My Hair, My story: My Hair-On-Experiences…

When I was born and my mother had her first look at me, my head to be precise, she thought she had given birth to a bear cub ( Post-delivery delirium I suppose if there is something like that)!!  I had more hair than most babies do at the time of birth. My mother tells me now that people who came to visit us in the hospital back then always noticed my baby hair and complimented me for the same. I remember nothing for obvious reasons. Coming to think of it, that must have been my first ‘wow moment’ and all credits to my hair.

I have had absolutely no problems, during my growing up years, regarding my hair. I had smooth, silky, lustrous hair until I was 13 years old. My mother oiled and shampooed it regularly. School was nearby, hence exposure to pollution was minimal. So, till 13, all I received was compliments for my hair.

When it came to high school and college, I had to travel long distances. This is when my hair started to lose its shine and turned dry very quickly. All thanks to Bangalore’s ever-growing pollution and my stubbornness to not oil my hair regularly since I considered it old-fashioned for college-going girls to have oily and sticky looking hair!!

By the time I started to work, a year and half ago to be exact, my hair was in its worst condition ever- dry hair, split ends, hair fall, colour change from jet black to lighter tone of black and dandruff. The compliments dwindled. 

It was time to act and I turned to my crisis manager, my mother. She gave me some tips which I have personally tried and am going to share them with you here:

Oil your hair regularly: Apply oil onto your hair, massage gently and leave it for a minimum of 20 minutes before washing your hair.

Rub your scalp with lemon soaked in lukewarm oil: Cut lemon into thin slices, soak it in lukewarm oil, rub it on the scalp and leave it on for about 15 minutes before washing it off. It is known to reduce dandruff and increase the shine of your hair.

Apply a mask of hibiscus leaves: Grind fresh, green hibiscus leaves and apply the thick paste onto your hair and keep it on for atleast half an hour before washing it off. This works as conditioning for the hair.

Wash your hair atleast thrice a week using a mild shampoo and conditioner: I know washing hair daily is not feasible for working professionals like us. So thrice a week is fine to maintain them in good condition.

Comb regularly: Comb your hair regularly to keep it untangled. But, do not over-comb as it can stress the hair roots.

Use only lukewarm water for washing your hair: This I can vouch for. I am a Biochemist and I know that heat causes proteins to denature and constant hair-wash with hot water can do the same to your hair since hair is nothing but protein, keratin to be specific.

Lifestyle: Maintain a healthy lifestyle. Drink lots of water ( I need to work on this myself), eat less junk and sleep well.

All the above worked really well and my hair started to regain its lost texture. But, I found the first three tips very cumbersome  and they dirtied my bathroom floor and I hate cleaning oily and messy bathroom floors. Also, the overall process of retexturing took months together.

I wanted something more effective and less time consuming. And lo, when I was thinking of what next, I received the New Dove Nourishing Oil Care Range, a set of 4 awesome products – Dove Nourishing Oil Care Shampoo, Dove Nourishing Oil Care Daily Treatment Conditioner, Dove Nourishing Oil Care Vita Oil Serum and Dove Nourishing Oil Care Repair Mask. I have used these personally and by my hands on experience , err, hair-on-experience, I can tell you that my hair started to look more healthy, more smooth, more shiny and more black just after 2-3 washes. I will not go into the details of the products or the contents (Remember I am a Biochemist, so I tend to get carried away when talking about the ingredients. I will be a little thoughtful of my readers :)  For more info, you can login here).

The best part, I don’t have to worry about my hair looking oily and sticky because the products seem to absorb quickly into the hair leaving no traces of oil on surface. Also, no more dirty and oily bathroom floors. The end result is just smooth, silky and shiny hair and an add on bonus is that it doesn’t leave my hair smell of oil; instead, it leaves my hair smelling lovely. My only concern was the pricing but I think it is realistic in today’s market.

And yes, the compliments are back. Just the other day, my friend asked if I was in love since she felt I looked more happy and more confident. I said ‘yes’ and it is true- I currently am in love with the way my hair feels. It is time to let my hair down. Well…literally.

PS: This is my entry for  Dove and IndiBlogger present the “Love your Hair and it loves you back” contest . The opinions presented here are solely mine and are based on my personal use of the above mentioned tips and products.

