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Worrying yourself to death seeing those strands of hair that cling to the bath towel every time you emerge from the shower? You are not alone. Hair loss is one biological phenomenon that people share the world over. And worry about.

Hair loss affects men more than women. About 60% of men have hair loss. Among women, only 40% suffer hair less. But sadly, that is a huge setback for each one of them. Many products being sold online claim certain ‘miracle cure’ for hair loss and re-growth but few have proven efficacy when it comes to stopping hair fall.

Remember, hair fall is quite natural. Normally, for 100,000 hair follicles, there will be a loss of 100 hair strands a day for each one of us. Hair fall becomes a problem when the rate at which that happens exceeds this limit.

This can cause thinning of the hairline or appearance of ‘bald patches’ on the scalp. There are many reasons for hair fall—lack of proper hair-care, deficiency of certain supplements in food, hormonal imbalance, certain medical conditions or just heredity.

The following simple remedies can be used to prevent hair fall and induce re-growth of hair:

Lemon juice and Indian gooseberry

Get some fruits of Indian gooseberry (Nellikka), wash them and cut them into small pieces and remove the seed. Crush the pieces so that they become a paste. This paste can be pressed using a cloth or plastic mesh to extract the juice.  Keep this in a bottle and add 3 table spoon full of lemon (Cherunaranga) juice. Mix thoroughly. This must be freshly applied to the scalp and left to dry for 30 minutes. After that, wash the hair gently with water.

Lemon peel, curry Leaf and green gram

Another home remedy for hair fall which can be prepared easily at home can prepared with lemon peel (Cherunaranga: one piece), curry leaves (Kariveppila:15-20 pieces), green gram-(Cherupayar: 2 tablespoons), fenugreek seeds (Uluva: 2 tablespoons). If available, 3 table spoons of Indian soap nut (Uruvanchi) powder also can be added. Mix all these together and grind well by adding just enough water. Keep the resulting mixture in a clean glass bottle. This can be used as a hair-shampoo. Forget not to wash off the ‘shampoo’ with water.

Bhringaraj (Kayyonni), fenugreek and coconut oil

This is the most efficient way to cure hair fall and all other ailments related to hair like premature baldness, greying, etc. To prepare this, first you have to collect some fresh leaves of False Daisy (Kayyonni: Eclipta alba). Wash its leaves and mince. Pour coconut oil in a frying pan and boil it for 5-6 minutes. Add one tea spoon of fenugreek seeds to this and boil again for 5 minutes. Allow the potion to cool and this can be stored in a glass bottle for future use. Sesame oil also can be used instead of coconut oil. This can be applied on the scalp and left for 15-30 minutes. It can be washed off after the specified time.

4. Shoe Flower (Chemparathi) and coconut oil

Collect some fresh leaves and flowers of Shoe Flower (Chemparathi). These are to be washed and ground to make a paste. Parts of leaves or flower that remain ungrounded can be removed. Pour one cup of coconut oil, boil it and mix it with this paste. This can be applied on the scalp and washed off after 30 minutes. Freshly made Shoe Flower paste mixed with fresh gooseberry juice can also be directly applied to scalp to ward off dandruff. Mixing curry leaves and ginger juice also could yield good results. Traditionally, this is used as a ‘hair conditioner’ known as ‘Chemparathi Thaali’.

Aloe Vera (Kattarvazha) and coconut oil

Aloe vera (Kattarazha) is used to make hair oil which is a good remedy for hair loss and dandruff. For this, leaves of Aloe vera are to be cut and ground in a mixer grinder without adding water. Take equal amount of pure coconut oil and mix the two in a frying pan. This can be boiled in low flame until the water content totally disappears and only the residue is left. This can be sieved using cotton cloth or plastic mesh. The oil can be kept in a clean and dry glass bottle for future use.

Henna leaf, onion, curry leaves and coconut oil

Put two tablespoons of fenugreek seeds in water to make them soft and soaked. Mix and grind this with one onion, one leaf of Aloe vera, one handful of henna leaves and curry leaves. Transfer the mixture to a frying pan and add coconut oil, just enough to cover the mixture. Boil the mixture in low flame and stir well. Oil can again be added in small quantities as the mixture is stirred. About 750ml of oil can be added in this way. After cooling, the oil can be kept for future use in a clean and dry glass bottle.

The nourishment part

According to Ayurveda, those food items that aggravate Pitta can induce hair loss as they cause body-heat to increase. So, it is better to avoid spicy foods, fried or greasy foods, sour foods, pastries, bread, pasta and ‘junk foods’ like chips, candies, processed foods etc.

Fast-food items with artificial colours and preservatives are totally unhealthy. Tea, coffee, pickles and alcohol are to be moderately used. Drink fresh juices made from alfalfa, carrots, lettuce and spinach. Include high fibre fruits and vegetables to diet. Add a spoonful of sesame seeds to your breakfast as they are good source of calcium and magnesium. Consumption of yogurt on a daily basis also can prevent hair fall. Make a concoction of 1 tablespoon Aloe vera gel and a pinch of cumin seeds. This can be taken three times a day. Or drink 1/3 cup of Aloe vera juice, once a day.

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