Ayurveda Health Coach, Dimple Jangda on treating hair loss

Ayurvedic dosha, diet, colon cleansing and raktamokshan to treat hair loss, alopecia and more!

Q1. How is the philosophy of Ayurveda in treating ailments different from the rest of the options available out there?

Ayurveda is a 5000 year old healthcare system, the oldest healthcare system that is rooted in the principles of mother nature. It is also a preventive and curative science that treats diseases at the root cause level Vs a symptomatic treatment that may use drugs and antibiotics to treat the symptoms alone. Ayurveda trains you to remove toxins from your body on a daily basis so you can prevent chronic disorders and ailments. It is a personalised science that allows you to design a diet and lifestyle based on various factors such as your age, body constitution (prakruti), habitat (topographic and geographic conditions), and genetic conditions in order to improve longevity.

Ayurveda understands that all diseases have a psychosomatic origin and hence gives a holistic approach to treating disorders by addressing issues at physical, mental and emotional level.

Q2. How does your dosha affect your hair? Is there a way to identify your ayurvedic hair type?

The 3 biological building blocks or doshas in our body are Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Permutation and combination of these 3 doshas makes the 7 unique body types, skin and hair. Imbalances in either of these 3 doshas cause disorders. Vata Prakruti people tend to have dry, rough, frizzy or broken hair due to excess presence of dryness in their bodies. Pitta Prakruti people usually have an oily scalp and tendency towards chronic hair loss. Kapha prakruti people tend to have dark,  thick hair and bountiful growth. You have to first find out your ayurvedic prakruti or body constitution from a good ayurvedic doctor. Your Prakruti is fixed at the time of creation and doesn’t change an entire lifetime. Knowing it in advance allows you to design your diet and lifestyle accordingly.

Q3. Hair loss has been a significant issue hitting people of all ages starting from teenagers to adults. What would be the ayurvedic take on curbing this problem?

Hair loss is mainly caused due to excessive use of harsh chemicals in our shampoos, conditioners and various hair products that are in the market promising you a catalogue standard beautiful hair. When these chemicals enter the hair roots, they damage the scalp and your natural oils and hair growth over a long period of time. It is advisable to use only kitchen based food ingredients to clean your hair. For eg, we have an aloe vera based shampoo and the onion shampoo that stimulates hair growth and prevents hair loss. These shampoos have natural ingredients like aloe vera, onions, coconut oil, castor oil, black seed oil. Using a good hair regrowth oil also stimulates new hair growth and prevents hair loss. Prana Moringa hair oil for instance is made of essential ingredients like Coconut oil, Moringa, Papaya leaf, Kalonji seeds, Fenugreek (methi) seeds, Flax seeds, Neem, Holy basil (tulsi), Black pepper, Hibiscus flower,, Henna, Ajwain seeds, Ashwagandha (Indian ginseng), Liquorice, Castor oil, Olive oil, Almond oil, Bhringraj, Bhrami (Indian pennywort), Vetiver.

You could also use Prana onion hair oil made with Coconut oil, Onion, Curry leaf, Kalonji seeds, Fenugreek (methi) seeds, Flaxseeds, Neem, Holybasil (Tulsi), Black pepper, Hibiscus, Henna, Carom (Ajwain) seeds, Ashwagandha (Indian genseng), Liquorice, Castor oil, Olive oil, Almond oil, Bhringraj, Bhrami (Indian pennywort), Vetiver

Q4. Is there a specific diet you’d suggest for preventing or treating hair loss?

To prevent hair loss, you must bring your pitta back into balance. Avoid eating hot, oily, spicy and fermented foods for some time. Instead have more cooling foods in your diet like buttermilk, herbal teas, cooling vegetables and fruits like apple, Pomegranate, black grapes, pumpkins, melons, oranges, cucumber, zucchini and such. Refrain from consuming excessive salty and sour foods as well. Avoid packaged foods that have preservatives which can harm your gut lining. Your gut health is directly connected to your skin and hair. If the gut is unhealthy or leaking, then skin and hair which is the last to receive nutrition will be the first to get affected.

Q5. What ayurvedic home remedies one can use to resolve receding hairline or alopecia concerns?

Alopecia areata is a condition that causes hair to fall out in small patches. The condition develops when the immune system attacks the hair follicles, resulting in hair loss. It is also caused due to leaky gut syndrome, unhealthy colon, or fungal infection under the skin. The first line of treatment is panchakarma, wherein a series of therapies like abhyangam, swedana and basti (colon cleanse) treatments are administered to flush the toxins out of the body and repair the damaged tissues. Raktamokshan is another therapy called bloodletting either through leeches or sterilized needles to remove the toxins collected under the affected area. The patient must also consume ayurvedic medicines that are usually bitter in taste for purification of the blood.

Q6. Can ayurveda treat stress-induced hair loss?

Stress is usually one of the main causes of hair loss. Ayurveda helps restore your body cycle back to the circadian rhythm of the sun in order to improve sleep and digestion. Eliminating toxins regularly, avoiding heavy foods after sunset, avoiding packaged foods or difficult to digest foods like meat can reduce stress on the digestive tract and the Gut. This reduces mental stress as well, since the Gut is directly connected to the brain, and one of the main causes of stress is an unhealthy gut and thus affected skin and hair.

Q7. Are there any ayurvedic hair regrowth medicines you would recommend for people willing to try?

Yes, we do recommend ayurvedic medicines for oral consumption based on the clients prakruti and dosha imbalances. There are over 3000 herbs and 650+ medicines available to mankind for treating various disorders and diseases in the body. One must undergo a proper diagnosis and consultation with a good ayurvedic doctor, before consuming any of these medicines. It is also important to balance medication with a personalised diet and adapt a haircare regime suitable for you. We advise a thorough lifestyle change based on the disorders and usually clients see results within a few days.

Dimple Jangda is the founder of Prana Healthcare Centre, Prana Academy for Ayurvedic lifesciences, a TEDx speaker, celebrity ayurvedic Health coach, having coached the likes of Dev Patel, Juhi Chawla, Priyanka Bose, Poppy Jabbal, Anjali Tendulkar, Azgar Shakoor Patel, Dr R Chenraj Jain. She was awarded the Covid Impact award under Digital Entrepreneur of the year award, while Prana Healthcare Centre was awarded India’s most trusted healthcare centre, 2019, having treated 2100+ patients from 49 countries, while the Academy has coached 1800+ students from 40 countries in Ayurveda. Dimple has introduced Ayurveda to over 20,000+ participants from corporates to artists to homemakers.