Alternative Therapies and Health News

Hair loss and baldness can be caused due to several reasons. If it is hereditary, it cannot be prevented. But otherwise, hair loss is usually caused due to lack of proper nutrition, anxiety, depression, side effect of drugs, prolonged illness, unclean conditions, lack of proper blood circulation etc.

• Grind coconut shavings and squeeze them. Apply the coconut milk obtained on your scalp and massage well. Coconut milk nourishes your hair and promotes hair growth.
• Boil mustard oil and then add henna to it. Keep the oil burning till the henna is burnt. Massage your hair with this oil regularly.
• With onion, rub the part of the hair where there is too much hair loss two times a day. Later, rub the same portion with honey.
• Apply refined coconut oil mixed with juice of lemon. Let it remain for an hour and then shampoo your hair.
• Prepare shampoo by mixing equal quantities of fresh gooseberry juice with lemon juice. This prevents hair loss and promotes hair growth.
• Daily in the morning eat a handful of white sesame seeds.
• Having a diet rich in silica, calcium and iron will help prevent hair loss. Since hair is comprised mostly of protein, having protein rich diet is also very essential for healthy hair.
• Rinsing your hair with apple cider vinegar and sage tea helps in hair growth.
• A mixture of alfalfa, lettuce and carrot juice taken daily helps in the growth of hair.
• Boil rosemary leaves in water and use this water while washing your hair daily.
• Rub your scalp vigorously with your fingers after washing your hair with cold water.

Graying of hair is a result of decline in melanin. Premature graying results due to over anxiety, stress or due to the lack of some nutrients in the diet. The factor could be hereditary also.

Some ways to avoid or treat premature graying are:

• Cut gooseberry into pieces and dry it. Boil the dry pieces in coconut oil.
• Soak gooseberry with few leaves of henna overnight. Grind them and apply them on your scalp and hair. After an hour, wash your hair. 
• Add curry leaves liberally in food. It strengthens the hair from the root.
• Take fresh butter made from cow’s milk and massage on your scalp once in a week. It prevents premature graying of hair.
• Pantothenic acid, para-aminobenzoic acid (paba) and inositol are nutrients that lowers premature graying of hair. Having yoghurt daily during meal time reduces the risk.
• Grind curry leaves in yoghurt and apply them on your scalp. Wash after half an hour.
• Make a paste from fenugreek and hibiscus leaves and apply them on your scalp and hair.
• Boil the paste of henna leaves in coconut oil. Apply them on your scalp and hair. Wash away after two hours. 
• Grind one tablespoon of amla and mix it in lime juice. Apply them on your scalp before going to bed. Wash your hair the next day.
• In a cup of black tea, mix one tablespoon of black tea. Massage this mixture on your scalp. Let it remain on your scalp for an hour. Wash it.

Dandruff is common among both men and women. It usually happens due to nutritional lack and poor blood circulation. It could also be hereditary. One must have a healthy and balanced diet, and also drink plenty of water.

Listed are some natural ways to treat dandruff:

• Mix vinegar with lemon in the ratio 2:1. Apply it on your scalp for 2-3 hours. Wash your hair with water. Continue the treatment for few months.
• Before going to bed apply olive oil on your scalp. In the morning wash your hair with shampoo.
• Mix coconut oil with castor oil in equal proportions. Warm the combination. Massage your scalp with this warm oil. Apply lemon juice after 3 hours. Let it remain for 2 hours more on your scalp. After that, wash your hair with shampoo. Repeat for 2-3 times a week.
• Rub aloe vera gel onto your scalp before hair wash. Aloe vera is considered to be an excellent treatment for dandruff.
• Applying henna on your hair mixed with lemon juice will also help. Let the henna remain on your hair and scalp for 2-3 hours before washing your hair.
   

All of us desire to have beautiful and healthy hair, but the weather and improper handling can play havoc on the hair. Here are a few tips that may help you bring back the lusture and shine in your hair:

1. Use a proper hair brush. Everybody should possess one good hair brush. It helps you deal with tangles and messy hair. You can also style your hair using a hair brush.

