'Air Apparent

Most Indians are blessed with luxuriant black hair. At least the ones who have hair ;-) So what is this new fascination with dyeing them a weird washed-out shade of brown, I don't understand! Right from movie peeps to kids on the street, they are sporting brown highlights in their hair. Being mod and up-to-date seems to have taken a whole new meaning. People look better in what suits them, than what suits someone else. Brown hair does not suit brown people. It makes them look mousy, dowdy and washed out. I am not even going to talk about blonde looks.

It not only makes them look shabby, it spoils their hair too. These chemicals are quite harsh for the hair and over long term use, can make it really dry and coarse. Rediscover the magic of black, glossy hair.

Growing up, we were always subjected to 1 bottle of coconut oil every day. The oil not only fried your hair in the unforgiving chennai sun, it also helped add some color to your pillows and walls and sofas. People got out of that only to get here!

Most people do not use a good conditioner after a shampoo. Unless you have really, really oily hair, a mild to good conditioner is a must. And the shampoo leaves a cruddy deposit that robs the shine out of the locks. It is always good to use 2 different shampoos, one preferably to remove such deposits. A weekly deep conditioning treatment is beneficial. The best treatment can be found at home. Eggs, yogurt, black mehndi (dries up hair if used by itself, mix with an egg), coconut or gingelly oil are all good weekly treatments.

Shampoo should not be used directly on the scalp, mix it thoroughly with some warm water and apply the suds to the scalp. Leaves less deposit. Hair dryers and curlers and iron should be used as little as possible.

In case you are wondering about the title, my little one has a slight cockney in her tongue. She asks me for 'elp to brush her 'air.