Hair care in Hubli: dry heat and hard water

Hubballi sits on the Deccan plateau in North Karnataka, with hot dry summers, a moderate monsoon considerably lighter than Belagavi's, and a dry winter. The dominant hair issue across most of the year is moisture loss rather than excess humidity.

Water is the second factor. Like much of North Karnataka, many areas depend on borewells, and groundwater here generally carries higher dissolved mineral content than treated surface supply. Hardness affects how hair behaves after every single wash.

Hot dry air draws moisture out of hair and scalp. Add sweat, dust and more frequent washing with hot water, and the ends take the worst of it.

• Keep water lukewarm. Hot showers in hot weather are common and they strip lipids from hair and scalp.
• Rinse after sweating heavily, even without a full shampoo. Sweat left to dry is a frequent cause of scalp itch.
• Cover your parting in strong midday sun. It is skin, and it burns.
• Concentrate conditioner and oil on the mid-lengths and ends, which dry out first.
• Helmet users: dry the lining, and do not put a helmet on a sweat-damp scalp repeatedly without rinsing.

Mineral deposits accumulate on hair with every wash, building a film that dulls it, roughens the surface and makes shampoo lather poorly. It mimics damage convincingly.

1. 01Use a chelating shampoo every week or two. It binds mineral ions, which ordinary clarifying shampoo does less well.
2. 02Consider a shower filter if hardness is marked in your area.
3. 03Try a dilute vinegar rinse, about one part to four parts water, then rinse clear.
4. 04Oil before washing, so the mineral-laden water has something to sit on other than your cuticle.
5. 05Resist washing more often with the same water, which adds deposit.

1. 01Oil scalp and lengths two to three times a week, an hour before washing.
2. 02Shampoo the oiled hair before wetting it, then add water.
3. 03Keep the water lukewarm and rinse thoroughly.
4. 04Condition mid-lengths and ends only.
5. 05Chelate every week or two if your water is hard.
6. 06Trim every few months, since dry ends split sooner.