Baldness is a condition that can affect a person’s appearance and causes worry for many. Preventive measures can help in the delaying of this process. Others resort to methods of hiding baldness to look and feel good. Baldness is generally known as Alopecia. Alopecia areata is a condition in which the bald patches appear in the head with continuous hair loss.
In Ayurveda the term Khlaitya means baldness. Ayurveda believes that any ailment is the result of the imbalance of mind-body constitution, due to the vitiation of the three life forces known as doshas present in the body namely vata, pitta and kapha. The treatments are based on the patient’s body constitution and other environmental, behavioral and emotional factors.
According to Ayurveda those who have excess pitta in their system are likely to lose their hair early in life, or they will have premature gray hair or thin hair. The excess pitta in the sebaceous glands at the root of the hair and the hair follicles are responsible for baldness.
Causes for Baldness
- The excess pitta is the root or chief cause of all kind of hair problems especially baldness. Pitta increases due to excessive consumption of tea, coffee, alcohol, smoke and meat. Pitta dosha is also increased by the excessive consumption of fried, oily, spicy and acidic foods.
- The presence of dandruff can also be a cause for baldness
- Chronic diseases such as typhoid and other severe fevers might result in baldness
- Excessive consumption of chemicals in the food, low blood circulation, general weakness because of improper nutrition may lead to baldness
- Mental Stress, anxiety and tension on a continuous basis can also to result in baldness
Ayurvedic Remedy for Baldness
- Identify the root cause, which increase the pitta dosha and it should be corrected. This would further help in preventing your baldness, as you have taken the primary step to control the excessive pitta.
- Ayurveda in general recommends the use of shikakai (acacia concinna) and amala (embilica officinalis) for washing the hair. It recommends avoiding chemical shampoos and soaps as they might increase the pitta and can deprive the scalp and hair of the nourishment needed for healthy hair.
- Use of medicated oils such as mahabringaraj oil, amala oil & arnica oil are highly effective in arresting baldness.
- Regular physical exercises would help to control the dosha imbalance and improve blood circulation and general health.
- Applying coconut oil and lemon juice on hair is very helpful and beneficial as they have properties that help in controlling baldness.
- A paste of licorice and milk can be applied in the bald patches. It will help the hair growth in the bald area. Also the paste of seeds made of lemon and black pepper may also be applied on the bald patches to help re-growth of hair in the bald patches.
- Mahatikta Ghrut or Shatavari Ghrutmay be taken internally to control baldness.
- The Ayurvedic diet for treating baldness comprises of more green leafy vegetables, fruit salads, milk, fruits and sprouts.Ayurveda also insists on taking more of proteins, milk, buttermilk, yeast, soybean and wheat germ to control baldness and to increase the hair growth.
- It is also said regular bowel movement everyday would help in losing the hair.
- Mustard oil boiled with henna (mehandi) is also very useful in controlling baldness
- Eating a handful of white sesame in the morning would help in controlling the baldness as it contains calcium and magnesium.
- Herbal combinations such as Dashamoola, bhringaraj and jatamamsi are found very effective in controlling baldness.