It is hard to imagine an average Pakistani woman without long, below-the-waist-line hair. Their natural lengths vary too. Long hair is considered pretty and is a desirable trait. Since African American hair is said to be closer to Asian hair in its structure and nature, maybe there is a thing or two we can borrow from their hair care regimen.
Home hair oiling treatments: Hair oiling is considered a necessary part of the hair care regime by Pakistani women. Oiling is done on regular basis at least once or more a week. After applying oil, it is often left in hair overnight and washed off the next morning. Commonly used oils include olive oil, sesame oil, coconut oil and herb based oils like amla, shikakai etc. Hair oiling is mainly an activity done at home.
· Olive oil & sesame oil: This mixture is often used in summer. The mixture is applied to the hair roots and scalp and is massaged thoroughly.
· Coconut oil: This is mostly used during winter and is warmed before applying to hair roots.
· Castor oil & Mustard oil: Used for deep moisturizing and conditioning. Applied on the scalp after warming the mixture.
Home hair care remedies: Many women use home based remedies for routine hair cleansing, conditioning and moisturizing.
· Egg & yogurt mixture: It is applied for an hour or more before washing hair to provide it some conditioning. Sometimes, honey is also added.
· Henna: It is used to condition hair and add some nice color. It is also used as a natural coloring agent by those going prematurely grey.
· Lemon juice: Used for cleansing hair before a wash.
· Cooled black tea: Used for hair conditioning.
· Onion juice: Sometimes used to treat hair loss.
Use of natural hair care products: Traditional Pakistani women prefer using products with natural ingredients. Though there is no dearth of modern hair care products in the market, most of them also base their claims on using natural ingredients in order to attract consumers.
Use of herbs for washing hair: An eroding trend is the use of herbs like amla, reetha and shikakai for washing hair.
· Mixture of Amla, Reetha & Shikakai: All three herbs are added together in equal quantity and kept in powdered form. To use, the mixture is soaked in water overnight and used to wash hair in the morning.
· Neem Leaves: Crushed and soaked in water to use for hair washing.
Perhaps some of us might like to try out some of these hair care tricks and see how we fare!
Going Natural Hair Care for Black Women, African American Men and Children
