Kitchen ingredients to revive your hair

Follow a few of these tips if you dream of having long, luscious and healthy hair

Every woman dreams of having luscious, long, soft and healthy hair. Overexposure to harsh sunlight, weather changes, stress, inappropriate diets, pollution, chemical treatments and medical conditions makes our hair brittle, dull and and frizzy. Damaged hair is extremely fragile and tends to break more easily.

Right there on your kitchen shelf are many natural ingredients that can revitalise the hair. They not only nourish the hair but are also good cleansers — like egg white, lemon juice, gram flour (besan) or yoghurt. The following tips can help add body and shine to the hair, besides nourishing it:

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* A common ingredient, oil (sesame, coconut, sunflower or almond) is good for hair. Warm the oil and massage gently into the scalp, at bedtime, using the fingers to actually move the scalp. Once or twice a week, heat pure coconut oil and apply on the hair and scalp. Apply on ends too.

* You could go for a turban therapy (after massaging with oil) which works best for dry and under-nourished scalp. Dip a towel in hot water, squeeze out the water and wrap the hot towel around the head, like a turban. Keep it on for 5 minutes. Repeat the hot towel wrap 3 or 4 times. Leave the oil on overnight.

* A versatile ingredient, the egg white is powerful cleansing agent. Applied on the hair 15 minutes before shampoo, the egg coats the hair shaft and adds thickness too.

* After shampoo, rinse the hair with milk and leave on for 5 minutes. Then rinse off with plain water.

* Beat an egg with a little milk to form a thickish consistency and apply it on the scalp and hair. After half-an-hour, rinse the hair well with water.

* For dry, damaged hair with split ends, first cut off the split ends. Take one tablespoon almond oil and add 2 egg yolks. Mix together and apply on the hair. Apply on ends too. Wearing a plastic shower cap will help. Wash your hair after half-an-hour.

* Yoghurt or curd helps soften the hair. Apply curd half-an-hour before shampoo. Rinse well with water when you shampoo your hair.

* Banana pulp can be applied on the hair, like a pack. Take the pulp of two bananas, and add two teaspoons lemon juice. Mix together and apply on the hair. Leave it on for 20 minutes and then wash.

* For oily scalp and dandruff, mix ripe papaya pulp with gram flour and apple cider vinegar into a paste. Apply on the hair and wash off after half-an-hour.

* Mix one cup coconut milk with powder of curry leaves and 2 tablespoons orange juice into a paste. Apply and leave on for one hour. Wash off.

* Used tea leaves can be boiled again in enough water, cooled and strained and used as a last rinse after shampoo.

* For a hair pack, mix a cup of curd, two teaspoons of besan, an egg white (egg yolk or a teaspoon of almond oil for dry hair) and the juice of half a lemon. Apply the paste on the hair and wash it off after half-an-hour.

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