Bathing soap vs. Body wash: what's better when you take a shower?

The most important part of skincare is keeping your skin cleansed and fresh. But before that, it is imperative to find the right product for the same. Skin type varies from person to person, and hence finding skincare goods most suited to your skin makes all the difference.

Bathing habits directly affect the quality of your skin, which involves picking the appropriate cleanse; i. E. Choosing between a body soap and body wash. Each has a different set of characteristics and comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Let's find out which one is better for your skin.

Why you should choose bathing soap bar:

 it is more effective in removing dirt through deep cleansing

 it is suited to skin that is excessively oily in nature as it contains ingredients that are highly effective in stripping off excess oil from the skin

Why you should not choose bathing soap bar:

 it tends to strip the skin of its natural oils and moisture, making it dry and flaky

 it is unhygienic in case of sharing between individuals as soaps tend to accumulate the dirt from your skin due to direct body contact

Reasons to pick a body wash:

 it has a very mild and gentle effect on the skin in comparison to soaps

 it keeps the skin moisturized by preserving natural oils

 it is more hygienic than bar soaps in case of interpersonal sharing

 it is the most suitable option for dry skin

Reasons to ditch a body wash:

 it contains a large amount of artificial additives and preservatives that can do more harm to your skin than good, giving rise to allergic reactions in some cases

So, who's the winner of the two?

You must certainly base the choice on what's best for your skin type. Body soap is more compatible with oily skin while dry skin is better suited for body wash. A body wash, however, is much more gentle on your skin. 

If you would like to consult with me privately, please click on 'consult'.
Related Tip: Soap Vs Hand Wash - What Should You Wash Your Hands with?

Bathing Soap vs. Body Wash: What's Better When You Take a Shower?

Who would have thought that a little dry scalp could make a multitude of people feel terrible about their lives! dandruff is not only upsetting because of the physical constraints it brings along, but also because it is a compelling cause of mental setback. Peers and relatives judge you silently; they might choose to avoid your company. Some might even console you that you are making the issue more embarrassing. Instead of feeling depressed about flaky scalp skin that recurrently keeps worsening, one must make efforts to deal with it. A wide mass of people will suggest you with tips and ideas to tackle the situation; in most cases a majority of these tips arise from popular assumptions. The best suited option for you is to consult an expert dermatologist and to maintain the health of your hair through natural home remedies alongside.

Ways to curb dandruff:

1. Apply a fenugreek hair pack at least once a week: fenugreek or methi is known for its inimitable medicinal purposes. Fenugreek paste can be applied on the roots of your hair to remedy dandruff. This protein rich ingredient provides strength and nourishment to one's hair while curing flaky skin. It is also rich in amino acids. Lecithin, an emollient, can prove to be effective in strengthening the hair roots and preventing them from falling off due to dandruff and subsequent itchiness.

2. Use egg white in combination with lemon juice: lemon juice has a high concentration of citric acid. When used in combination with egg whites, it can treat a dry and itchy scalp. This concoction is also acclaimed for its smoothing effect on rough and brittle hair.

3. Listerine is a multifaceted product: you knew it could only act within the realm of your mouth and you were very wrong. Listerine has more to itself than a person can think of. Listerine is meant to fight fungal and bacterial infections and it therefore, can be used on a person's scalp. One part of this liquid should be mixed with two parts of plain water and then poured into a spray bottle. This mixture should be applied on your head to make you experience the difference.

4. Neem leaves could be your ready solution: neem leaves are held in high regard for their antifungal properties. Apply neem paste on your scalp to get rid of dandruff. One may even boil a fistful of these leaves in water and wash his or her hair with the lukewarm liquid after a head bath.

How to Control Dandruff

Dandruff is a non-contagious condition that is characterized by the appearance of skin flakes on your scalp. The disorder is not a serious one, but can be embarrassing for the person concerned. Mild symptoms of this disorder can be taken care of by shampooing with a mild cleanser on a regular basis. In case of severe dandruff symptoms, treatment may be required.

Symptoms
The symptoms of dandruff are easily spotted; white flakes of dead skin appear on the hair and shoulders. You may experience itchiness on the scalp due to the accumulation of the dead skin cells. The condition tends to aggravate in dry and cold weather conditions.

