Natural Hair Care – A Brief Guide

Embracing a natural hair care routine can be a bit confusing or challenging at times without appropriate guidance.  We bring a complete guide that explains every aspect of building a perfect natural hair care routine to get healthy, robust, and lustrous tresses.

Before getting into the details, let us start by understanding what exactly does natural hair care entails.

What is Natural Hair Care?

Natural hair care is all about taking on the essence of natural ingredients for hair, understanding the science of hair, and embracing a holistic route to hair care as per the science, in order to keep your hair feeling and looking healthy and glossy.

Why should you adopt or embrace Natural Hair Care?

Some of the important reasons that make organic hair products as the first choice for your hair are:

• Safer choice for the hair and body: Without any harmful chemicals or other byproducts, they are less likely to cause scalp irritation or any kind of hair damage. Natural organic ingredients are known to soothe, nourish, and promote smooth hair. These products are gentle on your hair and scalp, and they tend to not harm you in the long run.
• Safer for the environment:  You may have heard of ingredients such as sulphates, silicones, and parabens. Using products that do not contain such chemicals will hugely benefit your hair and skin in the long term. In addition to this, if you stop using products that contain harmful chemicals, you will be supporting the environment. This is because you won’t be rinsing them down the drain every time you wash your hair.
• Natural Hair products are perfect foods for hair: Plants and herbs grown organically are found to contain a higher level of vital antioxidant vitamins. They are very well suited to the body and hair since they have elements similar to the cellular composition of our body, which allow obtaining excellent results over a period of time.

How to integrate natural hair care into the normal routine? Or How to start a natural Ayurvedic hair care routine?

The answer lies in understanding the science of hair from an Ayurvedic perspective and following the guidelines suitable for your hair.

According to Ayurveda, the hair is a byproduct of the asthi dhatu (i.e. bone tissue). The hair is also linked to the nervous system and the gut, so if the health of any of these tissues or systems depreciates, the hair is likely to be affected. Likewise, if the quality of nutrition (rasa) available to the deep tissues of the body is compromised, the hair will undeniably be impacted. Additionally, an Ayurvedic haircare routine embraces the uniqueness of your hair types based on your Dosha.

What are Doshas and different hair types as per Ayurveda?

Ayurvedic doshas are the three vital bioenergies that regulate our bodily activities. Each individual is a combination of these tri doshas, with one or two doshas in dominance. Vata dosha is the air energy that is responsible for all the movements, Pitta dosha is the heat energy that leads to all the transformational activities in the body, and Kapha dosha is the water & earth energy that is responsible for the structural formation of the body.

These bioenergies determine your hair type and hair health as well. Three hair types as per your doshas are:

1. Vata hair type– A normal Vata hair type tends to be thin, straight hair with higher porosity. It’s normal to dry, with thin hair density, slightly rough and curly sometimes.
2. Pitta hair type- A Healthy Pitta hair type tends to be normal to slightly wavy with a medium thickness and hair density, medium strength, and length.
3. Kapha hair type– A healthy Kapha hair type is thick, smooth, lustrous, well-hydrated, straight, and strong.

Different hair types can give an understanding of the underlying dosha, and based on the dosha, complete hair care regimes can be chosen.

How to decode an Ayurvedic Hair Care regime for your hair type?

Vata Hair Care Regime

Oiling your hair 2-3 times a week with Almond oil, Castor oil, Olive Oil, or Sesame oil processed with hair strengthening herbs like Bhringraj, Licorice, Shatavari, Ashwagandha, etc. are recommended.  A Bhringraj herb-based hair care regime is suggested.

Pitta Hair Care Regime

Pitta hair care includes oiling with Coconut oil infused with herbs like Hibiscus, Amla, Licorice, Kalonji seeds, Lodhra, etc. once or twice a week. A Japapatti and Brahmi-based hair care regime is good for Pitta’s hair.

