B eautician Shahnaz Husain offers tips and answers queries. Send your queries to askshahnaz@gmail.com
How can I make and use a henna pack? — Anu
To the henna powder, add 4 teaspoons each of lemon juice and coffee, 2 raw eggs and enough curd and mix it into a thick paste. If you want to avoid eggs, add more curd. It should be of toothpaste-like consistency. Divide the hair into sections and apply the henna on both sides of a section, taking care to cover the entire section with the paste. Wrap the section around your head. Now repeat this with each section, till the hair is completely covered with the henna paste. Keep it on for at least one hour before washing it off. You can use shampoo the next day, if necessary. If your hair is dry, add 2 teaspoons of hair oil to the henna.
Will reetha help get rid of dandruff? — Uma
Take one handful each of dried reetha, shikakai and amla. Add them to one litre of water and soak overnight. The next day, simmer the herbs with the water on a low fire, till the water reduces to half the quantity. Do not boil. Allow the mixture to cool and strain it through a clean cloth. Use the liquid to wash your hair. This quantity should be enough for four washes. Keep your homemade hair cleanser in the refrigerator for further use. Make small quantities at a time. Large quantities should not be stored over a long period of time. Half-an-hour before washing your hair, lightly massage two tablespoons of vinegar into the scalp.
I am getting boils on the forehead. Also my skin looks dull. — Shyamala
Check if you have dandruff. Both oily hair and dandruff can lead to acne on the forehead. After washing your hair, add the juice of a lemon to half a mug of water and use it as a last rinse. Wash your face twice a day, morning and night with a medicated soap. Then wipe your forehead with an astringent lotion, using cotton wool. Mix a little rose water with sandalwood paste and apply it on the affected area. Wash it off after 15 minutes. Mix cinnamon powder with a little lemon juice and a few drops of honey into a sticky paste. Apply it only on the pimples daily, leaving it on for one or two hours. Mix multani mitti with rose water and lemon juice into a paste and apply it on your face two or three times a week. Wash it off after it dries.
What should I do to avoid grey hair? — Prakash
The exact causes of premature greying are not known as yet. The hair which has already turned grey will not become dark, except by colouring/dyeing. Amla is said to check greying. Drink the juice of one raw amla daily, after adding it to a glass of water. You can also add amla to henna powder. However, henna turns white hair reddish-brown. It will not colour dark hair. If you wish to try it, soak a handful of dry amla in about 2 to 3 cups of water overnight. The following morning, strain the water, but do not throw the water away. Grind the amla. To the henna powder, add the ground amla, 4 teaspoons each of lemon juice and coffee, 2 raw eggs, 2 teaspoons oil and enough amla water, so that the henna mixes into a thick paste. Keep the paste for two to three hours and then apply it on the hair, so that the entire head is covered. Keep it on for at least two hours before washing it off.