2. Use a wide-toothed comb. A wide tooth comb lets you manage your hair properly, and ensures lesser hair fall when you comb. De-tangle your hair before bathing. But do not comb immediately after bathing on wet hair. Wet hair is weaker and brittle, so there will be more hair-loss. Let your hair dry for sometime, then comb gently using a wide-toothed comb.

3. Do not use a blow-dryer to dry your hair everytime you wash them. It makes your hair dull, dry and lifeless. Use it sparingly, only when you are short of time and have to attend an urgent meeting.

4. Do not use hair-straighteners and iron on your hair. All these techniques will damage your hair and make them lifeless after sometime. Use sparingly if you need it badly. Constant use may cause split ends and frizzy hair.

5. Do not use hair gels and hair colors on the hair very often. The chemicals will have a bad effect on your hair. Keep your hair as natural as possible.

6. Apply warm oil to your hair once in a week (or more if you wish to) and massage with gentle finger strokes.

7. Use a shampoo that is mild and suits your hair type. Check out what kind of hair you have - dry, greasy or normal.

8. If you have dandruff, use a good dandruff shampoo to keep dandruff at bay. Dandruff is also one of the leading cuses of hair fall.

9. If the weather is too harsh and you fear that your hair may be damaged by the sun, use a wide hat, cap, bandana or scarf to cover your hair.

10. Do not tie your hair too tight, as this may loosen the roots and make them brittle.

1. Apply mayonnaise on your hair and cover it with a plastic shower cap to keep the mayonnaise from dripping. Leave the mayonnaise on for three hours. Then, remove the shower cap and shampoo the hair thoroughly. It may take two or more shampoos to get the hair clean. Take a fine toothed comb to get all the nits and lice out, section by section.
2. If you don’t have mayonnaise, try applying vaseline. But to remove Vaseline from your hair, saturate the hair in baby oil, rub through the hair thoroughly and then squeeze out as much as you can. Then wash the hair.
3. There is another treatment with vaseline. Put Vaseline on hair, and apply cap, leave on overnight. The next morning apply peanut butter to get the vaseline out. All lice and eggs will come out. It suffocates them.
4. Wash your hair with vinegar. It will kill all the nits in two days. Apply coconut oil to your head after shampoo. Add ten to fifteen drops of tea tree oil into the shampoo bottle and wash hair with it.
5. You can also use a vinegar wrap. Thoroughly wet a towel with a mixture of half vinegar and half water and wrap the head with the towel. Leave it on for one hour. And then wash your hair. Comb your hair to take out all lice and nits.
6. Mix a 50:50 solution of mineral oil(such as baby oil) and vinegar. Massage it into the hair and cover for 1 hour with a shower cap. Then wash off with a shampoo. Comb out the deceased lice.
7. Mix 10 drops of tea tree-oil to a new bottle of shampoo. Always use this solution when you shampoo your hair, to avoid lice from re-occuring.
8. Completely soak your hair with olive oil and wrap in a towel for two hours. Rinse and wash as usual. Comb your hair with a fine toothed comb to remove eggs and lice. Repeat after 3-4 days.
9. You can also buy a Tea Tree oil shampoo to wash your hair. And try buying this comb from your nearby Walmart, if this is available. This is called the LiceGuard Robi Comb. It is an electronic Lice Comb, that kills Lice without chemicals. Use it on dry hair. It costs around $ 22.00 (USD). But it’s worth it.
10. Try using Denorex Extra Strength dandruff shampoo. The lice will easily fall off dead. But be sure to use the extra strength one.
11. Make a natural lice shampoo. To a base of five teaspoons of Pure Olive Carrier Oil Or Pure Coconut Carrier Oil, add 5 drops of Tea Tree Essential Oil, 5 drops of Rosemary Essential Oil, 5 drops of Lavender Essential Oil, 5 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil and 5 drops of Eucalyptus Essential Oil. Add a small amount of regular shampoo to the mixture and apply this all over the hair. Leave this on for an hour and cover with a shower cap or towel. Rinse the hair and shampoo the hair. Then comb out all the lice and nits after using this mixture. Comb the hair with a nit comb, that you can buy in the drug store, next to the lice shampoos. However be careful not to use this mixture on babies or very small kids. Do not use it on pregnant women or people with high blood pressure either.
12. Never share your personal belongings with a lice-infested person. Do not share bed, comb, towels or clothes with such a person.

