Hair health starts with your scalp

Out for a romantic evening under the stars. It’s going really well and you find yourself on cloud nine, even imagining specs of stardust on your shoulders. But alas! It’s anything but celestial. It’s just dandruff raining off your head and in a moment you crash back into reality - conscious for the remainder of the evening.

Or what about the time when you were preparing for a really important presentation and the only thing that you were concerned about other than your slides was how to get rid of that irritating cowlick off your forehead. And so on. All of us have our terribly tiny tales of bad hair days.

But while one-off bad hair days can happen with anyone, when it feels like this has become a regular affair - it points to a problem much deeper. And that’s within the scalp. Itchiness, flakes, dry scalp, oily hair – it all begins at the scalp. Like the rest of your body, your scalp needs regular cleansing, exfoliation, and hydration. And if you’re only concentrating on your hair, that my friend is a mistake. To get to the root of your hair problems, let’s start at the scalp.

Choose the right shampoo

Your hair deserves the best. So read the labels while buying a shampoo, especially a shampoo for oily scalp. Harsh shampoos complete with sulphates, parabens, and other chemicals are a NO. Use a shampoo that has a sulphate-free formulation, gently cleanses, and is infused with natural actives like ginger, that contains scalp soothing properties.

Cleanse right

While shampooing, make sure you get the scalp as much as the hair. Massage in the shampoo with your fingertips onto your scalp in gentle, circular motions. This will help exfoliate and get rid of a dandruff scalp and dead cells that might be stuck. Be careful to not tug at your hair while massaging because your hair is generally weaker when it’s wet. Rinse off with lukewarm water.

Hydrate

Use a conditioner after you shampoo. Just like your skin, your scalp also needs a boost of moisture every now and then, all the more after you’ve just washed your hair. If oily scalp is a cause of concern for you, make sure you don’t overdo the conditioner.

Gentle combing & brushing

Easy there! Your hair isn’t meant to be pulled on. Be gentle with that comb while brushing your hair. Gentle combing not only evens out blood circulation but also encourages hair growth. It also stimulates the scalp and evenly distributes sebum and natural oils.

Pay attention to your diet

What you eat can affect the health of your hair. Your diet can expedite your scalp treatment naturally. Leafy vegetables are a good source of Vitamin A and C which act as natural moisturizers for your scalp, while brown rice is a great source of protein and fibre. Green tea can help to keep your hair shiny and most importantly keep your scalp free of dandruff.

Follow all this as part of your lifestyle and you’ll whisk away bad hair days just like the dandruff and everything else unwanted off your hair. With the right care for your hair and the correct techniques to boost the health of your scalp, you could then part with a bit of your attention elsewhere - like on your date across the table.

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