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Stress busters…

So what do you do when you are stressed out and want to relax? I think people have different ways to relax.

• Get a hair cut: Feels so much lighter afterwards. Many of my friends swear by this and tell me that they do feel relaxed after a hair cut.
• Get manicure/pedicure or any of the beauty treatments done: Manicure, pedicure, facials, hair massage, deep conditioning etc also seem to do the trick for most of them.
• Go on  a shopping spree: Loosen the purse strings and spend on things wanted and unwanted. A lighter purse leads to a lighter head for some of them.
• Go to a restaurant and have good food: Food seems to relax almost all of them . Good food does the trick and heavier the belly, lighter the head.
• Watch a movie or watch a match or watch a mindless soap:  More you are glued to the television, lighter the head.
• Hit the gym:  I  don’t know how this helps. Maybe blood circulation increases in the brain and more serotonin is released. Yeah I can get scientific sometimes. I am just proving I will always be a biochemist at heart.
• Chocolate and ice-creams: I don’t think I need to explain.
• Music: I don’t think even this needs any explanation.
• Sleep: Zzzzzzzzzz

Well.. these were some of the top replies I got from people around. But, what do I do? Read below:

• Shop for books: I go crazy buying books of all kinds. I currently have more books than my cupboard can accommodate. I just love books. I love the smell of the pages. It relaxes me instantly when I enter a bookstore. I just love the feel of a bookstore.
• Reading anything I can get a hand on: Yes I love reading. Be it a novel, text books, news papers, blogs, pamphlets, biscuit and chocolate wrappers , anything and everything.
• Talking to the dogs on the street: Nah..am not crazy. I just love dogs. They come wagging their tails when I am on the road and I do exchange pleasantries with them. Weird, is it? Uhh.. anything for the dogs.
• Yes, the usual stuff also help me relax: Chocolates, Ice creams, good food, music and ofcourse a nice afternoon nap during the weekend. 

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Enough is enough!!

I have been in quite an irritated frame of mind from past two days. Nothing great, just quarter life crisis . I know life plays its own game and we are just mere players who most of the times have to abide by the rules of the game and me being such a devout follower of rules, I tend to over-follow the rules sometimes . I do wonder why I am like this.  Why can I not just override the rules like few others and still be happy and peaceful. Or is it just that “The grass is always greener on the other side”?

I don’t understand why few people don’t understand that I have my own life, my own choices, my own expectations and my own dreams and I so well know that they are nothing unrealistic. Forget unrealistic, they are just basic necessities and yet people sulk and make me feel like a loser sometimes. I wouldn’t have cared a damn if those people meant nothing to me, but when they are people who do mean a lot to me than they think they do, it hurts.  Do they think I am immature enough not to understand what I want in life? Don’t they see that I am suffering too because they are suffering, maybe more than them since “I am the player here” and “I am playing the game of life”? I don’t want to feel the way I am currently feeling. I want to live life as it comes and not worry too much about things I don’t have a control on. I know they care very much but I know now that over caring and over worrying is not the way to get things done in life.  It just makes the person in question and people around more worried and more pessimistic and I hate pessimism to the core.

I know it is not something to even get tensed about. Everyone’s life is not the same. Some people’s wishes are granted soon enough and some people may have to wait a little longer, but is it even a reason to lose faith and sulk all day long and make others feel worse than they already are feeling? People have bigger problems in life - problems that might not even have solutions but do they sulk? Nah.. they just go on with life because every problem in life teaches us one new thing about ourselves.

I currently love my life and I want it to remain. I have overcome so many crises before and I know that life is not easy for everyone every single day and I love my life with all its ups and downs. So stop sulking and enjoy the life you have got for you never know what you have got till you lose one – be it life, love or respect.

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Anatomical conversations…

Every evening I decide to post on my blog, yes this blog and not the other one ( I am quite frequent out there…uhh..currently!!), but I end up not posting anything new. What happens right after I come back home from office is as below:

My brain: “ Switch on the computer and check if there are any new posts, any new followers, any new comments.  Check both the blogs. Check out other blogs where a comment has been left and reply is awaited.”

My hands: “We are tired of using the keyboard the whole day. We need some rest.”

