Apart from being proficient in many other things, today’s woman has to be conscious about her physical fitness and her looks. In fact, beauty has become a big business, the world over. There is also a growing awareness about the efficacy of the herbal products that have been used by our grandmothers and their grandmothers. As compared to the chemical components in cosmetics, the herbal components do not harm the user and actually have a better effect. No wonder, the world is waking up to the traditional systems of beauty treatments.
When the saying -’Beauty is skin deep’ was coined, realization about the importance of skin in the beauty factor must have been the prime focus. Skin takes a very important place in any beauty ritual. The loving care taken during the early years can often delay the process of ageing and the care taken during the later years can work wonders in maintaining a youthful appearance. Skin care, done the right way, can easily enhance the looks of a person. Given here are some traditional beauty rituals, which will definitely go a long way in preserving the beauty of the skin.
Face packs are extremely beneficial for the complexion and smoothness of the skin. Bitter almonds make an excellent face pack when mixed with sandalwood powder and ‘multani mitti’.
Facemasks made with ‘dal’ are great softeners for the skin. Grind any dal with a pinch of turmeric. Add a few drops of lemon juice and a tablespoon of milk. Apply this paste on the face. Leave it on till dry and then wash off with lukewarm water.
It is said that a woman’s hand is supposed to be soft, shapely and well maintained because she uses it to express herself. Hard work can rob the hands of their softness. Here is a tip to help you maintain the hands to their optimum condition. For soft palms, apply a mixture of sugar and olive oil and rub for a while before washing it off.
We know that sun robs the skin of its youthful texture and quality yet we can’t really prevent facing the sun. Going out in the sun also tans the skin, especially if you have a job that requires frequent trips during the day. If your skin has got badly tanned, apply raw potato juice to get rid of the tan.
To get rid of freckles, grate a radish and extract 2 tablespoon of juice. Mix with equal quantity of buttermilk and apply on the face. Wash off with warm water, after an hour. Use it daily.
Tender coconut water applied on the skin regularly for six months, removes smallpox scars.
Pimples can be a teenager’s nightmare. They are easy to sprout and difficult to eradicate. Mix an equal quantity of eau-de-cologne with boiled and cooled lemon juice. Apply this solution over pimples. They will disappear leaving your skin soft and smooth.
If there is one thing that can mar the beauty of eyes, it is the dark circles that form under the eyes. For effective treatment of dark circles under the eyes, place pumpkin slices.
Don’t shy away from the humble papaya. It is a wonderful fruit, which has many useful properties. Papaya pulp when applied regularly on the face, cures pimples and blackheads.
For a cleaner complexion, apply sour whey to your face and keep it on for at least 15 minutes. Wash off with lukewarm water. Follow this routine for 15 days.
Rough and dark elbows can be an ungainly sight. If your elbows have become dark and rough, apply groundnut oil mixed with lemon.
Plucking of eyebrows can cause discomfort and pain. Before plucking your eyebrows, lay a hot flannel over the area for several minutes to open the pores. This makes the plucking less painful.
Using substandard lipsticks can darken the lips. To lighten the colour of dark lips, apply a mixture of honey and limejuice over the lips for a few days.
Winter can rob the skin of its moisture and have a drying effect on it. For a smooth and soft complexion during winter months, apply a mixture of fresh cream and honey on your face and neck.
Remember the good old oil baths, which our grandmothers used to advice. The benefits of oil bath are many. Add four pieces of camphor in 100 ml coconut oil and apply it on your body before bathing, for a smooth and shiny skin.
For dry skin, apply a mixture of glycerine, fresh cream and honey. It will keep the complexion glowing. This is a good treatment for cracked heels, too.
Every woman is terrified of wrinkles. To keep wrinkles at bay, apply a mixture of curd and gram flour to the face and leave it on for 15 minutes before washing it off.
Extract some cabbage juice and mix it with a little yeast and one tablespoon of honey. Apply this mixture on the face and wash after about 20 minutes with lukewarm water. This pack helps in combating dry skin and wrinkle formation.