Causes
Dandruff can be caused by a variety of factors such as:

Not shampooing regularly: Irregular shampooing can cause dead skin cells to accumulate, leading to dandruff.
Oily and irritated skin: This condition is characterized by the appearance of greasy skin covered by flaky white scales. It occurs in areas, which are rich in oil glands such as the eyebrows and the nose.
Fungus: Yeast like fungus, known as  malassezia , lives on the scalp and may lead to the buildup of excess skin cells, thereby, causing irritated skin.
Dry skin: Dry skin is the perfect spot for the accumulation of dead cells, a condition that results in dandruff.
Ayurvedic View
Ayurveda places the problem of dandruff in the category of Shudra Roga, which appears due to an imbalance of all three doshas. The primary doshas involved are Pitta and Vata. Pitta is an Ayurvedic humor which symbolizes heat or fire and Vata is dry and rough in nature. In an aggravated state, both doshas cause production of specific impurities, called ama, which are dry and heating in nature. These impurities accumulate in the deep tissues of the scalp and contaminate them. Contamination of the deep tissues and aggravated Vata-Pitta Dosha cause itching and patches on scalp. Due to these factors, the scalp sheds larger than normal amounts of dead epidermal cells, which leads to the problem of dandruff.

The Ayurvedic line of treatment is to generally pacify Pitta and Vata through herbal medicines, as well as a tailor-made diet and lifestyle plan. Also, special herbs are administered to cleanse the body of accumulated digestive impurities.

Ayurvedic treatment options:

If the cause lies on the scalp such as dry skin, then just hair oil application or local treatment will be sufficient to cure dandruff.
If the cause lies in underlying skin disease such as psoriasis, treatment for the causative disease will be required.
Ayurvedic treatments such as shirodhara, shirobasti helps not only to relieve dandruff and improve hair quality. They also help you to relieve stress and lack of sleep (which also cause for dandruff).

Ayurvedic herbal hair oils for dandruff: 

Bhringaraja taila
Triphaladya taila
Durdurapatradi taila
Chemparutyadi taila
Nalpamaradi taila etc
Internal medicines helpful in this complaint are-

Saptamrita loha   Contains Indian licorice and Triphala, useful in skin diseases
Bhringarajasava   an alcoholic Ayurvedic medicine. Improves immunity, skin complexion
Chandanasava   improves immunity, relieves excessive oiliness
Narasimha Rasayana   Improves hair quality and scalp skin health. Especially useful when dandruff is caused due to dryness in the scalp.
Diet & Lifestyle Advice

Wash hair regularly 2-3 times a week with a mild shampoo.
Massage your hair with oil every time before washing the head and hair.
Avoid spicy, greasy, hot and penetrating foods, junk food, and aerated drinks.
Have food with good nutritive value; include fiber-rich foods, salads, fruits, and lentils.
Do regular yoga and exercises to minimize stress levels.
Avoid scratching the scalp with hands or any other objects.

Dandruff - Can Ayurvedic Remedies Help Treat it?

Hair health is not isolated from your overall health. If you are not very healthy overall, it will show on your hair as well. However, there are many lifestyle mistakes that also result in the damage of hair. If you are losing hair very fast and don t know why it is happening, watch out for the following mistakes you might be unknowingly doing-

1) Hot Water Shower:  Hot water damages your hair. It strips your scalp of the natural oils and dehydrates your hair, making them brittle. Use mildly warm or regular water for head showers.

2) Combing Wet Hair: Your hair is highly prone to breakage when it is wet. Combing or brushing wet hair weakens the roots and causes hair fall. To maintain healthy texture, it is safe to leave the hair to dry naturally. Also, don't brush your hair harshly.

3) Tight Tie-ups: Tightly fastened hair braids or ponytails cause tension to the roots and follicles. Pulling the hair too tight causes damage and must  be avoided, esp. at night.

4) Heat Treatment: Every time you blow dry your hair or use other heated styling tools, the scalp is subjected to undue heat. Such intense heat weakens the roots instantly. Switch to cool drying or stick to natural drying.

5) Using Styling Products: Hair styling gels and sprays make your hair stiff and sticky. A prolonged use of such products may cause major damage to the hair because the moisture has been drained out and there is friction every time you comb or brush the hair.

6) Not Oiling: Oiling your hair might be very unglamorous to look at but oils of coconut, mustard, olive, amla or sesame deeply nourish the hair follicles. Massaging your scalp with oil twice a week helps improve circulation thus contributing to overall hair health.

7) Bad Eating Habits: Skipping meals or taking improper nutrition has a direct impact on hair health. Healthy hair demand good consumption of proteins and other vitamins. Make salads, fish, lentils, beans, eggs, etc. a part of your daily diet.

Have any further questions on hair loss or hair care? Click on consult privately to ask me.

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Stop Making These 7 Mistakes To Prevent Hair Loss

6 Causes of hair loss you didn t know about and how you can combat this problem

In order to have healthy volume of hair on your head, the rate of hair loss and replacement should be in tandem. With age, your hair growth cycle shows signs of slowing down and factors like age, disease, and hormonal changes among others affect the pace at which an individual hair follicle moves through the 3 phases of the hair cycle. A disruption in your hair cycle can give rise to loss of hair that s rapid and unexpected. Hair loss or alopecia can affect both men and women. 
So what can cause your hair to fall at an alarming rate?

