Q & A ON HAIRCARE WITH Dr. PREETHI NAGARAJ

Having thick and lustrous hair is every person’s dream. Both men and women get perturbed when they see their hair falling, looking dull or breaking at the ends. I have already written about how carrier oils can help in treating dry and damaged hair.                                                                                      

Today, I have the pleasure of getting our hair related queries answered by a dermatologist!

Dr. Preethi Nagaraj is a consultant dermatologist and medical director of Twacha Skin and Hair Clinic, Kochi. She has an experience of over 10 years in treating skin and hair related issues. She regularly blogs on her website www.kochidermatologist.com/blog.

Suman: Hi Dr. Preethi! Hair fall has become a very common problem these days. What could be the reason?

Dr: Hi Suman. Yes, hair fall has become a very common problem these days. Almost 3 out of 10 patients I see every day come with the complaint of hair fall. Dietary deficiencies, stress, pollution, hormonal imbalance and lack of time to care for your hair can all contribute to the increasing hair fall problem.

Suman: You mentioned the lack of time for hair care as one of the factors. It is very true. All are so busy with work that we cannot devote enough time for hair care. Can you tell us how often should we shampoo our hair?

Dr: Shampooing depends on the type of scalp you have.

If you have an oily scalp that gets greasy within a day of shampooing, you can shampoo every alternate day.

If you have a dry scalp, that is usually associated with dry skin elsewhere on the body, it can start flaking with excess shampoo use. Shampooing once or twice a week should be sufficient.

If you have a normal scalp, twice or thrice a week is sufficient.

Suman: How important is oiling for the hair? 

Dr: Oiling has been in our tradition since time immemorial. Oiling the hair prior to shampooing forms a layer around the cuticle, the outermost layer of our hair. So, it protects the chemicals in the shampoo from entering and damaging our hair. It thus acts as a very good pre- wash conditioner.

Suman: How long should we leave the oil on our hair? A lot of us do not have time to oil our hair.

Dr: Oiling should be done only 30 mins to a maximum of 1 hour prior to shampooing. A lot of my patients, especially those suffering from dandruff have the habit of leaving oil overnight. That is a strict no-no. It makes the scalp greasy and worsens dandruff. If your scalp is very oily, just apply oil on the hair shaft and not on the scalp.

Suman: Which is the best oil? The market is flooded with different types, each claiming to be better than the other.

Dr: This is a question which all my patients ask me. There are studies that show that coconut oil has a small molecular weight and the right type of fatty acids that make it actually penetrate the hair cuticle and cortex. But other oils cannot.

Olive oil, almond oil, and argan oil are very popular too. They also help in coating and protecting the hair, give a sheen to the hair post washing, but are expensive.

Suman: Dr, but there are so many brands of coconut oils available in the market. How do we know which is the best one?

Dr: Most of the commercially available ones are not pure coconut oil. They have mineral oils added to the coconut oil. Mineral oils cannot penetrate the hair and are of no use. I always recommend my patients to opt for organic and handmade coconut oils to ensure that it is pure and benefits our hair in the right way.

Check out the Coconut oil and its Benefits written by Suman Narayan for more info.

Dr, thank you so much for your time.

I am sure this blogpost will help our readers a lot!

Love,

Suman Narayan.