Hair Scare

This is how my hair looked after the experiment I carried out on my poor tresses. Only, I wasn’t looking half as pretty as Megan Fox and no, I wasn’t pouting like her either 😦 I learned it the hard way, that one shouldn’t believe whatever is written on one of those “10 ways to make your hair shiny” websites .

So on a sunny day, I decided to try one of those hair saving tips to infuse some life unto my flowing mane.

#1:

“For squeaky clean hair, use a teaspoon of Baking Soda (bicarbonate of soda) mixed in your palm with water. The Baking Soda helps remove the build-up from conditioners, mousses and sprays to give you naturally clean hair.”

And I thought wow!! This looks incredibly simple and an inexpensive way to get rid of the shampoo buildups. Off I went to the kitchen and got hold of the baking soda which was resigned to a remote corner in my refrigerator. Usually I do not experiment much with my hair because i have heard such horror stories from my friends before. Since this was a mere cleaning ritual, I thought of giving it a try. I was so excited!  After reading the instructions carefully, I made a paste of baking soda and water, which I dutifully scrubbed on to my scalp. And then i waited for some good 5 to 10 minutes. All through the waiting period, my heart was beating faster and my mind was churning out unpleasant thoughts.What if my hair came out in clumps? How will I face the world? How will I pose for pretty pictures? With such negative thoughts, I decided it was enough and went in for a wash.

To my horror, after giving my hair a ‘good rinse’, I couldn’t see the promised soft, shiny,squeaky hair!!!  My hair was all sticky as if some one poured a bottle of glue instead of some so-called cleansing agent. My heart skipped a beat as i frantically began searching for my bottle of shampoo. All those unpleasant thoughts began hovering around my head like a halo. I was so damn screwed, I thought. Even after rinsing my hair with a shampoo, it still felt sticky ad messy. I was almost on the verge of crying when my dear mom in law stepped in to help me, after giving me an earful for being so adventurous. At that time, all I could think about, was my tresses, my shining crown of glory.

I cursed myself for getting into this sticky situation. I heard my hubby screaming out that baking soda should only be used for baking  purposes. I was in no mood for unsolicited advice. My mom in law handed me good old shikakai powder [Acacia concinna , thanks wiki :)] which is basically a mix of many herbs and has been in use as a conditioner since ages. With a frowning face, I again went in for a rinse , this time with our very dependable Indian version of shampoo. And voilà, I could see my hair was soft to touch and was regaining its natural texture. I was so happy that I danced with joy. I can say that was the happiest moment of my life. All the unpleasant memories were out  for a toss. My faith in desi shikakai was restored to its fullest.:) May be I messed up my ‘hairy’ experiment but I vow never to indulge in such a risk ever again. 🙂

P.S: This is my ill-fated experiment with baking soda and it didn’t work for me. Try at your own risk.