For instant cure of pimples, apply a paste of chalk and water on them. They will disappear by evening.
For a quick relief from freckles, grate half a white radish; mix with 2 teaspoons of limejuice and tomato juice. Apply on the face and keep it on for 20 minutes. Wash it off with lukewarm water. A regular application will ensure a freckle free face for you.
Face scrubs are very helpful in rejuvenating the complexion. They slough off dead and useless skin cells to make way for fresh and new ones. Make a great scrub at home by grinding equal quantities of chana, moong and masoor dais and mix with milk or curd or honey.
Glycerine mixed with rose water and limejuice is the best remedy for dry skin. Glycerine retains moisture and the lemon juice cleanses the skin.
For a soft and rosy complexion, grind a few fresh or dry rose petals with a dash of milk or fresh cream. Add a teaspoon of gram flour and a few drops of rose water to it. Apply the mixture liberally all over the face and neck. It will help you in reviving a tired and dull skin.
Getting rid of blackheads is quite easy if you try this remedy. Apply a paste of gram flour and curd on the affected area. When the mixture hardens and dries up, gently scrape off with your fingertips and wash the face.
For an excellent face pack, use grated potatoes and honey.
A mixture of 2 tablespoon each of cucumber and carrot juice, acts as an excellent toner for the skin, during winters.
To tighten skin pores, cover the body with a mixture of 2” piece cucumber, 2-tablespoon mint, ½ teaspoon lemon juice and 2-3 drops of vinegar.
Smear the body with equal quantities of vaseline and glycerine 10 minutes prior to bathing. This prevents the skin from drying.
A pack made by mixing a tablespoon each of coarsely ground ‘moong dal’ powder, orange rind and milk prevents the skin from drying in winter.
After using a razor or epilator, cover the skin with a paste of gram flour mixed with turmeric and sandalwood powder, fresh cream, lemon juice and milk. This prevents the ingrowth of hair, delays hair growth and softens the skin.
For soft lips, apply a mixture of glycerine, limejuice and rose water mixed in equal quantities.
For a glowing skin and lustrous hair, begin your day with a warm glass of water to which a teaspoon of honey has been added. Gorge on fruits for breakfast and salad before lunch and dinner. Have a cupful of curd daily.
For removing blemishes, apply the juice of grated cucumber, potato or watermelon to the face. To remove blackheads, chop a tomato and apply continuously on the affected area.
Use lemon or cucumber juice as astringent. Mix dried orange peel with water. It makes an excellent face scrub. To soften skin, use almonds, curd, turmeric powder or lime juice.
To rejuvenate your face, put papaya pulp on it. To make your face glow, apply fresh orange juice.
To reduce pimples and blackheads, rub the scrapings of bitter gourd on infected portions of the face.
The omnipresent Tulsi plant in many households has a lot of uses. A mixture of finely powdered dry tulsi leaves, 1 tablespoon of milk and almond oil helps clear pimples.
Bananas are not just for eating. They are a very good beauty aid. Mash a ripe banana and mix it with 1-teaspoon honey and a few drops of lemon. This makes an excellent face pack for tired skin.
You don’t have to buy expensive hand lotion from the market. You can make one at home by mixing together half-cup rose water, ½ cup glycerine, ½ cup aftershave lotion, and ½ tablespoon white vinegar.
To prevent wrinkles, mix equal proportions of cold cucumber juice with rose water and lemon juice. Cover the region around the eyes with a cotton wool soaked in this mixture.
Don’t feel guilty about putting your husband’s Vodka bottle to good use. Vodka makes a good pore-tightening astringent cum toner for oily skins.
For a home facial, smear fresh, cold milk (before boiling) on the face for five minutes. Then cover the face with chilled rose water mixed with milk cream. Wash with warm water. Finally cover the face with a pack made from sandalwood and rose water and place slices of cucumber on the eyes. Wash off after 15 minutes.