To treat hair loss and to promote healthy growth of hair, try the following home remedies:

• Boil 1 cup mustard oil with 4 tablespoons henna leaves. Filter and store in a bottle. Massage on the bald patches regularly. Regular massage will produce abundant hair.
• Grind 1/2 lime seeds, and 1/2 black pepper seeds, to get a fine paste. This paste has a mildly irritant action. This increases blood circulation to the affected area and stimulates hair growth.
• Rub the bald area with onions till it becomes red. Then apply honey over the patch.
• Rub the scalp with 1 teaspoon oil in which raw mangoes have been preserved for over a year. Repeat the treatment frequently.
• Rub the scalp with fingers after washing the hair with cold water. The scalp should be rubbed vigorously till it starts to tingle. It will allow free circulation of blood in the affected area, making the hair grow healthy.
• Prepare Amla oil, by boiling dry pieces of amla in coconut oil. This is an excellent hair tonic for enriching hair growth.
• Make a juice of lettuce and spinach and drink it daily.
• Amaranth is another valuable hair loss remedy. Its leaf juice should be applied to the hair, that will help the growth of hair and keep it soft.
• The juice of alfalfa, with equal quantities of carrot and lettuce juice, taken daily, also helps in the growth of hair.
• The leaves of the margosa tree are also good for the treatment of hair loss. If hair has been falling tremendously or is not growing, it should be washed with the decoction of neem leaves. It will stop the hair fall and make it more richer in color. It will also kill lice.
• Apply coconut milk all over the scalp and massage into the hair roots. Prepare coconut milk by grinding the coconut shavings and squeezing them well.
• A fine paste made of pigeon pea or red gram can also be applied regularly on bald patches for beneficial results.
• Take a well balanced diet.

Split ends are more likely to develop in dry and brittle hair. Don’t shampoo your hair too frequently if you have split ends.

• The best treatment is to cut off the split end of the damaged fiber. Trim half an inch of your hair or where the split starts.
• Apply warm coconut or olive oil to your hair. Then take a cloth or towel and wrap around your head covering all your hair. Keep it for 1 hour or half an hour. And then wash off with a mild shampoo. Or you can also oil your hair with a combination of almond oil and castor oil mixed and warmed together. Do the same technique of covering your hair for some time. This will help oil penetrate into the roots.
• Hair coloring tends to dry your hair. Use colors sparingly and take extra care when you color your hair.
• Do not comb your hair when it is wet. Use a wide toothed comb if you must.
• Use a good herbal shampoo or a mild shampoo and avoid frequent changing of shampoo.
• Do not expose your hair to extreme heat or temperature.

Dandruff is a very common scalp condition. To get rid of dandruff try the following remedies -

* Apply warm coconut oil on the scalp with cotton. Keep it overnight. Next morning, apply the juice of a lemon on the scalp and wash your hair after half-an-hour. This treatment helps to get rid of Dandruff and cleanse the scalp.

* Fenugreek (methi) seeds can also protect the scalp from dandruff. Soak fenugreek seeds overnight in water and grind them into a paste in the morning. Apply the paste on the scalp and keep it on for half an hour. Rinse off with water.

* Warm oil massages are also very good for treating dandruff. Apply warm olive oil and keep it overnight. Wash hair in the morning.

* Aloe-Vera is an effective home remedy for dandruff. Apply natural aloe vera gel for 20 minutes before you wash your hair. Rub the gel on your scalp. And repeat this treatment regularly whenever you wash your hair.

Lets have a look at some of the herbs that could be used on hairs for relief from hair related problems:

Bitter Almonds: make a paste out of bitter almonds and apply it on scalp regularly to get rid of dandruff and hair lice.
Egg Yolk: Egg yoke could be used as conditioner for dry hairs.
Heena: Heena is best and natural hair dye with astringent and cooling properties.
Tobacco and soap nut: Prepare a mixture of tobacco and water and apply it on hairs, leave it for 2-3 hours and wash it off with an emulsion of soap water.
Yoghurt: Yoghurt is one of the best remedy for dandruff and it could be directly applied on hairs for fast relief.