Dyeing Your Hair with Vegetable Products

The leaves of the indigo tree are crushed into a fine powder and used as a dye which gives the hair a blue-black color. A mixture of henna and indigo powder is widely used. The color obtained varies according to the proportion of the two elements in the mixture.

Kohl powder is dissolved in water and applied to the hair with a brush. Years ago kohl was used to blacken the eye lashes, but it has now been abandoned as it is not water-proof or tear-proof.

Mix walnut bark with a dilute ammonia solution )one part ammonia to two parts water) to make an extract. It gives the hair an attractive brown color.

Camomile tea gives a golden tint to the hair but is not capable of covering up grey hair. Make an infusion of red oak bark and rinse your hair in it. It gives a lovely dark sheen to the hair.

If your hair is getting grey try darkening it with sage leaves. Make a strong infusion with the leaves by mixing about 4 tablespoons to one cup of water. Apply this water to the hair roots every day, and you will find a magic change after some days. When the desired color is obtain­ed use it once a week. The other way to use leaves is to mix the infusion with kaolin to make a paste. Apply this to the hair and leave it on for about half an hour, then wash it off. To increase the darkening effect mix in it tea instead of water.

Hair Dyeing with Henna

The use of henna as a hair dye has been very common all over the world. It can either give the hair lovely highlights or turn it bright flaming red. It does not change the chemical structure of the hair as chemical dyes do. It is not possible to predict exactly what color your hair will turn out with henna, as it depends on the texture and color of your hair. It is suggested to dye a cutting of the hair first. There are many ways of using henna. Mix one cup of henna with one cup boiling water to a paste or mix one cup of henna with one cup of coffee or tea to a paste. To any of these henna pastes you can add egg and a tablespoon of castor oil. This helps the paste to stick to the hair better.

Heat the henna paste over a double boiler, let it steep there from ten minutes to half an hour. Cool, then re-heat to the boiling point. Remove from the heat. Now add the egg and castor oil, and apply as hot as possible. Massage into the scalp. Wear rubber gloves white massaging. If the ends of your hair are dry, they will be more porous and turn brighter fast. Leave it on from half an hour to three hours, then wash it off.

Homemade Hair Shampoo Recipes

There is a large selection of reliable preparations and you may select the one most suitable for you.

Panama Wood Shampoo
In two pints of water, boil up 50 gms. of Panama wood. Let it infuse for an hour. Strain off the liquid and use. This is a good preparation for normal and oily hair.

Rum Shampoo
Combine two egg-yolks with two dessertspoonfuls of odourless linseed oil and two dessertspoonfuls of rum. Soak the hair and scalp. Keep on for one hour. Rinse off with warm water. This is especially good for dandruff and dry hair.

Egg Shampoo
This is one of the oldest beauty recipes. Eggs are full of protein. Beat two egg yolks in a glass of hot water. Strain, soak hair and scalp. Keep on for one hour. Rinse off with warm water.


Conditioning Shampoo
Mix together 1-2 tablespoons cheap shampoo, one egg and one tablespoon unflavored powder gelatin. Beat slowly in order to avoid lumps. This is an effective conditioning shampoo, The egg and gelatin are both proteins, and make your hair lovely and thick.

Tonic Shampoo
Put 130 gms. each dried reetha, shikakai and amla into one liter water. Keep it for 24 hours. Boil and then allow to cool. Strain and use as a shampoo.

Herb Shampoo
Wash 200 gros each of dried olives and shikakai beans in cold water and then soak overnight in an iron pot. Next morning boil them for 10-15 minutes and strain. Liquidize the flesh that remains and use the paste to wash your hair. This shampoo leaves your hair soft and shiny.

Medicated Shampoos

These shampoos are used to correct any disorder of secretion in the scalp. If you have dry hair, choose a shampoo based on cod oil, tar or lecithin. If you have oily hair, a shampoo containing sulphur or essence of cedar is best. There are dry and coloring shampoos widely used in western countries. Dry shampoos come in an extremely fine powder form which is sprinkled over the hair and then removed by very thorough brushing. Their main advantage is that no wetting of the hair is required. They consist of a mixture of synthetic detergent in powder form and mineral salts. Mostly sodium salts are used which absorb fatty matter. Thus the hair can be cleaned without too frequent washing, and because of this they are particularly recom­mended for oily hair.

Coloring shampoos have become very popular in recent years for brightening the color of the hair. They are in fact good shampoos with a detergent base to which has been added either a bleach or a dye which is much less harmful than the real dyes because it does not penetrate the hair but only covers it with a thin coloring film. Coloring shampoos are generally harmless, but they can affect those who are susceptible to allergies, by causing an eczema on the face and swelling or irritation on the scalp. To avoid these severe allergies, do not use coloring shampoos during periods, pregnancy, menopause, ovarian upsets, and skin troubles. .