My eyes: “Same here. We too need some rest.”

My heart(always an optimist): “I am sure there are new comments, new followers, blah, blah blah. We can just sneak in and check once.”

My eyes and my hands revolt.

My brain and my heart don’t care.

After logging in,

My heart: “First, let us see BowTie :)”

All of them agree. After being there for sometime and being disappointed:

My brain: “Now let us go to Thoughtless”

My eyes: “No………………………I can’t take myself off BowTie!!”

My hands(still revolting): “Am tired guys(oh sorry girls).”

Who cares??

It is navigation to Thoughtless from BowTie :).

My brain: “We need a post soon.”

My heart: “But I currently don’t have anything close to me that needs to be shared.”

My eyes: “Uhh..brightness hurts.”

My hands: “Lets go.”

My brain and my heart: “Lets go to IndiBlogger and see what is happening.”

An hour or so on IndiBlogger, talking and chatting on the forum.

My brain and my heart: “Lets work on the new post. Before that, let us post something on BowTie :) . ”

My eyes and my hands:“Can we come back tomorrow?”

As always, heart and brain don’t listen.

After posting on BowTie, interruption.

My Ears: “I can hear somebody yell from the kitchen.”

My mouth and my stomach : “We need to get to work.”

All of them agree.

After dinner, back on the system.

My heart and my brain: “Let us see what other bloggers are upto . Then we’ll post on Thoughtless.”

My hands and my eyes: “Not again.”

After surfing and checking out and commenting on others’ blogs.

All of them: “Lets come back tomorrow. We all need rest.”

New post goes down the drain!!!

PS: I am out of my senses to post something like this. But, since my hands, even after being so tired, typed all this, I posted it anyways. I hate..I hate this post!!!

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How to create a traffic jam when it comes to your blog traffic.

Friends: Friends come in handy when you are new to blogging and even afterwards. Pester them, blackmail them, bribe them. Do not worry much about CBI/Lokayukta/Lokpal(incase it gets accepted) because they all are currently busy with their own issues. In case the above said ideas don’t work, then just use the tried and tested method which is “Tum apne dost ke liye itna nahi kar sakthe? ( Can you not do even this much for your friend?)”. Make sure you add in a little melodrama when you ask them the above question. If you are bad at it, then you can take a course in it by watching any of the Saas-Bahu serials. Make sure you don’t overact. It can prove to be addictive.

After all, Har ek friend zaroori hota hain like Airtel rightly puts it.

Family: Once again, pester them, blackmail them and do not bribe them since you would be using their own money to bribe them in case you are still studying and if you are earning, they would feel like you are showing off. So no bribing. Puppy face can do the trick. If you are bad at making faces, most of them are not. In case you are among the selected few who are bad at making faces in general and puppy face in particular, then Google puppy face and see the expression and practice the same in front of a mirror. Practice makes a man perfect you know. Try it out, no harm.

After all, family comes first.

Facebook and Twitter: Thanks to these social networking sites, life has become so much more impersonal. Every Tom, Dick and Harry knows every other Eena, Meena and Deeka. Post all updates about your blog on these and ‘some’ people are so used to clicking on the ‘like’ and ‘share’ button that they would be tempted to click on it anyways even without reading the posts. Seeing the number of likes and shares, some actual reader might read your blog and so the job gets done anyway.

After all, sharing is caring.

Spread the word: Try talking about your blog to everyone you meet , so much so that the other person should get so irritated that he/she will want to have a look at your blog to see what is so special about it. Liking your blog, following it is secondary. Atleast, your page-view stats stand increased.

After all, Dimag ki dahi nikhalna is not a bachho ka khel.

Optimizing post titles using SEOs: Have post titles that have no relation to the actual post just for the SEO to work its magic. And tadaaa… your blog has a better rank in the web world irrespective of what you post.

After all, web is what you make of it.

Disclaimer: This is just a light hearted post. No reference to anyone anywhere.

Confession: I also have tried these tricks when I was very new to blogging.

Conclusion: The above said tricks do not work. If you are truly passionate about blogging and want ‘actual readers’ to read your blog and follow it, then there is ‘one and only, tried and tested and proven method’ - Write passionately. It will surely strike a chord somewhere. Till then, Happy Blogging.

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