By: Redmund

Although hair is not essential to life, it is of sufficient cosmetic concern to provoke anxiety in anyone when it starts thinning, falling, or disappearing. To a woman, the sight of a comb or brush covered with lost hair can cause intense mental strain. Hair is formed in minute pockets in the skill called follicles. An upgrowth at the base of the follicle, called the papilla, actually produces hair when a special group of cells turn amino acids into keratin, a type of protein of which hair is made. The rate of production of these protein ‘building blocks’ determines hair growth. The average growth rate is about 1.2 cm per month, growing fastest on women between fifteen to thirty years of age.

A vigorous rubbing of the scalp with fingers after washing the hair with cold water is one of the most effective among the several home remedies for the prevention and treatment of hair loss. The scalp should be rubbed vigorously till it starts to tingle with the heat. It will activate the sebaceous glands and energise the circulation of blood in the affected area, making the hair grow healthy.

Indian gooseberry oil, prepared by boiling dry pieces of indian gooseberry in coconut oil, is considered a valuable hair tonic for enriching hair growth. A mixture of an equal quantity of fresh indian gooseberry juice and lime juice, used as a shampoo also stimulates hair growth and prevents hair loss.

Amaranth is another valuable remedy for hair loss. Its fresh leaf juice should be applied to the hair. It will help the growth of the hair and keep it soft.

Mix equal amount of warm castor and almond oil and massage over scalp at least once a week.

Apply a paste of hot olive oil, honey, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder before bath and keep for 15 minutes.

Make a shampoo by mixing 100 g each of amla (Indian goose berry), reetha, and shikakai and boil in two liters of water until the liquid reduces to half. Use this shampoo for your hair for at least one month. Your hair will become thick.

Mustard oil, boiled with henna leaves, is useful for healthy growth of hair. About 250 ml of mustard oil should be boiled in a tin basin. About sixty grams of henna leaves should be gradually put in this oil till they are burnt in the oil. The oil should then be filtered using a cloth and stored. Regular massage of the head with the oil will produce abundant hair.

Daily application of refined coconut oil, mixed with lime water and lime juice on the hair, prevents hair loss and lengthens it. Application of the juice of green coriander leaves on the head is also considered beneficial. Washing the hair with a paste of cooked black gram and fenugreek lengthens the hair. Regular use of castor oil as hair oil helps the luxuriant growth of the hair.

The healthy condition of the hair depends, to a very large extent, on the intake of sufficient amounts of essential nutrients in the daily diet. Persons with a tendency to lose hair should take a well-balanced and correct diet, made up of foods which, in combination, should supply all the essential nutrients. It has been found that a diet which contains liberal quantities of seeds, nuts, grains, vegetables and fruits would provide adequate amounts of all the essential nutrients. Each food group should roughly form the bulk of one of the three principal meals. These foods should, however, be supplemented with certain special foods such as milk, vegetable oils, honey, wheat germ, yeast and liver.

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