the oil used. It is only after an oil has exceeded its smoke point that is begins to break down. For sesame oil, which I used, the smoke point is approximately 232 deg C/ 450 F. If using cold-pressed oils, the smoke points are lower. For those interested, you can easily find sites on the net listing smoke points of various oils.

My Hair Diary – May 2015

Swathy · June 15, 2015 · 58 Comments

My hair after cysteine treatment — Do you like it? I do like that it is soft and shiny.

We watched Dil Dhadakne Do yesterday night finally! And, I am absolutely in love with Priyanka Chopra. I had forgotten how amazing she can be on screen and she did do justice to her role. And, the chemistry between her and Ranveer Singh was just amazing! I wish I had a brother 😀 And, the extremely simple conversations and quirky dialogs made my day. And, the expressions are just to die for 😀 Btw, watch out for the dog 🙂

On the other hand, Tanu weds Manu 2 was great as well but not this good!

Cysteine Treatment

And, let me start with my hair. As I mentioned last week, I got the Cysteine treatment done from Lakme. Well, the story was this – I wanted to get my colored at all costs and I went to the salon for it. And, then, the stylist says no because my hair is too frizzy and rough and the color would not stay. And, then, he recommended me to get the cysteine treatment which is apparently completely organic and is healthy for hair. So, I just said yes to it without thinking much and let me say that I did not know anything about it then. And, btw, let me say that it is extremely expensive.

Well, basically, when I read about the treatment after coming back from the salon, I found that is an alternative protein treatment which is more of hair smoothing treatment than straightening one. And, I am happy to say that my hair is not straight because I would look horrible in it. It has become naturally wavy and healthy but that is to be yet seen!!

Cysteine is a hair protein which is a component of keratin. And, this treatment is quite popular right now because it is more gentler on hair and does not make hair poker straight. I felt it is more of a hair smoothing treatment. The results are supposed to last for 6 months and more if hair is taken care of properly.

Okra (Bhindi) Hair Treatment and Conditioner

Nayantara Karnik · June 12, 2015 · 26 Comments

Whaaat?! Bhindi? Why would anyone put that in their hair…

In fact, it’s used by Rastafarians to make their dreadlocks and keep them healthy. Okra is one of numerous natural items that contain mucilage, which is the slimy stuff you must be familiar with when it’s cooked. Mucilage is good for the skin and hair, and even for your gut health. The reason I was even looking this into was because I’ve been trying to find a way to put less chemicals into my system. And I definitely see an improvement in the quality of my skin and hair since.

Okra’s also high in Vitamins A & C, folic acid, calcium, zinc, including biotin, all of which make it incredibly nourishing for the hair. That’s probably why it’s been used as an ingredient in various high end products including a conditioner by Lush. All this means it can be used in different ways to treat and condition hair – as a rinse-out conditioner, leave-in, de-tangler or even as a hair gel as it gives excellent curl definition. The best part is that it doesn’t have a weird smell, like many natural things you may be using in your hair already. It actually doesn’t have any noticeable smell.

So in case you’re in a really experimental mood, or just fed up with the same old stuff, take a look! I’m going to show you how to make a general conditioner using bhindi, with tweaks to adapt it to your needs.

INGREDIENTS (BASIC RECIPE)

6-8 okras, chopped or sliced length-wise
1 ½ cups water
1-2 tsp oil (I used sesame this time, you can also use grape seed oil, almond oil, coconut oil etc)

OPTIONAL ADD-ONS

Aloe vera gel
honey