Never forget to clean your face scrupulously before going to bed. It can work wonders for your complexion. Clean your face of make up residue by scrubbing it with a spoon of gram flour mixed with water.
To remove stretch marks acquired during pregnancy, use ½ teaspoon of aloe, ½ teaspoon papaya pulp, 1-teaspoon rose water, 1 teaspoon sandalwood paste, 10 drops of almond oil and 2 drops of lavender oil. Add 2-teaspoon milk cream to this and make a paste. Apply over the affected skin and massage gently before a bath. Doing this twice a week will take care of the marks.
Mix together 1 cup each of green gram flour and rice flour, ½ cup wheat flour, ½ cup milk powder, 3 teaspoon turmeric, 4 teaspoon semolina, 2 teaspoon granulated sugar, 4-5 teaspoon red sandalwood powder and 1 teaspoon henna. Mix lemon juice to this mixture and use as a facemask for normal skin.
Mix one teaspoon honey with ½ teaspoon rice powder and rub all over the face, especially on the chin and nose. This removes black as well as white heads.
Rub ice-cold orange juice on dry skin in circular motion. It gives you a glowing complexion.
Bath scrubs give a glowing effect to the body by removing dead skin cells. Make an excellent bath scrub at home by mixing together 1 teaspoon each of sandalwood powder, fuller’s earth and dried orange peel powder.
Mash a few mint leaves, neem leaves and a banana. Apply the paste all over the face and neck, avoiding the eyes. Wash off when dry. This face pack removes scars, freckles and minor skin blemishes.
For a very tanned skin, mix the juice of a lemon with sugar, add a little glycerine and scrub gently in circular movements. This will not only get rid of the tan but also soften the skin.
Rubbing limejuice and sugar between the palms till the sugar dissolves will keep the palms smooth.
A full body scrub once a week does wonders for the body. Mix 2 teaspoon flour, 1 teaspoon gram flour, a little raw milk, 1 pinch turmeric powder and 1 teaspoon honey for an effective body scrub. One can also use lemon and cream for the body.
For a glowing skin, mash a banana in a teaspoon of milk and apply the paste on the face.
Mix equal proportions of vitamin E oil, Vaseline and glycerine. Cover the entire body with this paste and leave it on for an hour. Wash off with cold water for a lovely and soft skin.
Alpha hydroxy acid (AHA), which is found in citrus fruits, sugarcane and milk that has gone sour, is extremely effective as a natural exfoliant. It can be used to remove dead cells.
Smoke and dust take their toll on the skin, making it age faster. To retain the skin’s natural and youthful look, apply a good anti-wrinkle cream, which contains AHA, vitasomes and special moisturisers, every night.
Mashed peaches applied on the face brighten and deep cleanse a sallow and dull complexion.
Add some neem or tulsi leaves to your hot, bath water, for a soothing and refreshing bath. They take care of minor skin problems and act as disinfectants.
Applying a paste of sandalwood and rose petals on the face, everyday, will make the skin soft and glowing. Wash off after 10 minutes.
Smear fresh cream over discoloured lips and leave it on to dry. Use regularly for at least a month to bring back the healthy colour of the lips.
For acne, smear a paste of fresh neem leaves, gram flour, turmeric powder, on the marks and wash off after 20 minutes.
Boil fresh neem leaves in 2 cups of water. Cool, strain and use this liquid as a tonic to reduce pimples.
Wrap ice cubes in a thin cloth and rub lightly all over the face and the neck. This helps in reducing the puffiness around the eyes and the face.
Grate and squeeze out the juice from a tender cucumber. To this add an equal quantity of milk and use over darkened patches of skin. This serves as an excellent whitening tonic.
To get rid of blackheads, cover the area with a mixture of green gram flour, curd and turmeric powder. Leave it for 10 minutes. Scrub off, using cold water.
