Hi Sadia,
I have hair fall problem and I got home remedies from you. Thanks for that. My recent problem is, when I gently message warm coconut oil (Parachute) on my hair, it causes a lot of hair loss .Is there any reason for that? Is it natural?
Mazed

Stunted hair growth comes after an illness, and extra effort and care is required to be given to the body. Dandruff in any case is the most common cause for hair fall.

Please do the following 2-3 time a week for a month and you should see positive results.

Gently massage hair with warm oil (coconut or olive with 1 tablet and Vit E). Apply lemon juice with a cotton swab, parting the hair carefully applying only on the scalp. (This might sting a little but bear with if) Finally apple a pack with the following

1 tbsp- yogurt
2 tbsp of amla
3 tbsp- egg (beaten)
2 tbsp- onion juice

Dear Sadia,
I am a 16 year old girl and am a regular reader and a great fan of yours. I desperately need your help. I had straight, silky, black and lustrous hair. Since the last two years, I suddenly started having dandruff. As such, my hair started falling. Now only about one-third of the previous volume of my hair has remained. Although the dandruff has now lessened, it has not vanished completely. The luster of my hair is gradually fading away and my thick black hair is becoming brownish and slightly wavy. Is it because of some sort of vitamin-deficiency? If so, what should I add to my usual diet?
I used to use mild shampoo and hair oil (Johnsons shampoo& oil) to my hair before, but now due to this dandruff problem, now I am using Pantene (Classic Clean) but it's helping only little with the dandruff. My mother has always discouraged me to use anti-dandruff shampoo since its harmful chemicals close the hair pores preventing normal hair growth. If you suggest any home-remedy, please mention how to apply it. Last of all, is it possible to revive the thickness of my hair or is it useless to even try?
Extremely worried,

Dear “Disheartened girl"
Please use even conditioned shampoo, until the dandruff disappears. Then revert to your original shampoo regularly (every 2-3 weeks) have deep conditioning treatment to restore gloss to your hair. Use above hair pack twice a week.

You have been doing everything so far except addressing the real cause of your hair loss, which is the dandruff.

Hi Sadia Apu,
I'm 19 a regular reader of your column and a great fan. I have been facing problem with my skin and hair. I have oily skin and a lot of pimples on my face. Because of my pimple there are some black marks on my face. How can I remove them? I have curly hair . Before going out I set my hair but after sometime because of the pollution and the heat it becomes rough. I have started to shed hair. Please help me to overcome my problem.
Ekra

Dear Ekra,
Use Margo neem soap to wash your face morning and night. Freeze cucumber juice in an ice tray. Rub each cube on your face during the afternoon until it melts. This will not only help you with your pimples but will also close pores. The above mentioned pack is great for hair loss as well. Just leave the lemon juice out and use regular shampoo. Once hair fall stops you can consider permanent hair straightening as an option.

Dear Sadia,
I have oily, acne-prone skin, which I'm currently undergoing treatment for. My T-zone is a nightmare of large pores and black-heads. I know steam-cleaning in my case is a death sentence, so how do I clean out the blackheads and reduce the visibility of pores?
Black T

Yes, steam is definitely out for you. Simply use the Ponds Black Head Remover strips. Freeze cucumber juice into an ice tray; rub the cubes on your T-zone morning and night. This will reduce pores and benefit your skin too.

Dear Doctor,
I am a 28 year old male. I have a big problem- I am loosing all my hair. I am already bald on my frontal area and my hairline receding. Can you help me? I have heard of hair transplant but do not know much about it. Could you please give me some information on that?

I am afraid that baldness in males around this age is common. This is mainly because hairs on the frontal part of the scalp have Androgen receptors and as these hormones are in abundance at this age causing hair loss. Family history also plays a part in it. If your hair loss has just started then medication may help to stop the fall, but if you have already lost hair and developed baldness than hair transplant is your answer. Nowadays follicular hair transplant is the latest method of doing transplants. Here a strip of hair is taken from the back of the head that is the donor area .From there follicles are cut out under magnification and then implanted onto the bald areas. The procedure is done under local anesthesia and takes about 4 to 6 hours. The hair starts growing in 4 to 6 months. This hair will grow naturally and you will be able to cut and style it according to your choice. Hair transplant is a good way to overcome baldness problem.

