Dry months of winter can cause dandruff, flakiness of scalp and itching. Any hairstyles you do can be marred by unsightly flakes, that can drive people away. Also too much scratching can also give rise to skin acne. Anti dandruff shampoos are not the only answer since they don’t really work as well as advertised and they are also full of strong, harmful chemicals. Here are a few easy hair care tips to get rid of the flakiness—good ‘ol home remedies tried and tested in my own home and some that have been used in our families for generations. All these remedies will give results, but they need to be repeated regularly till the scalp clears.
Lemon Juice
Lemon is a natural astringent and has been used to cure dandruff and flakes since years. All you have to do is squeeze the juice of a couple of lemons and massage them into your scalp. Wash hair after half hour to get squeaky, clean scalp and shiny hair. Repeat this at least once a week. You can also boil used lemon rinds and peels in water for 15-20 min. Once it cools, use it to wash your hair.
Fenugreek Seeds
Soak a handful of methi seeds in water and after a day grind them into a fine paste. Mix this with some yogurt—preferably sour dahi kept outside overnight—and apply on scalp. Keep for half hour and wash as usual. This has to be done at least twice a week till scalp clears.
Natural Oils
Basic oils like coconut oil, almond oil and olive oil are a great way to moisturise the scalp, thus reducing and preventing dryness and flakes. Make sure that you are using cold pressed organic oils and not the cosmetic versions of the oils, since the cosmetic versions are not as pure. Warm the oil for 20-30 seconds in the microwave, test the warm oil first to make sure you don’t burn your fingers or your scalp and massage a decent amount well into your scalp and hair. Leave for about 2-3 hours and wash as usual.
Vinegar and baking soda treatment
Get apple cider vinegar and mix 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water. After you are done washing your hair with your shampoo, use the vinegar- water mix to rinse your hair. Make sure to rub it into your scalp and hair. Wait 5 min and rinse it out with plain water. You can alternatively also mix baking soda with water to make a nice paste. Apply this into the scalp and keep for 10-15 min. Wash off with plain water. Both these remedies will suit oily hair or straight hair a lot better than dry hair. So if your hair is dry/curly/quite wavy, test these methods to first figure out if they result in your hair getting drier or unmanageable. In which case, stop these and try the other methods in the article.
Good ‘ol Eggs
Separate the white and yellow of two or three eggs as per your hair requirement. Beat the whites till they get fluffy. Now add the yellow into it and beat again. Apply this to your scalp and keep for 30 minutes. Wash off with shampoo and condition as usual. This is a great way to moisturise your hair as well as rid your hair of dandruff. If the smell of eggs bothers you, mix a little yogurt into the eggs. This helps in reducing the smell in your hair.
One thing you have to be aware of is whether you are getting dandruff because of general dryness/ oiliness of scalp or if you have any condition that may require medical intervention. So if these remedies do not work for you, do meet a dermatologist or even your general GP once to figure if you have any skin/hair conditions that require medical treatment.
Here’s wishing you a clean scalp and beautiful hair always!
XOXO
little red tote
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Written by Fleur Xavier and Nethra Raghuraman on 7th May 2014