In a thick-bottomed pan, heat a mixture of egg white and lemon juice till thick. Cool, smear this mixture over the face to get rid of blackheads permanently.
Hairy faces look unattractive. To get rid of facial hair, apply a mixture of fenugreek powder and green gram powder on the unwanted facial hair. Let it dry before scrubbing off.
Mix a tablespoon of rice flour with 2 tablespoons of curd. This is effective cleansing milk, which removes stale make up and opens up the pores.
To get rid of dark circles around the eyes, grind 5 almonds, 1 teaspoon fresh cream, juice of ½ lemon, ½ teaspoon Fuller’s earth and V^grated potato, to a thick paste. Apply it around the eyes. Wipe off with cotton wool dipped in warm milk.
For dull and dark lips, apply the juice of coriander leaves, before going to bed, for 15 days. The effort will pay off when your lips become smooth and attractive once again.
A facemask is a great way of unmasking your beauty. A facemask made by blending egg white and a little lemon juice is an excellent way to prevent wrinkles. Wash off the face pack after 20 minutes with cold water.
To prevent dry skin during the winters, moisturise it with a mixture of 1” piece of mashed banana, ½ a teaspoon milk cream, 5 drops glycerine and 2 drops of vitamin E oil.
In India, we do not like tanned skin, unlike our western counterparts. To get rid of unwanted tan, mix together equal quantities of olive oil and vinegar. Apply on the affected area, 15 minutes before the bath.
To prevent the effects of sunburn, mix 1-teaspoon potato juice with 1 teaspoon lemon juice and leave it on for 15 minutes. Wash after some time. Repeat for a few days to get rid of the tan.
Rub scraped bitter gourd peels over the face to keep blackheads and pimples at bay. Avoid the areas around the mouth and the eyes.
Beat a raw egg and apply it on the face and neck. Relax for 20 minutes and rinse it off with warm water. Eggs help tighten the skin pores and nourish the skin.
To exfoliate dead cells, rub sugar crystals on the body regularly.
If you are blessed with a normal skin, rub leftover fruits on the face and neck. It keeps the skin nourished and glowing.
A pack made from 3 teaspoon each of cucumber juice, coconut water, lemon juice and sandalwood powder, prevents skin from sagging.
To stop the skin from dehydrating during the winter, minimise the use of soap. Instead, use a mixture of 1 tablespoon each of gram flour and beaten curd, V4 teaspoon of orange peel powder and 1 teaspoon olive oil.
Don’t fret if your milk gets curdled. Just put it to good use. Use the residue of spoilt milk as a moisturiser for dry skin.
Pimples can leave ugly marks on the skin. To remove marks left by pimples, mix radish juice, with equal quantity of buttermilk, apply on face. Wash off after an hour.
Lips become dry and crack during the winter season. To prevent the lips from getting cracked and chapped, apply crushed fenugreek seeds mixed with milk.
Sponge dry the face with salt and water to prevent it from looking oily and sweaty. This is especially beneficial during the hot summer days when there is a tendency for the skin to excrete more oil than usual.
To remove burn marks from your body, burn a coconut shell and add this ash to coconut oil. Mix well and apply well over the burn marks. They will vanish within some time.
Dried and powdered orange peel mixed with a little gram flour makes an excellent face pack.
To get rid of pigmented skin, mix 1 teaspoon each of lemon juice and honey to papaya pulp. Rub this granular paste on the face and wash off after it dries.
Make a fantastic face-cleanser with 2 cups dried, powdered green peas, 1 cup gram flour, 1 cup dried orange powder and 1 cup of powdered almonds.
Mix equal parts of fresh tomato juice and cucumber juice, add a dash of rose water and refrigerate. It makes an excellent astringent for all types of skin.
While washing the face, add a little powdered sugar to the soap lather. It will help in exfoliating the dead cells from your face.