Dear Doctor,
I am a 28 year old woman and had a baby 9 months back. I gained a lot of weight during this period. I have been working out but it's very hard to maintain with baby and all other things. Can I do liposuction now? I also would like to have another child maybe in 2 to 3 years time. If I have a liposuction now will it cause any problems afterwards?

This is a very common question asked. No, you will not have any problem if you have another child. In liposuction we work under the skin and only take out excess fat that is present in that area. We do not go inside the abdomen so there is nothing to worry about. As for having liposuction now, of course you can. The abdominal fat is hard to get rid of but you have to keep working out in order to reduce weight. Liposuction is only a method of reshaping the body and not weight reduction. You also have to be careful with your diet.

On a different note
What are you
thinking?

We have all heard the saying “You are what you eat”, but what you think is equally important. When we are down or worried, people around advice us to “think positively”. But how many of us take this statement seriously? How many know the true meaning behind these words? How many consider positive thinking to be useful and effective and believe that the way we think can really alter our lives?

The power of thought is something very mighty, always shaping and influencing our lives. There are two ways you can look at your life- either negatively or positively. Now, if you always see things pessimistically your brain will rattle off a hundred reasons and tell you that your life sucks and you are a total failure. But if you wish to perceive the world in an optimistic way your brain will give you a hundred more reasons to inform you that your life is great, you are in control, you are contributing to your family and the society and that you are a total success. Unfortunately most of us tend to choose the negative path of thinking which ultimately leads to depression, inaction, loss of personal power and hopelessness. Pessimistic thoughts, words and attitudes disseminate negative vibes. When in a negative mood, toxins are released into the blood, which brings about more unhappiness and negativity; it ultimately leads to the path of failure, frustration and disappointment. Now if we learnt to disregard and ignore such negative thoughts and substituted them with constructive happy ones, used positive words whilst thinking and talking and developed a more positive attitude, our life could be quite different. The secret is to swap the negative way of thinking with a powerful positive thought process!

Positive thinking brings inner peace, happiness, better health, success and satisfaction. A positive attitude towards life, the way we perceive ourselves and the world around us and how we interact with others can have profound effect on our health, well being and brains. Studies that chronicled lifestyle factors of people who stayed mentally sharp in old age, showed that feeling good about oneself and having a sense of self-worth and effectiveness in life are pillars to successful aging. People sense our aura and are affected by our thoughts; they dislike and avoid anyone emitting negativity and want to mingle with positive minded people. Therefore affirmative thinking is very important; to surrender and align ourselves to the nature of universe, to embody it and to believe that it is a great place to be in, will steadily change our lives, for the better.

Easier said than done? Well the good news is that all of these are within our control. No matter what challenges or problems we face, we can choose to start each day by looking at the glass as half full and not half empty. We all know what St. Augustine said “Faith is to believe what you do not yet see; the reward for this faith is to see what you believe."

Syeda Shamin Mortada

I have completed a course on palmistry while I was abroad, where a man called John Anderson took one of our classes as a guest lecturer. I like and respect him very much.

I read most of his articles on palmistry, and I am intensely sorry to say that you published an article titled “Read Your Own Palm” in your November 20, issue, which has been plagiarized word-by-word by Shama Naz Siddiqui from John Anderson's write-up, which was published on June 21 2007.

I would like to request you to verify. Please check the link below:

http://www.catalogs.com/info/spirituality/how-to-read-palms.html

Does she think that everyone lives in the Stone Age and does not have Internet access? Or does she think that she is the only Internet user in this world? The Daily Star management team should be more careful with these kind of writers.

Regards,
M.A. Munim

Dear Reader,

Thank you for bringing the matter to our attention. Firstly, we would like to assure you that Daily Star, at any event, does not endorse plagiarism. The writer, Shama Naz Siddique, is not one of our in-house reporters, but has merely contributed on an unsolicited basis. She did mention that her write-up was compiled from the Internet, but we do realize that compilation is not the same thing as plagiarism. With that in mind, we will take necessary actions in this regard.

LS Desk