To carry out a shampoo properly, begin by soaking your hair in hot (not too hot) water. Too hot water is not good for the hair or the scalp. Pour on to the hair a small quantity of shampoo and rub the scalp with the tips of your fingers vigorously. If your hair is long or very thick, slip your fingers right through the hair to the scalp itself, and rub it vigorously but not roughly. Next rinse completely with hot water, and again apply a Jot of shampoo. Rub in, but this time more with the hands flat. Do not penetrate through to the scalp, but gently rub the half. The shampoo should foam cleanly. If not, apply more shampoo for the third time. The rinsing which follows must be very thorough. Rinsing should not stop until the water from this last rinse is completely clear. At the slightest trace of soap or foam, at the slightest tingling from the scalp, do not hesitate to carry out an extra rinse.

Next you should wring the hair, but never twist it, in a thick towel. Wrap the dry towel like a turban around your hair. A hair dryer can also be used for this purpose, but avoid too hot air.

Natural Dandruff Cures

The greatest enemy of healthy hair is dandruff. This is a problem which worries many women, and experts reckon that one in every three suffer from it. If there is the slightest sign of this, deal with it without delay. Fortuna­tely, these days there are a number of excellent prepara­tions available in the market for curing it. Besides the anti­dandruff creams, lotions, oils and shampoos available in the market, there are many simple house hold remedies to fight dandruff described below:

(1) Mix two tablespoons of cosmetic vinegar and six tablespoons of hot water. Dab with cotton into the scalp, parting the hair with a comb apply all over the scalp. Preferably it should be used at bed time. Tie a scarf over the hair to avoid staining the pillow. Next morning wash the hair with shampoo. After the hair is thoroughly clean­sed pour over as a last rinse a mixture of three tablespoons of cosmetic vinegar and one cup of hot water. Then dry the hair thoroughly. This should be done twice a week for three months.

(2) Hot oil therapy is another method to cure dand­ruff. Massage hot oil into the scalp at bedtime. Next morning an hour before bath, rub lemon juice mixed with cosmetic vinegar (mix 1: 2 ratio) into the scalp. Give the hair a good wash with egg shampoo.

Egg shampoo is one of the oldest beauty recipes. Eggs are full of protein. Simply wash your hair with egg. Beat up one or two eggs with a cup of water and thoro­ughly massage this into your wet hair for about five to ten minutes. Rinse off thoroughly and remember not to use hot water. There is another method to use egg shampoo. Simply beat one egg in a cup of water and mix to it 1 to 2 tablespoons shampoo. Do not worry about which shampoo has to be used. As a last rinse use the juice of one lemon in a cup of hot water. Continue this complete treatment once a week for three months, then once a fortnight for the next two months.

(3) Give your hair a hundred strokes every night with a brush or comb. Remember that the root of each hair is the sebaceous gland that supplies oil to keep each hair soft and gleaming. Press .the bristles of the brush against the scalp to exercise and squeeze the tiny oil reservoirs. The oil sac automatically start distributing natural scalp oil to each hair strand. Take the hair brush from the root of the hair to the very end of the hair so that the oil is carried to each individual hair tip. Avoid as far as possi­ble wire bristles, because wire breaks the hair and gives it a ragged look. It is important that combs and brushes be kept clean. Add a few drops of ammonia to water and clean combs and brushes. Brushing moulds the hair, makes it more manageable and gives it a prettier gloss. Hair should be brushed or combed gently and lightly when -wet as there is a danger of its being stretched and weakened.

(4) Give your hair a hot steam bath. Massage hot oil with a hot damp towel and leave it on the head like a turban so that the steam can fight dandruff. You may use two towels for this purpose.

(5) Here is another beauty tip for your hair. After giving your hair a good wash, boil five teaspoons of dried used tea leaves in lime water and use it as a last rinse after shampoo. This gives the hair a lustrous shine and provides nourishment too.