The reasons behind hair loss could be many, but here are 6 major ones: 
1. Lack of protein in your diet
When you exclude protein from your diet, your body starts to conserve the protein that it has by altering the growth cycle of your hair. In such cases, your hair enters into the resting stage, resulting in zero hair growth. 
In India, 9 out of 10 people are said to suffer from low amounts of protein in their diet, with 91% vegetarians reporting protein deficiency.

2. Iron deficiency 
Iron plays a very important role in the transportation of oxygen to the different organs of the body. Lack of iron in your diet (which is the principle reason behind anaemia) can give rise to several health problems including hair loss. Your body attempts to direct oxygen to important organs so as to support their functioning. As a result, your scalp witnesses a low supply of oxygen, which causes hair loss. 


3. Vitamin D-3 deficiency
Deficiency of vitamin D-3 gives rise to a type of hair loss called Telogen Effluvium (TE). This is a temporary hair thinning phenomenon that takes place when the all the hair on your scalp enter the resting phase at the same time, subsequently causing you to shed a large amount of hair later on. 

4. Smoking 
Smoking can also affect the health of your hair, especially the rate at which it falls and the number of strands lost in a day. A research carried out by the Harvard School of Public Health has revealed that smoking can cause a rise in a hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
An increase in DHT level prevents new hair cells from growing and causes hair follicles to reduce in size with each hair cycle. As a result, the area on your scalp that gets affected by DHT experiences a lack of hair growth.  

5. Use of testosterone supplements in gym
Intake of testosterone in the form of supplements and injections to build muscle mass can trigger hair loss in men. This takes place when the testosterone in these supplements gets changed into DHT, thereby affecting your hair loss rate and amount. 

6. Past illnesses (dengue, TB and typhoid)
Falling of hair can also be brought on by illnesses such as typhoid, TB and dengue as the hair growth cycle comes to a stop. Hormonal or metabolic stress that is experienced during the course of such diseases may cause hairfall. 

What are the treatments available to cure hair loss?

1. Hair transplant
Hair transplant is a minimally invasive surgical technique that transfers hair follicles taken from other parts of your body to the balding area. Known by the name of Follicular Unit Transplantation, this hair loss treatment can help to bring back the natural appearance of a fuller head of hair. Hair follicles are harvested using two procedures- follicular unit extraction and strip harvesting. Procedure can vary from 4-8 hours or more depending on the case. 

2. Platelet- Rich Plasma (PRP)
Platelet- Rich Plasma (PRP) is another treatment alternative that can reverse hair loss. It s a simple non-surgical procedure that lasts about 60-90 minutes. In this form of hair treatment, the patient s own blood cells, more specifically blood platelets are injected into the scalp. Usually 8 sittings are required with each sitting being 2 weeks apart for better results.

3. Low Level Laser (Light) Therapy (LLLT)
This form of hair therapy utilises light energy of a specific wavelength and threshold to stimulate cellular activity, thereby promoting hair growth. Various controlled clinical tests have revealed its effectiveness in encouraging hair growth in both the genders.  




 6 Shocking Causes of Hair Loss + How To Combat this Problem

Natural ways to remove your blackheads and whiteheads
 
Blackheads and whiteheads not only make you look unattractive, but also are hard to cure and keep recurring. Fortunately, there are quite a few substances and food items available in every kitchen that can effectively and naturally treat them and can also prevent them from recurring! 

Some of the best natural treatments for whiteheads and blackheads are-

1. Use milk- milk is a natural cleanser. Add a hint of lemon juice to half a cup of milk and mix it well with half a spoon of salt. Apply this mixture while scrubbing thoroughly on the entire surface of your face skin. This method decreases whiteheads and blackheads in a week and also stops them from recurring.

2. Cinnamon &amp; honey- a paste made up of one tablespoon of cinnamon powder and adequate honey is a very effective mixture. Apply it on the face, especially on the affected areas, and keep it on for the entire night. Wash it off in the morning. Continue this every night till whiteheads and blackheads disappear.

3. Baking soda- baking soda is exceptionally good to treat several skin problems. A mixture of baking soda and water must be applied on the face. Once it dries, wash it off. This mixture dries off the whiteheads and blackheads and also removes excessive oil from the skin.

4. Mint &amp; turmeric- extract 4 teaspoons of mint juice and add half a spoon of turmeric making a thick paste. Apply it on affected areas for a while. Once this paste dries off, wash your face with water. Milk can replace mint juice if desired.

5. Lemon juice- squeeze out lemon juice from 2 big sized lemons. Add some water to reduce the acidic effect. Dip a cotton ball in it and rub it across your face. You can do this several times a day. This is the simplest method to treat whiteheads and blackheads.

If you would like to consult with me privately, please click on'consult.

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Everybody Has Them! Remove Blackheads &amp; Whiteheads Naturally.

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