Kitchen Remedies for Better Hair

Your kitchen cabinet holds the secret to lovely, healthy hair. There are so many things that can be done and so many fruits, vegetables and herbs that can be used for making your hair feel and look good. Here's how....

The best conditioner your hair can need is right there, among your foodstuff. In today's world, nothing is farfetched and almost every herb, oil, ingredient, can be found. All you need to do is search in the right places. The herbs and ingredients mentioned in this article can be easily found in your area as well as in herbal stores that keep herbs from other countries. Chemical adaptations of the same, would never quite aptly play out as positively as the real ingredients themselves. Let's have a look at some kitchen remedies for better hair through the information mentioned in this article.

Herbal Kitchen for Healthy Hair

Honey and Olive Oil

All you need to do is mix equal portions of honey and olive oil, and massage into your scalp. Remember, this is not an after shampoo conditioner, so no rubbing into strands of hair. Instead, this is the conditioner which is nutritious for the roots of your hair. So rub it into the hair base. Then wrap your head with a warm towel for about thirty minutes. Use your mildest shampoo now and you will notice that your hair doesn't come away squeaky clean as if someone has taken away life from it, instead it sits heavy and luxuriant on your head. That's nutrition, not cosmetics!!!

Mayonnaise

If your hair is dry and flaky, rub in four or five teaspoons of mayonnaise into your scalp and leave it on for half an hour before shampooing. Remember, mayo contains oil, egg and mustard powder, just the right recipe for imparting wholesome moisture to dead looking hair. As an after shampoo, rinse with about half a teaspoon of honey in about a liter (4 mugs) of water. Don't wash away this last rinse, and it acts as an excellent conditioner for dry, dull hair.

Honey, Lemon and Tea

To get a shine to dull hair, one can also use honey and lemon juice in your last rinse after shampooing hair, and do not wash it out. Instead, dry your hair well and brush vigorously. The sheen that is seen is all natural glow of one of the most wonderful natural foods, honey. Lemon is also a natural conditioner and imparts a natural shine to hair, whatever type it may be. It I extensively used as an additive to conditioners and always used as a part of herbal remedies for dull hair. It also acts as an antiseptic and astringent, cleaning up the scalp of dandruff debris and leaving it clean and free of infections. A rinse made with tea and lemon juice also serves to clean up the greasiness of oily hair without interfering in its ph balance or drying it up excessively (which is what most shampoos do).

Lentils and Orange Water

There are more secrets in your kitchen cabinet to help with oily greasy hair. Soak any lentil in a glass of water for half an hour (you can eat the lentils, excellent source of protein). Meanwhile, boil the rind of an orange and add the water wit the lentil water. (The boiled rind may be used as a flouring for cakes or cookies). The mixture of these two waters forms a priceless rinse for oily hair.

Gooseberries and Lemon Juice

There are a number of other remedies for darkening hair. Gooseberries are one of the most favored fruits for hair maintenance in the East. Its extract is great for cleansing and condition hair while roasted, it has the capacity to darken hair. Try mixing ground, dried gooseberries with lemon juice and applying on graying hair. Gradually, graying will stop and the hair will be much healthier than before. Black peppercorns are another remedy for darkening hair and preventing premature graying. Powdered and mixed with yogurt, black peppers make a great hair color. Wash hair at least once a week with this mixture, and see how the graying stops and the hair become softer and more manageable.

Hibiscus Tea

Though it may not always be possible to have other color for hair by way of your kitchen cabinet, there are ideas available to enrich the tone of your natural hair color and even fix colors. For instance, hot hibiscus tea (a rich shade of deep red), enriches red tints in your hair while black tea rinses are supposed to bring out the golden highlights in hair. Onion or lemon juice works wonders to brighten the shades of natural henna while an apple cider rinse will help fix the color on gray hair.

Banana, Egg and Milk

Mash a banana with an egg and blend it with half a cup of milk. Add some olive oil to this paste and apply this as a hair mask. Leave it on for half an hour, after which you must use a very mild shampoo to wash off the egg and paste. This will condition your hair like a charm. If you find this mix too smelly, use a shower cap, which will help keep your hair stay up, prevent any leaks and not smell funny.

Coconut Oil and Lemon Juice

Another widespread problem with hair is dandruff. Ayurveda has a very simple remedy for dandruff. Certain easily available oils help eliminate this condition, since it is essentially brought about by drying of the scalp surface. Mix one part of lemon juice with two parts of coconut oil and use it for a regular oil massage. The results will show in a couple of weeks. Alternately try mixing up one teaspoon of camphor with equal portions of mustard and coconut oil. The resultant mix is a bit strong smelling but does its job quite effectively.

Coconut Milk and Lemon Cream

Did you know that there is a natural method for straightening hair too? Of course, it may not be instant, but then it is infinitely healthier than straightening chemicals and irons that do irreparable damage to hair. Get a fresh coconut and blend it well, till about a glassful of milk can be extracted from the pulp. Add the juice of one lime to this milk, stir well into the glass and refrigerate till it acquires a creamy layer on the top. This cream can be rubbed onto the scalp, and left on, covered with a hot towel, for about an hour. Then rinse it off with a mild shampoo and warm water. Repeat this three times a week and you will notice that your unruly locks are gradually straightening up.

Coconut Oil and Mixed Herbs

In Asian countries, especially in the coastal regions, graying is not the greatest of threats. Perhaps their diet takes care of their hair so well, or maybe they know the secret to dark hair till old age. Whatever it may seem, there is one secret that we can share with natives of South India, a land known for doe eyed and raven haired women since times immemorial. The most basic hair tonic to ensure that your mane doesn't gray can be made by burning curry leaves and then boiling this powder with coconut oil. Use this oil as your preferred hair tonic once a week and the result is absolute stoppage of graying and hair fall. Alternately, a handful of curry leaves can be pounded into pulp, and then boiled with coconut milk, till it yields oil. This oil is priceless nourishment for the scalp and ensures longevity and luster and color for hair. Of course, in kitchen cabinets of the Western homes, coconut and curry leaves may not be a common storage item, but they can be easily had from any Asian store.

Tips for Healthy Hair

These are some specific conditions of hair. But Ayurveda also has some generic recommendations that will prevent some or all of these problems to begin with. Of course, we can try to follow a good hair care regime to make sure these problems never cross our path, to begin with.

·         Grate some fresh ginger. Mix with honey and place it in a jar. Eat 1 tea spoon everyday.

·         Use natural shampoo, studiously avoiding so -called medicated shampoos that may just aggravate your problem, or create one where there is none.

·         Use amla (embilica officinalis) (dried gooseberry powder), Shikakai (Acacia concinna) (soapnuts powder) for washing the hair.

·         Use medicated oils like, 'Arnica oil'. Put oil on the scalp and massage gently in the roots of the hair.

·         Maintain a regular bowel movement.

·         The diet should contain more green leafy vegetables, salads, milk, fruits and sprouts. Take more proteins, milk, buttermilk, yeast, wheat germ, soybean and vitamin A.

·         A mixture of lettuce and spinach juice is good to drink to induce hair growth. It provides all the vitamins you need for a great skin and a healthy scalp. Another good idea is the juice of alfalfa mixed with that of carrot and lettuce.

·         Daily application of coconut oil mixed with lime- juice on the hair is also beneficial. Applying juice of green coriander leaves on the head is also good.

·         Above all, regular exercise, a strict food diet system and of course, positive thinking helps your mane to glow.

Source: http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/11-3-2004-61148.asp