COSMETICS
Although we like to hold on to our cosmetics, especially the ones we buy during our trips abroad or the foreign ones presented by friends; there is an unmentioned expiry date for each cosmetic. Using these cosmetics beyond the expiry date may cause harm to the skin and body. Sometimes one does not quite know when one should get rid of the cosmetics. Here is a quick reckoner, which may help you in deciding which of your lipsticks, creams or lotions should be discarded. It is time to throw away your cosmetics when—
Lipstick begins to emanate a strange smell.
Creams, lotions and moisturisers become too runny and separate into layers.
Liquid mascara hardens up.
Compacts harden and cake up.
Liquid make-up bottles show a discolouration of the contents.
Powder puffs when they become hard and caky.
Lipstick brushes when they are no longer soft or the bristles have loosened up.
Lipsticks and nail polishes and hair oils can be stored in the refrigerator to make them last longer.
Old, broken and outdated shades of lipsticks can be re-used. Take 5-6 leftover shades and remove their contents into a small steel bowl with the help of a pointed knife. Heat this on the flame of a candle. Stir the melted product and pour into an empty lipstick container. Keep this in the fridge for half an hour. Shape the point with a knife or use with a lipstick brush.
HAIR
The crowning glory of a woman, the long tresses and shining locks, can be the envy of other women. In these days of pollution and adulteration, it is difficult to retain the luster and thickness of one’s hair. As compared to the modern day shampoos, the traditional methods of hair-care can give good results. Here are some tried and tested ways of keeping the tresses healthy.
For glowing hair, grind a few whole green grams, lemon peels, a handful of curry leaves and a few ‘reethas’ to a paste and apply to the hair before washing off.
To get rid of nits in the hair, mix equal quantities of vinegar and water and apply on the hair and scalp. Leave for an hour before washing. Brush your hair backwards with a fine-toothed comb. Doing this for a few days will get rid of the nits.
A few crushed camphor tablets added to hair oil will keep the hair free from lice and infection apart from keeping the scalp cool.
For long and healthy hair, wash with tender coconut water.
Add a few drops of eucalyptus oil to the henna mixture before applying to the hair. This will give the hair a rich, coppery colour and get rid of dandruff while leaving it shining.
To prevent hair fall, rub amla, neem and fresh coconut milk to the scalp.
Get rid of dandruff with beetroot juice or a mixture of curd, egg and lime. To prevent graying of hair, rub a mixture of curry leaves, amla and fresh coconut milk to the scalp.
For soft and silky hair, rinse it with tea decoction to which 1 tablespoon of limejuice has been added.
To give your hair an auburn tinge, boil grated beetroot with ½ teaspoon ‘kattha’, 1-teaspoon methi powder and water. Strain and add it to the henna powder mixed with a teaspoon of coffee powder. Let it stand overnight. In the morning add ½ cup curd to the concoction, mix well and apply to the scalp. Wash off after 3 hours.
To prevent hair loss, dry, powder and mix together each of bay and neem leaves and 25 gms of tulsi leaves. Add 5 teaspoons of this mixture to 50 ml water and apply to the scalp once a week.
Dry, powder and mix together lemon peels, rose and hibiscus petals, curry leaves and shikakai powder. Mix a tablespoon of this mixture with egg white and use as a conditioner to arrest falling of hair.
Hair conditioners don’t come in bottles and jars only. Crushed spinach leaves make an excellent hair conditioner.
Boil ½ cup water with 12 lemon slices in it. When the volume reduces to half, mix in a teaspoon of Vodka and cool. Use this solution to style hair.
For a natural hair dye, soak rusted iron nails in water in an iron container. Strain the water, make a paste with ‘trifla’ (all spice) powder and apply on the scalp for 2 hours. Wash off with water and you will have shiny, black hair.
To control split ends and treat rough and coarse hair, warm a combination of castor, mustard and olive oil and massage into the scalp for 20 minutes. Steam towel after 2 hours.
Rinse lifeless hair with a solution of 100 ml light tea mixed with 3/4 teaspoon vinegar. This helps in adding bounce and luster to the hair.
