Hair Care Through Ayurveda

Normal and Abnormal Hair Fall

If there is a fall of more than 100 hair strands per day, it is considered as abnormal hair fall, less than that is considered as normal. However, there will be a fall of more than 200-250 hair strands after shampooing which is absolutely normal.

Causes for Hair Fall

• Lack of nutrition and iron deficiency.

• Hormonal imbalance like hypothyroidism, increased levels of androgen, PCOS.

• Scalp infection.

• Adverse effect of few drugs, after chemotherapy, surgery and pregnancy.

• Polluted water.

• Mental stress and stress to the hair by repeated hair colouring, straightening, curling, etc.

• Ayurveda considers vitiation of pitta dosha as the cause for hair fall and premature gray hair. Increased intake of alcohol, tea, coffee, pickles, deep fried, spicy and also fermented foods, excessive anger and stress cause increased pitta in the body.

How to Prevent Hair Loss and Premature Gray Hair?

• Eat healthy and nutritious food rich in copper, iron and calcium.

• Avoid aerated drinks and junk foods.

• Increase the intake of fresh fruits, green leafy vegetables, milk, amla, pomegranate, dry grapes, dates, almonds and spinach.

Daily Hair Care

1) Cleanliness:

• Wash your hair every two days.

• If you live in a highly polluted area and there is more perspiration, do it every alternate day.

• Wash your comb and hairbrush regularly. Never share other's comb and hairbrushes.

• Use luke warm or room temperature water for hair wash. Never use hot water.

2) Proper Combing:

• Always use blunt-toothed combs.

• Gently comb the hair and scalp daily.

• Never do vigorous brushing, as it stretches the hair causing breakage and split ends.

• Combing the scalp is an effective way to relax as it increases blood circulation and spreads the natural oil evenly over the hair strands which keep your hair healthy and also promote hair growth.

3) Massage:

• Regular head massage is essential for healthy hair and scalp.

• Apply luke warm essential oils like bhringraj (Eclipta prostrata) etc, and massage the scalp with your finger tips gently.

• Make sure that scalp is rotated under the finger tips with mild pressure placing the thumbs behind the ears.

• Never do vigorous rubbing as it causes unnecessary hair fall.

• Head massage ensures good blood circulation, hair growth, relieves stress and induces good sleep.

4) Shampooing:

• Always use herbal shampoo diluted in water to wash the hair or prepare home made shampoo with shikakai, reetha, alovera,tulasi,methi, triphala,yasthimadhu etc. which removes the dirt, dandruff, without irritating the scalp, retains natural oil, does conditioning and promotes hair growth .
• Harsh chemical based shampoo strips the protein layer and natural oil from scalp and hair making them dry and dull.

5) Mental Relaxation:

• Overcome the stress by yoga, meditation and try to have sound sleep.

6) Reduce Unwanted Stress to the Hair:

• Reduce the hair stress by avoiding tight hair styles, pony tails, unnecessary hair colouring, straightening, curling and repeated combing.

• Use natural hair dyes.

7) Hair Treatments:

• There are various therapies (like shiro abhyanga, shirodhara, shiro lepa, nasya, etc), medicaments, hair growth supplements (like triphala, swamala, etc), hair oils in ayurveda for prevention of hair fall, premature gray hair, dandruff and to get lengthy, thick, lustrous hair.

All herbal oils, shampoos and supplements are not suitable for everyone.

Hence, consult an ayurveda specialist online before using them --> https://www.icliniq.com/ask-a-doctor-online/ayurveda-specialist