Hyderabad: Everyone, especially women, takes a lot of effort into making sure their hair remains strong and beautiful. But sometimes, people take it too far in the name of hair care or making hair look too good, by using chemical-induced products on them. Also, improper care or an infection or problem with the scalp can cause weakening or damage to hair. Along with the above-mentioned reasons, the most common problems that cause hair damage are excessive oiliness of the scalp or excessive dryness of the scalp.
Dr Vipin Sachdev, a dermatologist from New Delhi, explains that there can be many reasons for a dry scalp or excessive production of natural oil in the hair, such as lack of proper nutrition and water in the body, a disease or infection in the hair or scalp, excess or less production of sebum, effects of weather or excessive pollution, effects of harmful sun rays. Lack of proper cleaning and care of hair, excessive use of chemical-induced products, and getting chemical treatments done in the hair quickly also cause hair damage.
He explains that, when we use chemical shampoos, conditioners, hair colours, serums, gels and sprays, etc. on the hair more often or get some kind of chemical treatments done on the hair regularly, then the upper layer of the hair gets burnt or damaged. Due to this, the hair starts getting thinner, becomes weak and starts falling out. At the same time, they also affect the skin of the head i.e. the scalp and sometimes they can also cause a dry scalp, some kind of infection or other problems.
He explains that a dry scalp is often caused by a lack of proper hair care and other causes, such as scalp ringworm, eczema, seborrheic dermatitis, scalp atopic dermatitis, tinea capitis, and actinic keratosis caused by sun exposure for a very long time. Some common and fungal infections can also be responsible for hair damage.
On the other hand, lack of nutrition and water in the body, lack of proper cleaning of the head and excessive production of sebum are generally considered responsible for excessive oiliness of the hair or scalp. Sebum is a natural oil that controls the moisture in the scalp. It contains triglycerides, fatty acids, wax esters and squalene, and cholesterol esters. Not just excessive production of sebum but also less than required production damages the scalp and hair.
Also read: Remedies for 'Dry Lips' during summer
Dr Vipin explains that for both hair and skin to remain healthy and beautiful, the most important aspect is to consume a proper, balanced and nutritious diet and consume the required amount of water in every season. If our body is healthy and not dehydrated, then the chances of health-related problems are greatly reduced. Apart from this, the hair must be properly taken care of according to its nature. There are some aspects to keeping the hair healthy and beautiful, taking care of which can be very beneficial, some of which are as follows:
- A necessary quantity of fruits, vegetables, pulses and grains should be included in the diet so that the body can get the necessary nutrition. And such foods should be avoided or should be consumed in fewer quantities which have adverse effects on the body.
- Apart from water, fruit juice, curd, buttermilk, Lassi and coconut water should be included in your diet according to the season, so that along with removing the lack of water in the body, it also gets nutrition.
- Hair should be washed at regular intervals depending on its nature and your environment. But people who spend a lot of time in places with high pollution or dusty soil, who live in high heat, due to which there is a possibility of excessive sweating and accumulation of dirt in the head, should use very less chemical or herbal shampoo to wash their heads at short intervals.
- People who wear helmets for a long time or people who keep their heads and hair covered for a long time should sometimes leave their hair open in the air so that air can reach the hair roots and sweat can dry there, so that dirt does not get accumulated in the hair roots due to sweating.
- Before using any type of chemical-induced product in the hair, know about the number of chemicals present in it. Also, understand and follow all the necessary precautions related to the use of that product.
- People who need to use the above products for their work or other reasons should take more care of their hair.
- Apply oil to the hair twice a week and massage it with a light hand, so that not only the circulation of blood in the scalp can be better, but also the hair can get the necessary moisture.
- Dry the hair naturally as far as possible. Excessive use of a hair dryer for drying hair or hair styling can also damage the scalp.
- Never wash your hair with very hot water. Always use lukewarm or cold water for this. The use of too hot water not only reduces the moisture content of the hair but also damages the scalp.
- While washing the hair, always apply the shampoo while massaging it gently with the tips of the fingers so that the dirt collected in the roots gets cleaned.
- Depending on the nature of the hair (oily, dry and normal), the use of curd, egg, Multani-Mitti, Henna, Shikakai, Neem, fruit pack or any other type of hair pack can also be beneficial.
Despite all the precautions, if the hair is becoming weak, breaking excessively, becoming thin and lifeless, the production of natural oil in the scalp is less or more, or the scalp is becoming excessively dry accompanied by irritation of the skin, problems like reddening of the skin, watery or dry rash, or formation of scaly patches on the skin, then a dermatologist should be consulted immediately, as this could be due to some infection.
