How to take care of gray hair? {Hair Care}

This has been a long pending post which had been requested by Smile. I am so sorry for the delay. To start with, I don't have much experience with gray hair as my mom also has only couple of them coming up now that she is 51. And, she is not interested in covering them up. I do tell her to get the hair colored but she flatly says no.

Hair Coloring

This should come up as a different post altogether but I think its imperative to mention it here. You can always get your hair colored. Remember to get salon treatment. Shell out money coz its your hair!! It definitely falls on an expensive side when you count in the maintenance costs.

Henna-ing

This is definitely the most common practice but it turns the white or gray hair into orange which people now a days absolutely hate. So, really doesn't do much of a job. Also, using Lush Caca Noir also doesn't work on gray hair. I had suggested it to one of my friends but she confirmed that it didn't work on gray hair.

Hair Science and Home Remedies

The hair which has already turned gray can never be turned black naturally. For that you will have to color the hair. But, you can always prevent new gray hairs from coming up. Also, gray hair is a lot of times hereditary so in such cases, its a little difficult to control. So, let me suggest some home remedies to PREVENT gray hair.

• Use mustard or sesame oil on a regular basis, like twice or thrice a week. A regular usage helps prevent the hair from growing gray. They also help with hair which has turned brown!!!
• Black Pepper and Yogurt mask
• Curry leaves are supposedly great for protecting the black color of the hair. So, infuse your oil with dried curry leaves. (learn how to infuse oil here)
• Other herbs which are amazing to prevent hair from growing gray are rosemary, thyme and amla (Indian gooseberry). They also help with hair growth. 

So, what's your best bet to deal with gray hair?

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Aloe Veda Herbal Hair Oil {Product Review}

Price: Rs 125 for 200ml (pretty decent)

Ingredients

Absolutely love the ingredients!!! Sesame oil is one of my fav oils for hair as its not very thick and heavy and is extremely nourishing and also prevents gray hair. A little information about Allantoin:

Allantoin is also used in medications for dermatological conditions including acne, impetigo, eczema, and psoriasis. Allantoin is moisturizing and keratolytic, meaning that it causes keratin in the skin to soften. This property helps skin to heal more quickly and to bind moisture more effectively, making products containing allantoin useful for dry skin and for healing wounds, burns, and scars. It is also effective against sunburn, chapped lips, cold sores, diaper rash, and similar skin irritations. (Source)

Pros

- made of amazing ingredients

- gives a bit of shine to the hair

- isn't a heavy hair oil

Cons

- smells too sweet for my nose

- has some green color added to it perhaps

My Experience

I have been using this hair oil since almost a month after I have left the treatment. I have talked about this in my June hair diary. So, to start with its a green colored oil which has a really sweet smell. I am not a fan of strong smells and I am not a fan of this either.

Moving on, I have applied this with the help of cotton as well as I have mentioned here. Incidentally, the usage on the website talks about the same method.

For best results, oil your hair with Aloe Veda's Herbal Hair Oil at least twice in a week. The best time to oil your hair is in the night. Leave the oil overnight and wash it next morning as this allows deeper penetration. If possible use heated oil as hot oil penetrates scalp better and carries the active ingredients to the hair roots. If done appropriately using a cotton ball directly on scalp this can give amazing results. To ensure that you do not damage the properties of the hair oil place the bowl over boiling water to heat the oil. It is advisable to apply oil in the night and leave your hair oiled overnight. Massage your scalp for few minutes even while shampooing and finish off with a light conditioner. Regular application stimulates the scalp and activates the hair follicles which leads to better hair growth.

it comes in a flip top bottle

So, I can say that yes, it does give shine to the hair. But, to be honest, the shine is less compared to the treatment I was on which really strengthened my belief in the treatment. I did not face any major hair fall or any other problem while using this oil.

One thing which I would say is that it seems to have some green color added to the oil. Why? I apply the oil from a silver bowl so there is always some quantity of oil which remains in the bowl and I don't wash it unless I apply the ginger tonic as well (which is generally next morning, I apply oil at night). And, I always noticed some green color spots on the place where oil was present.

As to how much it helps with hair growth, I am not really sure coz its too early to say something like that. Overall, I found it to be a decent hair oil which gets washed off easily and doesn't weigh down the hair!!! It leaves the hair shinier and softer if you haven't used a better product than that.

Availability

Online - Aloe Veda Websites

PS: Product sent by brand for consideration. 

Other products from Aloe Veda:

Aloeveda Moisturising Bathing Bar Indian Khus with Kewda Extracts

Aloe Veda Chocolate Vanilla Lip Butter

Black Pepper to cover Gray Hair {Reader's Tip}

I received this comment which I thought would be particularly helpful for everyone struggling with gray hairs instead of resorting to hair colors. 

"I don't have hair loss problem but my hair is dry and has lots of gray hair. I am applying yogurt mixed with black pepper thrice a week started this week. This is helpful to cover grey hair and my hair had become soft and looking darker."

Thanks a lot to the person who has dropped in this comment :)

Do join my giveaway here. 

And, read more Reader's Tips here. 

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