Myths of modern hair care

There are two fundamental philosophies about health in this world.

The first assumption is that the body is not intelligent, cannot support itself and we have to keep pushing products that will support it. For example, excessive sebum production is considered bad and more chemicals are used to remove it. The result? The scalp produces more sebum! (because the body is intelligent and wants to balance the doshas in the scalp by producing more sebum)

At some point, the body/scalp gives up and then all your hair issues will start to magnify and go out of whack. You will shift to stronger chemicals and they will give short term benefits, but will push your doshas further into imbalance. 

The cycle should ideally be broken by changing your fundamental assumption “ that the body is unintelligent”. You just need to listen to your body and support it in its intelligent endeavors.

Ayurveda starts with a different philosophy - with a realisation that the body is supremely intelligent. The body knows how to bring itself and scalp into balance. We just need to support it. So when sebum production is excessive, we should realise it is a body response caused by excessive stripping of the oils from harsh chemicals. Instead of further pushing the scalp into imbalance, we step back and allow the body to take over and support it with the dosha balancing oils.

There could cause some short term pain - excessive hair fall (due to the switch), inconveniences due to smell, freezing, time, planning. Once the body gets used to the dosha balancing hair oils, the short term pain will disappear and you would have become strongly grounded in supporting your body to give you healthy hair. 

All the myths that are propagated start from the first assumption, because if you start believing in the intelligent body then a lot of products become irrelevant and the time and money you spend on hair care comes down drastically. All you need is a bit of planning and 5 min three times a week to support your intelligent body to give you healthy hair.

It depends on which side of the divide you are in or wish to be. The other side will be seen to have a great deal of myths. 

We are on the side of Ayurveda and hence many of the proclamations of the cosmetic and hair care companies about their earth shattering products are just short term pills that can create further long-term issues in your hair. They are partial truths that you will experience as myths as time goes by.