Beauty and Personal Grooming

This homemade hair-pack conditions as well as imparts shine and bounce to lifeless, dull hair . Start using this pack twice a week for a month before your wedding. Soon you will have shiny, breathing, voluminous hair sans dandruff . Be prepared to expect compliments galore on your D-day.

It's not a good idea to  drink alcohol anytime, anywhere, no matter what the research says. You may think that you are an occasional party drinker, but without your knowledge you may soon develop an addiction for it and the repercussions can prove to be disastrous. Instead, why not use rum and beer in your hair care routine? These are known to be very good hair conditioners and can impart bounce and shine to your hair.

Dandruff, certainly isn't a life-threatening problem, but it can be irritating and sometimes a source of embarrassment,  more so, when you are wearing a black dress and those white flakes falling over it become all the more noticeable. There are several ways to tackle this dandruff, but the best and safest of all are DIY home-remedies . A hot oil massage with olive oil , coconut oil , almond oil or sesame oil work wonders for a scalp affected by dandruff, as these oils supposedly have anti-fungal properties. So also a massage with pure alovera gel or soaked and ground fenugreek seeds paste or lemon juice. Then there is this  homemade oil with curry leaf stalks that's not only good for minor skin ailments but also for dandruff. There are a plethora of such home-remedies that are highly effective for dandruff. (Also read Fight dandruff yourself, Dandruff - Home remedies , Quick remedies for dandruff flakes and DIY Remedy for itchy dandruff .) Amongst the several options ...

For those who like making their own hair packs, here are some intereting hair packs shared by reader Anu: Oily hair mask: Ingredients: 5 tbsp Fuller’s earth (Multani Mitti) Juice of 2 lemons 5 tbsp strained tea water ½ glass beer Method: Mix well and apply to the scalp and hair. Leave it on for 30 minutes. Shampoo . For chemically treated hair: Ingredients: 4 tbsp honey 2 eggs 2 tbsp papaya pulp 1 mashed or pureed banana Method: Mix all the ingredients and apply on the scalp and hair. Cover with a shower cap. Shampoo after 40 minutes. Anti-Dandruff Hair Pack: Ingredients: 2 tsp neem powder ½ tsp black pepper powder 2 tsp fenugreek (methi) powder Juice of 1 lemon 3 tbsp Fuller’s earth ( Multani Mitti ) 1 egg A pinch of camphor Method: Mix all the ingredients well. Apply from the scalp to the hair ends. Cover with a shower cap, leave it on for 40 minutes, then shampoo.

For very itchy dandruff , try the following home remedy. Take about 1½  teaspoons of powdered black pepper (Kali mirch) seeds, mix with half cup of milk and 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Apply to the scalp and a little more on the irritated area. Let it stay for 35 minutes. Wash it off with any shampoo of your choice. Continue this treatment once a week till all the dandruff disappears. Don’t discontinue this treatment altogether. Instead of a week, use it once in two months. (Contributed by reader Meetu)

When you see those thick, scaly, white flakes’ dropping on your dress you know you have that itchy, annoying skin disorder of the scalp called dandruff. It is all the more embarrassing when people point out this to you. The feigned sympathetic looks on their faces and a concern which almost seems to mock you is even more exasperating. You mumble something and try and manage the situation by changing the topic but inwards you fume and fret and curse yourself for wearing a light colored dress that day. And you fervently wish that you could really do something about this evil flaky nuisance. Here’s an easy remedy to make those white flakes fall off quickly - Right before you go to bed, dampen your scalp with a little warm water and then rub a little baby oil, (slightly warmed olive oil will also do) into your scalp. When you wake up, shampoo as usual. The oil will penetrate the scalp and help soften and loosen up the dandruff scales, so they fall right off in the shower the next mor...

Dandruff is a common problem and one can fall victim to excessive dandruff at any time. Common practice is treating dandruff with anti-dandruff shampoos. Also refer to an earlier post on dandruff, Fight dandruff yourself for more information. But simple effective home remedies can treat dandruff. Home remedies may offer complete solutions for controlling dandruff. * You can also prepare a mixture of one part of sandalwood oil and three parts of lemon juice. Store it in a bottle. Massage the scalp with this solution. After the massage, treat your hair with an egg shampoo.

Dandruff is the scalp and hair disorder that embarrasses a person with continuous itching and falling white scales. Don’t be dismayed as the problem can be overcome with some simple hair and scalp treatments.