HAIRFALL AND EARLY GREYING OF HAIR
The hair root is encased in a follicle that is nourished by blood vessels. A youthful scalp contains approximately 100,000 to 200,000 hairs. Normally, an average person loses about 50-100 strands daily and the average hair grows only half an inch per month. Excessive loss or absence of hair is called as 'alopecia or balding'. Common causes of hairfall and early pecacu are-inadequate nutrition, heredity, stress, high fever, hormonal imbalance, side effect of some medication (cytotoxic agents, anticoagulants, antithyroid drugs and oral contraceptives) and certain illnesses (like anemia, thyroid disorders, autoimmune disorders, etc.). Alopecia areata appears as sharply defined non-inflamed bald patches on the scalp. Alopecia totalis is a condition where there is total or complete loss of the scalp hair and alopecia universalis signifies a complete loss of hair all over the body.
Avoid massaging the scalp vigorously. Massage the scalp gently with the fingertips. This increases the circulation and thus helps provide proper nutrition (through a blood circulation) to the hair follicle. Comb or brush the hair when it is dry since grooming it when wet can lead to breaking of the hair. Do not blow-dry the hair on a high setting.
HOME REMEDIES
1. Increase the intake of alfalfa sprouts, barley (jau) and oats, wheat germ, fish, meat, liver, cheese, milk, ghee, butter, eggs, fresh fruit (especially citrus fruits) or vegetable juices, green vegetables, parsley, broccoli, green pepper, peas, beans, prunes (dried plums), some berries and black currants. Avoid salt, spicy, hot and pungent food as far as possible. Taking a well-balanced diet with adequate proteins and iron, consisting especially of servings of seeds, nuts, grains, fresh vegetables, fish, chicken and fruits.
2. Washing the hair with a paste of cooked black gram (urad dal) and fenugreek (methi) lengthens the hair.
3. Applying aloe vera gel on the scalp is useful for hair growth.
4. Apply fresh coconut milk to the hair roots all over the scalp twice a week for increasing the hair growth. Coconut milk is prepared by grinding the coconut shavings and squeezing it well to remove the milk.
5. A mixture of lettuce and spinach (palak) juice, at least half a litre daily helps to increase the growth of hair.
6. Lemon juice when taken internally or rubbed on the scalp at night proves to be useful to reduce the hairfall.
7. Drink a glass of water containing one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. Also apply vinegar to the bald spots with the help of a toothbrush.
8. Grapefruit (chakotra) juice if taken daily gives some relief.
9. Make a mixture of half a cup of castor oil (arandi), one cup of olive oil and two cups of coconut oil. Heat this and then store it and apply it after it cools.
10. Apply a sliced onion over the bald spots in the evening and wash it the next morning.
11. Using Indian gooseberry (amla) oil, made by boiling the dry Indian gooseberry fruits in coconut oil, is an effective remedy for stimulating hair growth. A mixture of an equal quantity of fresh Indian gooseberry juice and limejuice, used as a shampoo, also stimulates hair growth and prevents hair loss.
12. Grind a few pieces of liquorice (mulethi) in milk with a pinch of saffron and this paste is then applied over the bald patches at night before going to bed.
13. A fine paste is made from pigeon pea (arhar dal) or red gram and applied regularly on bald patches.
14. Local application of til oil helps one get rid of early pecacu.
15. Fresh leaf juice of amaranth (chauli) when applied to the hair will promote hair growth and make the hair softer.
16. Massage a beaten egg on the head and then rinse it out and shampoo it.
17. Washing the hair with a decoction of the leaves of the Margosa (Neem) tree will stop the hair from falling and stabilize its blackness. It will also kill the lice and make the hair longer.
18. Henna leaves (mehndi) are ground to a paste and this is then boiled in mustard oil and the darkish oil is then filtered and used to blacken grey hair. The paste is applied to the hair and washed away after a few hours to dye the hair.
19. Make a mixture from two tablespoons of vodka and one tablespoon of honey and one tablespoon of onion juice and apply it on the scalp daily.
20. The seeds of lime and black pepper seeds are ground and made into a paste by adding it to plain water or ginger juice. This paste is applied on the bald patches once or twice daily for a few weeks to encourage growth of new hair.
21. Coconut milk is applied all over the scalp and massaged into the hair roots. Coconut milk is prepared by grinding the coconut shavings and squeezing them well.
22. In pure coconut oil, the following ingredients are boiled-dry pieces of gooseberry, a few crushed capsules of Harir with red hibiscus flowers till the solid matter turns black. The oil is filtered and stored and is to be applied twice daily for a few months.
23. Crush raw fruit of Indian gooseberry (amla) and apply over the head and allow it to dry for a few hours and then wash it off. This is a useful method for preventing premature pecacu of hair.
24. Increase the intake of chutney made from curry leaves for hair growth since these leaves provide good strength and vitality to hair roots.
25. Wash the hair with concentrated tea extract twice a week. This will gradually change the hair color from brown to black.