Easy Hair Care Tips

Lovely, shining hair is one of a woman's greatest beauty assets. Hair tends to be the body's barometer indicating good health or the lack of it. The life-span of a hair can be anything from several months to several years, depending on how it is treated and how healthy the scalp and hair conditions are. It is seen that the average life of a hair is about five years. After that, the follicle the hair is growing from begins to shrink and the .hair remains static until it drops out or is brushed out to be replaced a few months later by a new hair. The average adult head has around 1,20.000 to 1,50,000 hairs. Although a hundred of hairs may come out in a single day, your hair won't become thinner. The trouble starts when the new hair does not form in the follicle, perhaps because there is inadequate blood supply, or because glandular or hormonal activity in the body is preventing healthy growth. Hair is a precious beauty asset, so it deserves good care. There are four types of hair-normal, greasy, dry and greasy dry. Normal hair is shiny yet not greasy, and fairly easy to manage. Greasy hair looks good for a day or two after shampooing, but then quickly becomes lank. Dry hair is difficult to control after shampooing, looks dull and has ends that are dry and split. Greasy dry hair is usually fairly long and the hair nearest the scalp is greasy while the ends are dry.


The beauty of hair, too, depends on good health. Since hair is made from a form of protein, a high protein diet can help to make it grow strong and healthy. The valuable vitamins of the B Complex are important for hair health and one of the best source of Vitamin B is brewers' yeast. Another good source of Vitamin B is liver, so make sure your diet includes at least one liver meal a week. Minerals important for the health of your hair include iron, copper and iodine. Iron and copper are present in everyday foods like meat and leafy green vege­tables. If you have greasy hair, banish fried, greasy and fatty foods from your diet, and concentrate on green vege­tables and salads, meat, fresh fish, liver, eggs and cheese. For dry hair, add a little vegetable oil to the same basic diet, but avoid fried food, since it may cause skin troubles. Dandruff can be a problem for dry normal or greasy hair. A well-balanced diet and good general health are essential for getting rid of dandruff permanently.

Complete Guide to Teeth & Mouth Care

Teeth are on show every time you speak and when you smile. An attractive smile is an important part of beauty.

Brushing is the first thing in the morning to freshen your mouth and last thing at night so that you remove food particles which may linger and decompose during the night. Do not make the mistake of cleaning your teeth and then having a hot milk drink in bed. Cleaning should be done after your milk drink before going to bed.

Brush teeth thoroughly three times a day after meals. Using a firm tooth brush, brush your teeth with up and down movements, not with ones that go from side to side. Tackle the back teeth first, both their fronts and backs. Now brush the side teeth, working with up and down strokes. These help to dislodge particles of food by getting the bristles right between the teeth. Rinse your mouth well with an antiseptic mouth wash several times during the tooth brushing. Make sure that you massage your gums too with the brush, to stimulate circulation. The whole brush­ing procedure should take at least three minutes. The choice of tooth-paste depends on your preference, but beware of using harsh tooth powders to remove stains. If the teeth are not white enough, try using a tooth paste containing peroxide and leave it on the teeth for several minutes before rinsing off. Alternatively try dipping your tooth brush first in water, then in peroxide and finally into salt. This makes an effective emergency tooth cleanser if you run out of paste.

For cleaning the teeth, there are some other ingredients and recipes. Mix 3 tablespoons bicarbonate of soda with 2 tablespoons salt (sodium chloride) and use as a tooth powder. You can add pulverized orange and lemon peel to the mixture to whiten the teeth. The ashes of burnt bread, charcoal, burnt rosemary and a mixture of, honey and salt and eye meal (a kind of food grain closely al1ied to barley or millet) are also effective to clean the teeth. Strawberries can also be used to clean the teeth. These are rubbed over the teeth.

How do you know whether your breath is fresh? One good way to check is to cup your hand firmly over your mouth and nose. Now blowout your breath into your hands and breath in through your nostrils very quickly. Avoid giving offence with bad smelling breath by careful mouth hygiene. This includes regular dental inspections to detect and deal with decaying teeth.

Here are a few simple mouth wash recipes. The best is rose-water or strong infusion of mint. Cloves are also used to sweeten the breath.

Homemade Mouth Wash:

Take the following ingredients, boil them together and use as a mouth wash when it cools.

¼ cup vinegar
½ cup wine
¼ cup honey
1 teaspoon powdered cloves

Easy to Make Homemade Eye Recipes

To keep eyes sparkling, there are several simple home recipes as described below:

(a) Grate half cucumber, strain it and keep in the fridge to cool. Take two pieces of cotton wool dipped in rose water and the cold cucumber juice, and place these on your eyes at least twice a day. You should lie down, and relax, and keep your mind free from tension, anxiety and worrying thoughts. Apart from relaxing your eyes, cucumber juice will lighten the darkened area around the eyes, especially when combined with lemon juice or lanolin cream.

(b) Prepare black tea (do not put milk) and allow it to cool. Soak cotton gauze in cold tea and use as eye pads.

(c) Crush mint and apply around eyes. This will take away the darkness around the eyes.

(d) Dip cotton wool in the solution of witch-hazel and use as eye-pads. This is very effective for reducing the puffiness of eyes.