WOMAN SPECIAL ..................... Can you do without shampoo?

Can you do without shampoo?  A new beauty revolution called the No Shampoo Movement is being touted as the way to beat baldness and hair thinning.     Do you know the secret to Adele’s glamorous updo? She doesn’t use shampoo. The singer washes her hair with plain water. Adele is part of the ‘no shampoo’ movement, which has followers ranging from Hollywood A-listers like Jessica Simpson and Robert Pattinson to Prince Harry. The followers of this movement (also called the ‘no-poo movement’), consider it a safe way to prevent baldness and hair thinning. “The real reason for the early onset of baldness and thin hair is overshampooing. Over a long period, shampoos damage your hair drastically,” says naturopath Dr Nirmala Shetty. “I hated my hair at first but started feeling the difference after the first two weeks,” says wellness coach Leanna Cappucci. She uses apple cider and plain baking soda instead of a shampoo. Washing your hair with a natural, homemade shampoo and conditioner may be a good idea at times. According to Dr Shetty, people of our grandparents’ generation have a healthy mane in their old age because they mostly used natural ingredients to clean their hair. “Like green gram flour and boiled rice water, fresh hibiscus or shikakai paste — to keep their scalp and hair clean. Natural ingredients are easily absorbed by the body,” says Dr Shetty. A lot of shampoos contain harmful chemicals, like methylisothiazolinone and diethanolamine, that can lead to health problems. Foaming agents like sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) are believed to cause irritation of the scalp for some. Says hair expert Shahnaz Husain, “Regular shampooing is counter-productive. It makes your hair dry and brittle and disrupts the acid-alkaline balance of the scalp, which often leads to dandruff.” If you want to give your hair a natural wash at times, do read the box below.  HOMEMADE HAIR CLEANSER Add water to baking soda and bottle it. Use this just like shampoo. To make a natural conditioner, add 1–2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar to a cup of water. If your hair feels dry, use less baking soda, or try using honey instead of vinegar.  Nona Walia TL 1403402