Bollywood Hair!

One thing all of us Indian chicks want, but may or may not admit to, is their desire for Bollywood heroine hair.  At some point in our lives, we have desired long, glorious, shiny locks, that blow in the wind during the applicable song of the moment.  We want Madhuri's waves, Aishwarya's layers, Katrina's straight locks, Shilpa's smoothness, Amisha's length, and Kareena's bounce.   But the problem that many of us desi girls face is frizzy, thick hair.  And lots of it.  I have met only ONE Indian girl that has stick straight and silky hair, and something is wrong with that concept.  I just stare at her hair whenever I see her because it is a huge paradox to me.  Silky, smooth hair just doesn't happen, unless we fight with blow dryers, flat irons, or even permanent reconditioning treatments (yikes!).

My personal hair idol is Anushka Sharma.  She has an amazing cut, length, and volume. And it's always styled well.  I always use a picture of hers when I get a haircut.

Exhibit A

So, how do we get there?  Well, first, we have to COMMIT.  It is so important I used all three methods of font emphasis.  Getting pretty hair is not an overnight accomplishment.  It will take months and maybe years to get there, and while we all love and expect instant results, you have to be ready to stick to this long term.  It's not hard, but it requires patience.




I used to have frizzy, overprocessed hair.  I started trying to change the color of my hair in the 8th grade, trying any hair dye I was allowed to touch, and continued until college.  By the end of college, I had thick blonde highlights, and throughout all of those years, I constantly blow dried and ironed my hair.  Add that to the innate Indian girl hair issues, and I was always dealing with coarse, frizzy, and dry hair.  On top of that - it would not grow to past a couple of inches beyond my shoulders, and I had to cut it often to remove all the junk on my ends.

Finally, I grew up.  And growing up made me realize what I had to do to get the hair we all desire.  I still have frizzy days, but they are much fewer and more manageable than before.  Here is what I realized has to be done to improve hair texture, speed up the growth of length, and a better appearance all together.  You, my friend, can end up with hair like this (left: natural, right: flat ironed):

If you want to start working on getting hair like this, here is what you must do:

1) Commit.  I'm saying it again because it's important.
2) STOP dying and highlighting your hair.  This may be hard to do... But it has to be done.  Kareena has brown hair because she gets paid a gajillion dollars (rupees?) and can afford blow outs and expensive treatments.  Once I stopped dying my hair, I noticed a huge difference in hair texture.  If you have highlights, grow them out.  I have friends who swear they will never highlight their hair again because of how dry it made their hair.   My hairdresser has refused to highlight my hair for the same reason (I have weak moments and ask her sometimes) - because my hair is in good shape, she does not want to ruin it.  I actually liked having dark hair again, even though I never expected I would.  It makes dark eyes stand out more.  I don't know how, but it does.
3) Use sulfate-free shampoo.  Sulfates are harsh soaps.  When shampoo has a sulfate cleansing agent, it's harsh on your hair and dries it out with frequent washings.  To see if your shampoo has sulfates, you will usually find it as the first or second ingredient, something to the effect of "sodium lauryl sulfate" or "sodium laureth sulfate." Switch to sulfate-free shampoo.  This will be much gentler on your hair, and will dry it out less.  I use sulfate-free shampoo religiously and it makes a huge difference!   Over time, you will notice softer hair.  My favorite is the Organix sulfate-free brand, especially Hydrating Macadamia Oil.   
3) Drink milk.  I know I sound like your mom/saasu ma/amma/dadi/nani, but drinking a glass of milk a day is very beneficial.  It made my hair grow so much faster and stronger it's not even funny.  I
actually have to voluntarily cut my hair because it gets so long and heavy and the layers I try to have put in grow out.  Start this tomorrow!
4) Use hair oil.  I sound like an elder female family member again, I know.  But doing this regularly will really keep your hair nourished and healthy.  You can put it in your hair at night, and wash it out in the morning.  If you can't sleep with oil in your hair, put it in your hair and hang out with it for an hour or so, as long as feasible (I'd suggest you don't go out), and then wash it out.  Make sure you get your scalp, roots, and ends. All very important.  Try aiming for doing this once a week, at bare minimum once a month.
5) Toss your hot tools.  Okay, you don't have to literally toss them, but please cut down on your use of them.  I hardly blow dry my hair and I try to limit the use of a flat iron (picture above used flat iron), because that messes up your hair very quickly with regular use.  The heat fries your ends and increases hair breakage.
6) Embrace your texture!  If you have wavy or curly hair, embrace it!  You may need to do a little heat styling around the front of your face to keep it neat, but that's okay.  Find a good product that works with the natural texture of your hair, spray/work it in after you wash your hair, and let it air dry.  Once you find the right product, you will be surprised how many people will compliment your beautiful hair!  I personally love Garnier Fructis Style Wonder Waves Spray, which can be found on http://www.amazon.com/Garnier-Fructis-Wonder-Non-Aerosol-Hairspray/dp/B004ZWH3WC.  (I am posting that link for information only - you can probably get it much cheaper at the local drugstore).  It looks like this product may be continued soon, so now I am itching to go out and buy more!
7)  Take your vitamins.  I think this is always a good thing to do.

So - there you have it.  Good luck on your journey to being the next biggest Bollywood hair heroine!