Mumbai monsoon hair care

Hair that is wet is swollen, its cuticle lifted, and in its most fragile state. A commute that leaves you damp, followed by hours in air conditioning with hair tied up, means hair spends a large part of the day like that.

Add a scalp that stays damp under tied hair in warm humid air, and you have the two complaints people actually report: constant frizz and breakage, plus scalp itching.

Rain itself is soft, which is fine for hair. Urban rain picks up particulates on the way down and washes accumulated grime off surfaces on the way past.

Letting that dry into your hair leaves residue on hair and scalp. Rinsing it out when you get home, even without shampoo, is worth the two minutes.

• Braid or bun hair for travel rather than leaving it loose to abrade against a wet jacket or bag strap.
• Carry a dry cloth. A damp scarf held against your head for hours is worse than nothing.
• Do not tie soaking hair tightly. Tension on swollen strands is where breakage happens.
• Keep a wide-tooth comb with you rather than borrowing a brush and forcing it through.
• If you can dry your hair on arrival, do. Cool airflow is a reasonable use of a dryer.

The complaint that goes unaddressed. A scalp damp for hours, several days a week, in warm air, is uncomfortable and for some people aggravates flaking and itch.

• Dry the scalp, not just the lengths.
• Do not sleep on genuinely wet hair.
• Keep your washing frequency rather than reducing it because the air is humid.
• If you are prone to flaking, avoid heavy scalp oiling with long contact times during monsoon and keep the oil mainly on the lengths.
• Wash out anything you were caught in rather than layering the next day on top.

In Mumbai monsoon humidity, hair will revert toward its natural texture. Fighting that with heat produces an hour of straightness and a season of cuticle damage.

The productive approach is to seal damp hair with a light oil or leave-in before it dries, keep hair well conditioned so the moisture gradient is smaller, and pick styles that do not depend on holding an unnatural shape.