hair color

My Hair Diary – December 2015

Swati · January 6, 2016 · 3 Comments

When I was young, I remember my mum used to be very particular of not getting me a hair cut except from her own hands and needless to say she was not a hair stylist. I am not sure what is with old mindsets that there is something in the hands of the stylist which lends character to your hair.

What will you say about a person whose hand suited you first and later did not? Well, the same thing happened to me. The stylist I was so gaga about a few months ago is now on my hit list because of the most awful hair cut he gave me this month. Let me go in detail here.

my hair this month — As you can see, the color has faded off leaving a rich brown color in the hair. The roots have started showing long back. Before taking this pic, I had treated my hair with Schwarzkopf hair mask for around 15-25 minutes.

Highlights of the Post

November Hair Diary
December Hair Diary
How to choose your Hair Oil?
How to start Healthy Hair Growth?

My Hair Diary – November 2015

How is my hair doing?

So, this month was decent on my hair. I have to say that if you are chemically processing your hair but not really planning to take care of it, it is best to skip such treatments. The uncared hair grows even more frizzier and drier which is absolutely not recommended. And, can also be subjected to hair fall.

Cysteine Review

If you invest some time and energy into your hair care regimen, you can get as good hair as you would from Cysteine and then it would last for years together and not some few months!

And, as I said, I did not really take much care of my hair in fact. So, obviously, my hair did not do really well unless I did hair spa at home. But, doing hair spa (applying deep conditioner and leaving for 30 minutes after a shampoo) every time is really not feasible because of time issue and weather issue. It is not possible to sit with a wet head for that long, even in Hyderabad winters!

Pre-Wash Conditioning

So, I need to find a better way to deal with this issue this time. A pre-wash conditioner or mask which does not need water and does not create mess and also does not need washed hair. There is this Banjara’s hair mask, right? Do you have any other recommendations for me? I would love to get some so go ahead and let me know in the comments below.

My Hair Diary – July 2015

Swati · August 7, 2015 · 20 Comments

So, I have already shared that I got my hair colored (though I have to say that the pic was blurred)! Let us see how my hair is doing after that.

And, yes, you should definitely check out Drishyam movie if you have still not! I have not seen the regional version of it but of course such characters are just written for Ajay Devgan in hindi movies and he has nailed it again 🙂 As usual, Tabu is a treat to watch!

Cysteine Treatment

So, it has been two months since my cysteine treatment. Okay, let me confess here. I did once did a set back on my hair by using another shampoo than the one prescribed to me and it DID spoil my hair. So, when I went back to using the regular deFab products which I have already reviewed, my hair went back to normal and was no longer bad!

And, then, a week later, I found time to visit my stylist and got my hair colored and scheduled an organic hair spa with Moroccan Oil products. Honestly, I am not very sure about the hair spa because I have not seen a dramatic difference for the price I paid! So, it was a bummer for me but then I have prepaid for 3 sessions and two more are left so I am kind of stuck with it.

Anyways, coming back to the cysteine, the hair spa and going back to the prescribed products made my hair as soft and silky and frizz free as it was in the starting days of the treatment. And, yes, you do have to take care of your hair even then. The only thing you can not do is oiling otherwise you can apply hair masks and wash it regularly and keep it gorgeous which takes a little maintenance.

And, even after two months, my hair is doing fairly well and I have not noticed any difference. Only I probably have to say that hair colouring might have dried up the hair a bit which means more conditioning or more maintenance.

Do I recommend it?

Honestly, only after 2 months is a little too early for me to recommend because the treatment is supposed to stay for at least 4-6 months which I am not yet sure. But, looking at the results right now, I am more likely to recommend it. I will say bear with me for 6 more months and I shall deliver my verdict 🙂

Does your hair color reflect you?

Swati · July 27, 2015 · 10 Comments

Okay, I had wanted to keep this for the next instalment of My Hair Diary but it is too tempting to miss out so here goes!

I finally got my hair color and I have the perfect red and I LOVEEEEEEEEE it 🙂 So, I just have one good pic of my hair. As of now, I just could not find time to take the perfect pic for my hair.

Anyways, Mr. P hates the hair but incidentally even my father did not hate the color entirely and I did get many many compliments for the color. And, that makes me happy. And, now, I so agree that getting a hair makeover is the best way to cheer yourself up. After a bad spot of health, the cysteine treatment and now the hair color has gone a long way in improving my mental state and of course the extremely painful injections have played their own part!! Can you imagine I had to take two injections every alternate day for a week and it had become so difficult for me to sit 😀

I am deeply saddened by the death of the former president, APJ Abdul Kalam Azad. He was magnificient and those who have been around him would know that he was just so approachable and humble. An inspiration and legacy to look up to forever.

Anyways, do let me know what you think about the color?

How to use Henna and Indigo to naturally darken brown Hair?

Nayantara Karnik · July 22, 2015 · 48 Comments

Since I hit my 30s, I’ve been noticing greys creeping up one by one. Maybe not 50 shades, but enough to be noticeable! Sadly, most of them turn up around the crown of my head and end up being very visible. Ever since I decided to grow out my hair, I’ve been trying to take care of it better and part of that was to stop using chemical dyes on it.

I just got tired of the whole cycle of getting damaged and split ends, cutting it then wondering why I wasn’t able to grow it out. So around 3-4 years ago I decided to start using henna. My henna of choice is the one by Shahnaz Hussain, and I’ve been happy with it. I actually like the smell and love the way it conditions my hair.

