8 SUNDAY 15 JULY 2018

variety

For that
Shahnaz Hussain

W
ith the end of blistering
summers, monsoons are
here again to refresh us,
make us feel alive. Our body re-
quires maximum care during this
high-on-humidity weather. While
we take care of our body and skin
but, often neglect our hair when our
hair requires more care. The humid-
ity in the air causes the hair scalp
wet leading to dandru�, brittle and
damaged hair.
The high humidity requires reg-
ular oiling, shampooing, condition-
ing to maintain shining, lustrous,
long and healthy hair during mon-
soon. When the melody of monsoon
plays on your mind, some little nat-
ural precaution will keep your hair
nourished and glossy during mon-
soon.
High humidity poses a problem
during the monsoons. The hair be-
comes limp soon after shampoo.
The look of the hair also su�ers. It
absorbs sweat and tends to swell,
becoming matted and rough. Dust
and grime in the air also tend to
stick to the hair. The salt in your
sweat, along with environmental
grime, makes the hair rough and
robs it of its body and shine.
The kind of dandru� that is sticky
and adheres to the scalp is common
during the monsoons. The scales,
along with oil and sweat secretions,
tend to stick to the scalp, making up
a condition that needs treatment.
The scalp is oily, while the hair is
glossy hair
The high humidity requires regular
oiling, shampooing, conditioning to
maintain shining, lustrous, long and
healthy hair during monsoon
dry and dull. lemon on the scalp and wash your
Sometimes, the flakes may even hair after 20 minutes.
be yellowish in colour. Certain hair
styling products or rich condition- Neem leaves: Add two handfuls
ers can also lead to a build-up on the of neem leaves to four cups of hot
scalp. water. Let it stand overnight. Next
For sticky dandru�, hot oil ther- morning, strain the liquid and use
apy is useful. Heat sesame seed (til) it to rinse the hair. It relieves itching
oil or olive oil. Apply the oil on the and keeps the scalp healthy and free
scalp with cotton wool, rubbing gen- from infections. It is useful in dan-
tly to dislodge the flakes. Then dip a dru�. A paste can also be made of
towel in hot water, squeeze out the the soaked neem leaves and applied
water and wrap the hot towel on the scalp, rinsing o� with water
around the head, like a turban. after half an hour.
Keep it on for 5 minutes. Repeat Sometimes sticky dandru� can be
the hot towel wrap 3 or 4 times. This accompanied by bad odour during
helps the hair and scalp absorb the the monsoons. For a fragrant hair
oil better. Repeat these three or four rinse, add the juice of a lemon and
times. Leave the oil on overnight. half a cup of rose water to a mug of
Next morning, apply the juice of a water and use as a last rinse.
Oily hair tends to become limp
during the monsoons, due to high
humidity. Also, hair absorbs mois-
ture from the air and also sweat
from the scalp. These tend to make
the hair limp, robbing it of body and
shine. Straight and fine hair also
tends to become limp. A layered cut
would help, as it would give the hair
more body and bounce.
Shampoo the hair more fre-
quently during the monsoons, espe-
cially if the hair is oily. Use a mild
herbal shampoo. Rinse your hair
well with water, to get rid of all
soapy residues and the loosened
flakes. Apply egg white on the hair
15 minutes before shampoo. It helps
to reduce oiliness and also adds
body.
Lemon juice can be added to a
mug of water and used as a last rinse.
A lemon rinse helps to reduce oili-
ness and also maintains normal bal-
ances. Tea and lemon rinses are also
good during the monsoons. Boil
used tea leaves again, in enough wa-
ter. Cool the liquid. Add the juice of
a lemon and use it as a rinse after
shampoo.
Avoid creamy conditioners. Use a
hair rinse. Marigold flowers can be
used to prepare a hair rinse. It is
particularly useful during the mon-
soons. Add a handful of fresh or
dried marigold flowers to three cups
of hot water. Allow it to stand for an
hour. Strain and cool the water and
use as a final rinse. It benefits oily
hair and adds body and shine.

INNER REALM

Don’t buy what the devil sells

Questioner: I have been trying to clear the engineer-
ing entrance exam but have already failed twice. I
have become very frustrated and am unable to come
out of it.
Sadhguru: Frustration, discouragement and de-
pression are a continuous process. Once you get frus-
trated, you will get discouraged. Once you get dis-
couraged, you will get depressed. Let me tell you a
Sadhguru story. The devil decided to go out of business, so he
put all the instruments of his business on sale. There
was anger, lust, greed, jealousy, passion for wealth,
ego – he put up everything for sale, and people bought
them all. But then somebody noticed that he still had
something in his bag. So, they asked him, “What is it
that you have got there?” The devil said, “These are
my most e�ective tools. I am not putting these for
sale, just in case I decide to get back into business.
And above all, even if I put them on sale, they will be
too expensive, as they are the best instruments of
my work to somehow destroy life.” People asked,
“Tell us what they are!” The devil said, “Discourage-
ment and depression.”
Once there is no enthusiasm, once there is depres-
sion in you, there is no possibility of life. When you
say, “I am getting frustrated with something,” you
are not far away from discouragement and depres-
sion – frustration is the first step.
So how do you drop frustration? Don’t buy it! You
don’t have to drop it because life – every life – is en-
thusiasm. Just look at the very way an ant moves
about. If you try to stop him, does he ever get frus-
trated or discouraged? Till he falls dead he will make
his e�ort. Life energy knows no frustration. It is the
limited mind which knows frustration, because the
limited mind works out of false expectations. When
your expectations are not in line with life, when your
expectations are fanciful psychology and not life phe-
nomena, when that expectation is not fulfilled, the
mind feels it is the end of the world.
Frustration, discouragement and depression only
mean that you are working against your own life.
When people fail their examination, many of them
commit suicide, isn't it? Because they feel without
this, it is the end of the world. All the people whom
you worship – Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus – they
never passed any examination. Why do you worship
them? To pass your examination, you are calling
upon people who never cared to pass an examination.
It doesn't make sense.
- Sadhguru, is a yogi, mystic, visionary and a spiri-
tual master, www.isha.sadhguru.org