Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair – Khalil Gibran.
Hair is the richest ornament of a woman, a very wise saying by Martin Luther. I personally feel hair is the most beautiful asset of a woman. When a woman steps out of her bathroom after having a relaxing bath, with water dripping down from her tresses, she looks stunningly appealing to the opposite sex even without any makeup. Earlier women with long hair were considered to be cultured. But now the norms have changed though it took time. It’s a personal choice about what hairstyle an individual wants. In fact women with short hair are considered to be more confident, successful and extrovert. I can relate my view with two best examples: Indira Gandhi and Indira Nooyi. So I can say that hairstyle shows more of your personality. But there is something unique about long hair that is the reason almost every female cartoon character like Princess Jasmine in Aladdin, Ariel in The Little Mermaid are shown with long, compact tresses, even our Barbie dolls are shown with long, silky pony tails.
Since childhood my mother has been guiding me on the importance of long hair. She is my inspiration for keeping long hair and at the later part of this article you will come to understand the reason behind this statement. I am very possessive about my hair and madly love it. I play with it just as a kid plays with his/her favourite toy.
Since ancient times, long hair has been considered as an essential part of women. But somehow now the world has become materialistic. It’s a world of shortcut. Natural products have been replaced by chemicals. But an exception is always there. For me my mother is the best example. She has maintained her long, lustrous locks without using any chemical products. Mehendi, curd and shikakai soap are the primary products that she uses till this date.
I would like to dedicate these lines for her longgggggg locks:
मनमोहक यह रूप निराला
मन निश्छल और निर्मल वेष
काली घटा छा जाये नभ में
बिखेर दो यदि तुम अपने केश
Being a homemaker, my mother was able to maintain her hair within those 4 walls but in today’s generation where the woman is working outside the home as well, it becomes a mammoth task to maintain long hair. Stress, work pressure, studies and pollution – these are the main obstacles. I won’t say it is easy to maintain long hair but yes products like Dove can really help you. Also if one can include Yoga and Pranayam in their daily routine it would add special effects.
It immensely makes me happy when people compliment me for my long hair but when people admire my mother for her long hair, it makes me proud.
I have been through tough days when it was very difficult to maintain my hair especially during my board examinations. During that time the volume of my hair was decreasing and people were continuously urging me to have a haircut. However, I was resolute on keeping it the way it was-long and lustrous. I have seen this misconception in many people. When you have split ends, everyone would suggest you to go for hair cut. I understand that split end hair looks weird but hair is not growing from that end. Hair grows from the roots and if that is not getting proper nutrition it would damage your hair. Trimming is important but that is not the solution. Leading a busy lifestyle has destroyed our life. Now neither the school girls nor their mothers feel like keeping long hair of their children. Now, usually young girls keep their hair as short as possible to save themselves from making plaits. I still remember my school when almost every girl use to have rolled plaits and specially Saturday it was mandatory to tie a white ribbon. I would like to share our tried and tested ways of nourishing hair naturally and keeping them healthy:
10 ka DUM:
1) Brush your hair gently; use a wide-toothed comb instead of a brush to gently remove the knots. Eat well and do not take any drugs since hair retains traces of the drugs you take.
2) Never shampoo your hair every day; that would strip your hair of its natural oils.
3) Smoking is also injurious to your hair because the smell usually stays long after you light up a cigarette.
4) For soft and silky hair, boil coconut oil with curry leaves juices, basil, hibiscus flower and gooseberry. Apply on hair and wash them.
5) Mix a little vinegar in warm water and rinse your hair with this solution; this will add bounce to dull and lifeless hair.
6) For strong, silky, shining and dark black hair, deep conditioning with sour curd, beer and egg is a good option.
7) Soak fenugreek seeds (methi ke dane). Make a fine paste of it and apply on your hair for 30-45 minutes. Regular use would help you to get rid of dandruff completely.
8) Take adequate Vitamin D (morning sunlight) and your hair will become healthy and lustrous. Our indoor activities keeps us away from sunlight, the main source of Vitamin D while other factors like improper diet and eating junk foods results in deficiency of Vitamin D, which eventually causes hair loss.
9) Make a powder of dried awla, reetha and sheekakai. Use in the ratio 1: ½: 1. For example: If you are buying 1kg awla then take ½ kg reetha and 1 kg shikakai. Once in a week wash your hair with this mixture. The quantity should depend upon the length of your hair.
10) Take proper proteins, iron and minerals naturally in your diet.
Colouring hair, hair straighteners, using hair dryers can be very harmful if used for a long time. Instead of that after washing hair we should always stand for 10 minutes under morning sunlight to dry them.
Most important: MASSAGE or CHAMPI, yes this is the best way to boost in your hair’s natural growth rate. Just use the tips of your finger and run them on your scalp. No matter how busy you are, indulge in this activity once a week and it will do wonders for your hair. Not only it helps you to get long hair but also relieves you from stress.
Dove Moment:
When the courier boy dropped the packet of dove gift hamper, I was surprised. I was curious to know what was exactly inside it. When I opened it and saw the transparent golden bag with those cute golden beads, I felt as if someone had given me the diamond crown of Miss Universe. I kept looking at it. Free gifts always excites
Dove is the name of a beautiful pigeon of the genus Columba. Dove products are exactly like that pigeon, soft and gentle. It gives full justice to the name. I have never used the combination of dove products. I had an amazing experience after using the dove shampoo and conditioner. Once I applied the conditioner lather and washed it, my hair went so silky that it was impossible for me to roll them up which I usually do. Later I applied Vita oil Serum, even after driving for 6 kms with open hair it made no difference. I had the same lustre and texture which I experience after using curd and egg. I strongly feel that people like me who wish to have long hair but cannot dedicate lot of time use Dove products as an alternate. Thanks to Dove my hair still retains that essence of natural products.
As we nourish our child and in return they love you, same way we should love our hair and they would compliment us, and our personality.
This article is for a contest, Love is a two way street: Love your hair and it loves you back!, sponsored by Dove & IndiBlogger, directory of Indian blogs.
Love your hair and they will love you back
Link to the actual blog: http://rewakheta.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/dovecontest/
