AYURVEDA HAIR THEORY

According to Ayurveda, hair is a byproduct of bone tissue metabolism. The same tissues responsible for building bones are also responsible for the growth of hair. The quality of the hair is dependant on the quality of digestion from which nutrition is derived.

A poor diet can cause poor digestion, leading to accumulation of toxic buildup of partially digested food (ama). Impurities weaken production capacity of bones, which results in dull hair, weak nails and problem skin.

We are born with three *doshas with one dosha being dominant in most of us. Some people have two doshas that are almost balanced. When the tridoshas (vata, Pitta and Kapha) are out of balance, the health of our body and hair are compromised.

Look for the following characteristics to assess your hair type and the dosha that is in excess:

•VATA DOSHA: thin, dry, dull, lusterless, coarse or rough in texture, kinks in the hair, dry flakes from scalp (especially in winter), and have split-ends

•PITTA DOSHA: Soft, excessive oiliness and sweating in hot, humid weather, prematurely gray hair, flaky itchy scalp and more hair falls out than new growth leading to thinning hair.

•KAPHA DOSHA: Thick, wavy and excessive greasiness and dandruff.

Different healthcare systems have different theories about hair and ways to remedy hair problems. The important thing is that the remedies work! As the pragmatic Chinese like to say, “Black cat, white cat; the cat that catches rat is good cat!”

*dosha: characteristics that occur together as a group and each group is labeled as a specific dosha.