Your hair can look great, too!

ike your skin, your hair needs nutrition.

So if you want a healthy, shining crown of hair, start by monitoring what you eat, when you eat and how you eat.

Here's more about how to take care of your hair, the right way!

Part II: 5 secrets of beautiful hair!
Part III: 6 more secrets of beautiful hair!

Neesha Bukht Choksy, dietician and branch manager, Talwalkars gym, Mahim, Mumbai, says, "If your diet is deficient in hair-friendly foods, or your digestion is not efficient, all the expensive shampoos and hair treatments in the world will not be effective."

So here are a few tips to help you keep your hair looking good:

1. Drink lots of water and fruit juices. Eat adequate quantities of fruits.

Choose from different types of berries, citrus fruits, melons and sweet grapes.

2. Include lots of vegetables in your daily diet.

Dark leafy greens, beetroot, broccoli, carrots and fresh green herbs are excellent choices.

3. Keep your diet protein rich.

Neesha says, "In the summers, people often reduce their intake of eggs, meat and pulses. This leads to a lack of proteins in the body. This, mixed with the summer heat can weaken the health of your hair drastically. Also, zinc that is derived from nuts and oils is very essential for keeping hair texture intact.

"Include soaked almonds and walnuts in your daily diet. It is good for hair health and colour."

4. Dice or chop vegetables and cook them until tender. Add hair friendly spices like cumin (jeera) and turmeric to vegetable dishes. 

5. Eat coconut (raw or added to vegetables) and drink fresh coconut water. It is refreshing and contains oil that prevents excessive drying of the scalp and hair.

6. Dairy products like whole milk, paneer, cheese and lassi are very nourishing for your hair.

Colouring and highlighting tips

This season calls for celebrating your natural beauty and flaunting simplicity.

Here are a few styling tips to make you look chilled out this summer!

1. Go easy on hair colour

Simone, who runs her own hair salon in Andheri, Mumbai, recommends contrasting tones of blonde or honey brown scattered throughout the hair for summer, as these will fade to look more natural. 

2. Kingsley Gomes, senior director, Be Blunt, Mumbai, recommends hazel brown, chocolate brown and other darker shades of brown as fun colours for summer.

He also suggests placing lighter tones of colour on a few strands of hair, lighter than the used brown colour, to provide a slight shadow effect to the hair. This will give great character to the hair and give it a fresh and fun summer effect.

Haircut trends

1. Cruffy crops taking influence from the punk theme are very, very hot.

Kingsley says, "It's a good idea to remove volume from the bottom so that your hair looks healthy and light. Yet, you keep the desired length. Reducing volume from the bottom makes hair look nice and textured and gives you that 'ready for summer' look. Too much volume all over can make you feel the summer much before it gets here."

2. Straight hair with soft layers is a very simple and sexy style you could go for.

3. Avoid fringes.

Healthy hair makes you look good. So get going and take care of that hair. After all, you don't want to spend your winters and monsoons trying to get your hair back to normal!

DON'T MISS!

• Three skincare musts this summer!
• The best hairstyles for your hair