Telogen

Every morning soon after I wake up, the first thing I do is have four almonds. After that I have four pieces of amla(gooseberry). Sometimes I also have a neem capsule. I have been doing this religiously for the last 19 months. It is a show of amazing patience, persistence and perseverance by an otherwise lazy, languid and lethargic girl like me.

All this for what joy?

All this for the growth and well being of my long lustrous lashes. Yes. You got that right. A woman’s face looks beautiful only when her scalp is fertile and overflowing with healthy, bouncy, shiny hair. (Who ever said what is inside the head matters more?)

When I was a child, I used parachute coconut oil for a very long time. Once in a way I did use castor oil too. I did not have exposure to other exotic oils those days. Slowly, one by one I started adding other oils to my beauty box. Almond oil, olive oil, sesame, neem, tea tree, castor, Neelibhringadi and some other home made oils. Since I had so many oils, I decided to mix all of them in equal proportion.

Even the queens and princesses of those glorious days would not have pampered their hair the way I have in the last few years.

While there was so much diversity in the application of oil, there was absolute uniformity in the removal of the same. While the whole female community uses shampoo of various brands, flavours and fragrances, I have been a faithful patron of the age old Shikakai powder. And I don’t buy that from ordinary shops which sell adulterated stuff, but get it from my native village where they pluck Shikakai from the tree, grind it and then filter it.

I mix this pungent thing with soap nut powder and then proceed to make a paste of it with which I wash my hair.

Apart from all the above, there is an array of other measures I take to keep my hair rooted firmly in my head.
I avoid over washing and over combing. I make sure I get my beauty sleep everyday.
I dislike the sun to the extent that even on a cloudy day I carry an umbrella. But when someone told me that hair falling is partly due to want of sunlight which is a source of some vitamin, I would stand on my terrace under the sun.

The response to all this pampering has been varied. Sometimes, I can count on my fingertips the number of strands I loose everyday. Sometimes, hair falling is so severe that I am afraid to even comb my hair.

My hair on it’s part has been most discreet about itself. It refuses to tell me definitely what it likes and what it does not. The day I figure out the secret will probably be the happiest day of my life.

Two years ago, my state was so bad that I became paranoid and ran to Dr Batra’s for help. Just as I decided to subscribe to their treatment which was prohibitively expensive, the condition of my hair mysteriously returned to normal.

The last few months which I spent in California were probably the best so far. (I am talking about my hair.) Even after my return it was OK. But for some reason that God alone knows, my hair has started falling again. Alas!

It is the only cause of distress in my otherwise happy life. Nothing else makes me feel as helpless as this one problem! Being a woman is not easy! Not at all!

They say, it is the small things that give you immense happiness in life. True.
But it is also the small things that cause immense worry in life.

By the way, there are three phases in the life cycle of a hair. Anagen, catagen and telogen. Anagen is the phase of hair growth. Catagen is the phase when the hair stops growing. Telogen is that phase when hair falls. Now you know why I chose that title!