How do I use Essential Oils? {DIY}

When I had posted my haul last week, many of the requests were on how to use the essential oils. The answer to that is that I use EO's practically in everything. So, let me just share some of my tips.

Skin Care

• I use couple of drops of EO's if I make my own scrubs any time. For example, today I made one - yogurt + besan after long long time and I used 10drops of ginger and 10 drops of Bergamot. But, that's actually a lot. Limit it to 10 at max. 
• I am using Fig and Honey moisturiser currently. So, I added a couple of EO's to it. I have around 150ml bottle of the moisturiser left so I could add up to 3ml of EO's (that's 60 drops of EO's). The math is done here. I added Patchaouli, Lavender, Ylang Ylang, Rosemary, Cedarwood, Frankinscence in equal drops (10 each). And, that's a lot, trust me. You can see a layer of oil over the moisturiser when you add. So, don't go overboard!!! 
• I add at most 10 drops of any EO to my bath sometimes if I want to relax. I have used Lavender, Neroli and Ylang Ylang till now. 
• I have made a toner using the EO's. I will post the recipe soon. 

Hair Care

• Let's start with the hair oil. I have added ginger, cinnamon bark, rosemary to my hair oils as they help in hair growth.
• Moving on, the next product is shampoo. I had added 20 drops of Rosemary EO to my Dove Shampoo and now, I have added 20 drops of Rosemary and 20 drops of Ylang Ylang to my Pantene shampoo. 
• Similarly, I added essential oils to my Liz Earle Botanical Shine Treatment and L'Oreal Total Repair 5 Masque. Though, I haven't used them since I have added the EO's coz of the treatment. 
• Also, check out my DIY aloevera scalp gel for hair growth which is entirely based on the efficacy of the essential oils. 

So, those are some of the tips on how to use essential oils in day to day life. And, of course, my perfume oils too. So, how do you use the EO's or plan to use them??

My Experience with Kamini Aunty

Well, you would all be wondering who the hell is "Kamini aunty"??? I came to know about her from Mehak's blog and on my recent trip to Delhi, I went to this lady who is supposed to be a miracle for hair. She can cure any hair problem apparently. She runs her hair clinic from her house in Safdarjung enclave. And, the clinic is just like a home parlour.

Oil and Ginger Tonic

I went to her with my mommy. "Kamini aunty" looked at my hair and declared that its thin and she didn't really say much about my hair. I got her to check my mom's hair too and she declared that my mom has very dry scalp. And, she instructed the girl on what to use for our hairs and off we went in for the treatment. It consists of 3 things basically:

• Oiling - She has variety of oils of probably different grades. The girl attending me gave me instructions about how to go about my routine. And, she applied really a LOTTT of oil to my hair (around half a cup). It is supposed to have lots of herbs.

• Ginger Tonic - After the oiling was done, this was applied to my scalp only. Its basically ginger powder infused in vinegar. This is for aiding the hair growth since ginger stimulates hair follicles.Well, I do think other herbs might also have been there. It has to be left on for 30 minutes.  

• Hair Pack - After the ginger tonic, a hair pack is applied on the scalp and the ends of the hair and then, the hair is covered with a shower cap. This is made from many pulses and other ingredients and it smells strongly of dhania and it smells really warm. It also has to be left on for 30 minutes.

And, then, I am left for 30 minutes for the treatment to soak into the scalp. Meanwhile, I watch the whole procedure being followed on my mom and this is the first time she is getting any kind of a hair treatment so I was obviously enjoying it a lot :D And, then, I was taken for a hair wash which includes a shampoo and conditioner free of chemicals. Finally, my hair is blow-dried and my hair really felt so soft.

Shampoo and Conditioner

So, what's the treatment?
We are prescribed a shampoo, conditioner, hair oil and the ginger tonic. The treatment has to be done everyday for the first week in the same order as I have described above. And, after the first week, it has to be done on alternate days till you see the desired results. The hair pack has to be applied weekly once. I was told that I would see the new growth in two months.

How much does it cost?
Yes, it is expensive. Not overtly but still it is. Frankly, I wasn't prepared for the bill presented to me but my mom had already anticipated it. The shampoo and conditioner cost about 400, the tonic is around 800, hair pack is 600 and the hair oil is around 2500. To be just, even my dad said that the quantity given was good enough.

How am I liking it?
I went to her on 18th April. I have used the products around 5 times till now. Yes, I wasn't regular as I should have been in the first week and neither was I in the second but I hope I shall be from now on. But, strictly speaking, I would say that the treatment has brought out shine in my hair. And, it has definitely become more manageable with less flyaways.

Also, I love the shampoo a lot. Its free of chemicals and it smells nice and it seems to be a concoction of reetha and shikakai with orange fragrance. Its watery enough but not entirely watery and lathers well enough but not exactly generously but cleanses my hair nicely. And, I like the conditioner too. It lathers a lot and doesn't weigh down my hair.

Of course, none of the products ingredients are written as they are supposed to be a secret. And, whether I'll have a head full of hair, only time will tell. But, being a cynic, I do have a small doubt. If I follow the very same routine with regular products in the same time frame, will it yield results??? Of course, taking into consideration that I choose a SLS free shampoo and silicone free conditioner. What do you say??

Ginger for hair

Apart from the discussed advantages of Ginger, it is also great for increasing the blood circulation in the body. So, a little ginger juice added to your hair oil does make a lot of difference. Next time you are about to oil your hair, mix in a table spoon of ginger juice into the oil and apply it to the scalp. This would make your scalp feel tingly and very warm due to the increased blood circulation in the scalp. This remedy would promote hair growth and remove dandruff from the scalp. It also reduces hair loss.