If you end up with cold every time you apply henna on your hair, add a few cloves to the henna mixture. The warming properties of cloves will keep you from getting cold.
Massage the contents of a vitamin E capsule into the scalp to revitalise and condition stressed hair. Leave for half an hour and rinse thoroughly.
Many people, especially babies, develop scalp rashes during summers. To prevent summer rashes on the scalp, mix castor, gingerly and coconut oil in equal proportions, leave on the scalp for some time. Wash away with cold water.
Mayonnaise is a good way to add oils to dry hair. Massage it into the hair and wash off after ½ an hour. Do this about twice a month. You get the double benefit of eggs and oil into your hair.
Pluck off a leaf from aloe plant; take the hard green covering off with a knife. The jelly like substance that you get should be mixed with 2-tablespoon vaseline and applied to the hair for moisturing effect.
Once a week, mix a little baking soda with your shampoo, work up a good lather and leave for a minute. This leaves the hair shiny and squeaky clean.
For rich burgundy sheen to your hair, boil 2-3 teaspoons of tea, 1-teaspoon coffee, a small piece of ‘kattha’ powder and red sandalwood, in water. Mix this red water with henna powder, add 2 teaspoon of mustard oil and 1 teaspoon of eucalyptus oil (optional). Apply this to the hair for at least 2 hours and then wash.
For a lovely black sheen to the hair, boil 8-10 pieces of amla, 2-3 pieces of shikakai, 25 gm harar, and 25 gm bahera and soak overnight, in an iron vessel. Sieve the water and mix henna powder. Apply for 2 hours and then wash it off.
For an emergency henna of hair, sprinkle a little brown powder blush-on and apply on the hair. The hennaed effect will last till the next shampoo.
To stimulate hair follicles, take 2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds, grind and add to the henna mix. The methi seeds can also be mixed with curd and applied, to prevent dandruff.
If you don’t have the time to wash and dry your hair, sprinkle talcum powder on it and brush vigorously. The powder soaks the excess oil and leaves the hair dry and fluffy.
Massage the paste of 1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds, 1 teaspoon black pepper powder and ½ cup milk gently into the scalp, to get rid of dandruff.
Boil a handful of curry leaves in 100 ml coconut oil and massage this oil into the scalp, twice a week. This prevents loss of hair.
Remember the time when we used to stick chewing gums in each other’s hair, in school. Your child may also have been coming back from school with chewing gum stuck in the hair and you may be at your wit’s end trying to dislodge the same without pulling out all your child’s hair. To remove chewing gum from the hair, rub a little honey over it.
To get rid of split ends in the hair, mix together 1 tablespoon of almond oil, 1 teaspoon of honey, 1 egg yolk and smear all over the scalp. Leave it on for about 30 minutes. Wash off with lukewarm water.
Lice and nits are a big nuisance. Every mother has to face the problem of finding her child’s hair infested with them at some time or the other. Lice can be removed from the hair by wrapping the hair in a towel full of basil leaves and leaving it overnight. Do it for a week.
TEETH
Even if the smile is beautiful, it can be marred by a set of bad teeth. The art of keeping those pearlies shining is to abide by certain rules.
Sprinkle a little salt on the toothpaste while brushing the teeth to make them sparkle.
Eating a small piece of carrot after meals will clean your mouth of the food particles.
For sparkling teeth, rub them with bay leaf once or twice a week.
Add a drop of clove oil to the toothpaste before brushing your teeth to remove stains on them.
For a home made mouthwash, boil guava leaves in water for ten minutes. Cool, strain and use as mouthwash.
For shining white teeth, take dry lemon peel and powder it. Add a little bit of salt and 2-3 drops of mustard oil. Mix well and use this to clean your teeth. It keeps the bad breath away, too.
HERBAL TREATMENTS
Our scriptures and old manuscripts have records of many remedies, which can take care of almost all types of problems. Be it beauty, health or fitness, there are traditional methods of care for every ailment.
