Life Desk :On a lazy Sunday, while I was busy with my hair-oiling routine, my mother interrupted me and said that I was not oiling my hair right. Most of us have gone through the ‘aise nahi lagaate’ situation at least once in our lives while oiling our tresses. What amazed me always was that there could also be a right way of oiling the hair! Intrigue led me to this conversation with celebrity dermatologist Dr. Kiran Lohia , who stated that if not done properly, oiling can actually cause hair fall.Oiling is indeed important for healthy hair but can oiling also cause damage?When I first moved India I was struck by the ages old practice of hair oiling. Women with the clusters hair had been boiling their hair with either coconut oil or sesame oil since they were young girls. Upon further research, I understood why this is so effective. Oils have important fatty acids that help seal the cuticle and heal the strands from within. Regular hair oiling will improve the tone and texture of your hair when done properly.But beware! When not done properly, hair oiling can actually cause hair fall. Excessively vigorous massage can cause roots to weaken. And, overdoing the oil can result in an excessively oily scalp. It can also obstruct the pores of your scalp, causing folliculitis or boils. Furthermore, if you have dandruff on your scalp, oil will worsen the issue. Finally, too much oil can weight down the strands, making them limp appearing.Hot oil massage or normal oil massage, which is effective and why?Warm oil massage is likely more effective than cold because the heat Will increase the blood circulation to the area allowing the oil to absorb better. The strands will also absorb the oil better because he is a known method of improving absorption. Oil shouldn’t be too hot or you run the risk of burning your scalp!How many times one should oil his/her hair in a week and for how many hours?Oil your hair no more than 1 to 2 times a week. Leave it on for approximately an hour or two but you don’t need to leave it on longer than that. When you leave oil on too long you run the risk of zits because oil will run down onto your skin and you also don’t add any real benefit by leaving it on longer.Should the oiling routine for men and women be different?Oily methods for men and women are pretty similar – there really is no difference. The only thing is that men may need more oiling because they typically have course your hair than women.Coconut, amla, almond, olive or mustard, which is the best oil for hair and Why?Can oiling stop graying of hair?Oiling has not been proven to stop graying. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s not possible. A healthy hair routine goes along way in improving a lot of hair ills.Many like to mix oils for better results, which is the mix that you would like to suggest?If you want to mix oils, I prefer a mix of coconut oil, Sesame oil, amla oil and hibiscus extract. Coconut oil and sesame oil have important fatty acids for the hair while amla oil will give strong antioxidant protection. Finally, the hibiscus extract will add a lovely shine due to the presence of alpha-hydroxy acids!-ToI