Kapha Hair Care Regime 

Kapha hair care regime focusses on hair and scalp cleansing 2-3 times a week with natural hair cleansing herbs like Reetha (Soapnut), Shikakai (Soap pod), Hibiscus flowers, and Triphala powder. Kapha hair types can do oil their hair with Neem oil or Coconut oil infused with neem leaves once in 10 days.

Let’s also answer some common questions pertaining to natural hair care

• How can I take care of my hair naturally?

We recommend two simple steps-

1. First Step- Understand your hair type, and follow a hair care regime as per your specific hair type and concern, as mentioned above.
2. Second Step- Incorporate Organic hair care products made from naturally sourced ingredients that are produced without chemicals or pesticides.

• What is the best natural hair care routine?

Step 1 – Oiling

Oiling your scalp and hair stimulates the marma points sited on the scalp and thereby acts as the rejuvenation and nourishment tool for the scalp and body. Besides rejuvenation, a regular scalp and hair massage with dosha-specific Ayurvedic oils promotes strong, healthy, and lustrous hair growth with their nourishing, strengthening, and nurturing properties of herbs.

Ayurveda recommends oiling your hair 2-3 times a week depending on the hair type. You can learn about the frequency of oiling, and the types of oils to be used, based on your hair type in the last section of this article.

Step -2 Washing the Scalp and Hair

Hair follicles get clogged with an undesirable build-up of excess oils, dirt, and grime, which you need to cleanse out through a regular hair and scalp wash with Natural sulphate free shampoos and cleansers.

For cleansing– You can use also natural cleansers like Reetha (soapnut) and Shikakai to wash the hair. You can boil 2 tbsp powder of soap nuts and Shikakai in half-liter water and leave it overnight. Strain the mixture in the morning and use this to wash the hair once or twice a week.

Ayurveda recommends you wash your hair twice or thrice a week with a gentle massage using normal or lukewarm water during your hair wash.

Step -3 Condition the hair with Hair Masks

Hair masks or ‘Shiro lepa’ in Ayurvedic terminology is one of the most beneficial therapies to nourish and deeply condition your scalp and hair. Ayurveda suggests the application of hair masks once a week or fortnight to protect, repair, and nourish your hair.

You can apply this Ayurvedic Hair Masque, which is good for all the Hair types- Soak methi or fenugreek seeds overnight in boiled rice water. Grind it. Then, apply to the entire scalp and wash your hair. You can also mix some curd in this masque.

• What are some hair care tips for natural hair care for beginners?

Start Slowly. While transitioning to natural or organic hair care, one can start slowly and simply replace products with natural alternatives. One can start with sulphate free shampoos. Small changes to your hair care routine can make a huge difference in the long run.

Apart from these, you can always follow a three-step natural hair care regime as mentioned above.

• How to choose natural hair care products for different hair concerns such as damaged hair, hair fall, and dandruff?

Damaged hair needs much more work because it needs extreme nourishment of the scalp. Repair shampoos and masks to protect the hair shaft from further damage by coating it.

Japapatti and Brahmi hair cleansers are specially designed to repair the hair. The Forest Essentials Hair Repair Masque is advised.

Hair fall – Bhringraj, Shikakai, Japapatti, etc. are great herbs for hair concerns such as hair fall. You can use shampoos and cleansers that are infused with these herbs. These herbs are known for their ability to support strong, healthy, and lustrous locks.

Bhringraj and Shikakai Hair Cleanser is perfect for hair fall

Dandruff – Ayurvedic herb Bhringraj is an antidote for dandruff-related problems. Neem is another herb that helps with dandruff-related issues.

Bhringraj and Shikakai hair cleaners are good for Dandruff-related issues.

The Last Word

Ayurveda describes and emphasizes natural hair care routines that offer several options for healthy, strong, and lustrous locks. Apart from DIY remedies and natural hair care tips, the most important aspect of Ayurveda lies in the process of knowing the unique aspects of your hair and body and finding the right solutions to address those.