One whole day on any one variety of fruit and lots of water can help you lose up to 1.5 kgs., besides being very good for the system.
For dull and tired eyes, put grated or sliced cucumber on the eyes while lying down with the curtains drawn.
To prevent lips from darkening due to overuse of lipstick, smear with a pack made from ground almonds, fresh cream and lemon juice.
Roast an onion and make a paste. Use this on the cracks on your feet. The cracks will disappear within a month’s time.
To tone delicate eye muscles, reduce black circles and eye pouches, cover the eye sockets with a chilled concoction of egg albumin, lemon, whipped cream and the juices of grated potato and cucumber. Leave for 20 minutes and wash off using cold milk.
For strong and healthy nails, eat jelly and dip nails in gelatine for 5 minutes. Also eat calcium, milk, curd and green salads.
Soak rough and scaly hands in a bowl of warm water to which 1 teaspoon of cornstarch has been added. This regular 5-minute treatment will soften the hands.
Dry your nails in the cold air of the freezer compartment of the refrigerator as soon as you apply nail varnish. It will not chip off easily and will last longer.
Apply some petroleum jelly on your nails if you are about to do a messy job. It will prevent the dirt from getting lodged.
After a bath, massage the feet with a few drops of mustard oil for 5 minutes. Pour 2 mugs of water over them. A daily treatment will make your feet soft.
To soften tough calluses on soles of feet, coat with a mixture of 6 crushed aspirin tablets and half cup each of water and lemon juice. Wrap feet with a warm towel and scrub the calluses with pumice stone after ten minutes. Within a few days the calluses will soften and can be easily removed.
For a quick pedicure, add a few drops of vinegar to ½ cup curd and rub this mixture well on the feet, ankles, heels and between the toes. After 10 minutes, wash off with warm water. This removes dead tissues and the skin becomes softer, too.
Apply a paste made of 2 tablespoon of heated mustard oil and 15 gms wax, leave overnight on cracked heels. The cracks will vanish.
For cracked heels, apply candle wax and mustard oil mixed together in equal ratio and wear a pair of old socks to cover your feet. Do this regularly in order to gain smooth and beautiful feet.
HERBAL HAIR OILS
Any of the following can be used to make herbal oils with base oils such as coconut, mustard oil, castor oil, olive oil, etc. Sometimes two of them can be mixed to make the herbal oil. Hair massage can be done with these hair oils with a touch of water or a drop of lemon juice.
Bhringraj-is also known as ‘maka’. The fragrant leaves of this plant are very useful as they can be used to make very beneficial herbal oil, which has a strong cooling property. This oil helps the hair to grow and also refreshes the eyes. Since it cools the scalp, this oil can be used for curing headaches.
Jabakusum-the common hibiscus is a great source of hair oil with excellent properties. The leaves as well as the flowers of this plant are used to darken greying hair and the oil made out of it helps in hair growth as well as the health of hair.
Neem-ever since the western countries applied for patents of neem products, we have woken up to the benefits of this plant. Oils made out of these leaves and the berries cure headaches, baldness, increase hair growth and strength.
Brahmi-it is a herb, which grows wild everywhere in India. It is the commonest ingredient in hair oils. It cools the head, removes stress and helps hair growth.
Parijat-also called ‘harsingar’, this tree has orange, white, fragrant flowers. The juice of these flowers cures dandruff and strengthens hair roots.
Tulsi-the leaves of this plant when used in oil add lustre to hair.
Castor seeds-hair oil made of these seeds brings about sound sleep and healthy hair.
Curry leaves-also called ‘meethi neem’, the leaves when eaten regularly prevent greying. They nourish the roots and restore normal pigmentation of the hair. The leaves can be eaten raw in chutney or their juice may be added to buttermilk or yogurt.
Henna-henna leaves are used to darken the grey hair. They nourish and condition the hair.
Amla-enriches hair growth and pigmentation. Amla water makes a good rinse for the hair.