But, from 8-10 greys or so, I now have loads more…sigh, the perils of ageing!! And, I really detest those bright orangey-red threads running though my hair. I literally had nightmares of my whole head turning a ghastly orange. After the usual internet research, I found there were 2 options to naturally colour hair dark-brown to black, though it doesn’t seem to be used commonly in India. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Both these methods involve the use of indigo, and as fate would have it, when I happened to step into the local organic store a few days later, I spotted it on the shelf, so picked up a pack. This is the one that I’m using, and it’s available on flipkart and amazon, probably other sites too. Since then I’ve used it twice, and I did get better results the 2nd time I used it. Just like plain henna, it builds up colour with each use.

By the way this is the same indigo used to dye denim, and it can’t be used on it’s own, it’s always used in combination with henna. So, if you would like to know how to use it, read on ladies (and gents)!

So, the thing about the indigo molecule is that it literally needs the henna to hold onto the hair shaft and they are used together either as a 1-step or 2-step process. In a 2-step process, you get a deep blue-black colour, which I understand colours even lighter toned hair and the 1-step gives you a deep auburn to dark-brown shade.

Femina Salon and Spa Magazine Review

Swati · February 20, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Femina Spa and Salon Aditi Hydari issue at Perfect Skin Care for you

Price: Rs 100

Femina presents its latest addition to the slew of magazines in her kitty, Femina Salon and Spa. The goal of this magazine is to promote the beauty basics customized to the Indian skin tone and hair type. And, it does that with a bang in this issue of its!!

So, let me start with the cover girl feature of Aditi Rao Hydari. I totally love this lady and the magazine covers a snapshot-cum-tutorial session detailing gorgeous hairstyles ranging from refined fish-tail braids to carefree waves and an interview with this lady discussing her beauty secrets (click on the below picture to enlarge it and read the tutorial)!

its so chic!

She is one of the very few woman I actually admire looks-wise and reading her interview was fun. The flawless skin is thanks to the female genes in her family and she loves her eyebrows the most. I do too (her eyebrows, I mean)! The shape is just awesome. And, she loves natural remedies and relies very less on makeup.

i love this!

Princess Jasmine knots from Walt Disney cartoon Aladin

my favorite current trend – the OMBRE effect I would love to get dark mahogany with blue highlights!

Moving on, the hair care section is HUGE! It includes all the latest trends in the hair styles right from braided twists to ombre hair effects. The section has a talk with Chelsey Lloyd, global expert, TIGI about hair coloring basics and which colors best suit the Indian skin tones and the Do’s and Dont’s for the hair colorists. And, she also emphasizes that the colorist should make sure that the hair should be healthy initially so that the color would show up nicely.

these are my two favorite looks of all!!

Next is a section on makeup, the higlight of which in this issue is the dramatic use of eyeliners. Followed by a tete-a-tete with Bobbi Brown. And, a few Q&A sessions with Ojas Rajani and Colleen Khan.

And, the final section is the spa and salon section which talks about some of the professional spas, a little about salons across the metros, features hair stylist Deepak Jalhan and a lots on hair color which is very useful if you are one for it!!

My Verdict

Overall, the magazine is a treat for beauty addicts with the bonus of being customized to Indian audience which makes most of the tips practically usable. A few things do bother me like some of the color combinations in the magazine are little difficult to read. They have used red at some places which glares in the eyes instead of being readable.

And, the glue for the magazine did not hold well. I, for one, handle the books and magazine delicately but still it did not stand well which is sad 🙁 I do not know if that should be mentioned in a review but then here it is!!

Have you read the first issue of the magazine which features Yamini Gautam?

How long and how often should henna be for? {Hair Care}

Swati · June 2, 2013 · 31 Comments

So, I was applying Lush Caca last Saturday when I had a chat with my friend. As I have mentioned earlier as well that to get color from Lush Cacas, one has to keep it for like 4-8 hours and that too it doesn’t come in one application! One HAS to apply it 2-3 times in a row to color the hair which lasts for 2-3 months.

Now that I have been smitten with chestnut color since long, I really wanted to follow the coloring process like my earlier attempt with the Cacas. But, this time my friend intervened and gave me an advise that henna, howsoever good it might be, should not be applied on hair regularly!

Henna is extremely drying for hair and if applied often or kept for long time on the hair, makes the hair brittle and thins it and makes it break easily!! She says to get the color, henna should not be kept on hair for more than three hours and there should be a gap of at least 2 weeks in the applications!

Well, hearing this, I decidedly sobered down on the thought of applying Cacas in a row and waited for 2 weeks to passby for the second application and this Saturday, I kept henna only for 4 hours. Yes, a delay of 1 hour due to household chores and my reluctance to wash it off early!

But, there is an upside to it. Henna color keeps on building in the hair for a good number of 3 days after the application even if you wash the hair on alternate days. This at least holds true for Lush cacas. Don’t know about regular henna, though!

Anyways, what do you think? How often should henna be applied and for how long?

Related Posts:

High Frequency Treatment for Hair

Hard Water affecting Hair?

Black Pepper to cover Gray Hair {Reader’s Tip}

Swati · May 25, 2012 · 20 Comments

I received this comment which I thought would be particularly helpful for everyone struggling with gray hairs instead of resorting to hair colors.

“I don’t have hair loss problem but my hair is dry and has lots of gray hair. I am applying yogurt mixed with black pepper thrice a week started this week. This is helpful to cover grey hair and my hair had become soft and looking darker.”

Thanks a lot to the person who has dropped in this comment 🙂

Do join my giveaway here.

And, read more Reader’s Tips here.