I grew up watching my grandmother apply oil to her hair every single day, comb it out and plait it into the thickest, most luxurious plait you ever saw. She never washed her hair more than once a week. My mother, with five children underfoot, maintained the weekly at-home oil treatments she was raised with, and to this day, has never gone to a salon for anything other than a simple cut, and even that was considered a treat. 

As children, my sister and I would sit in front of mum every Sunday without fail, and wait for her to apply oil to our hair, tie our hair up for an hour or so, and then get in the shower to wash it all out. Today, my sister and I have long thick hair, and both of us could just about sit on it.

Don't get me wrong; I love my fancy hair products but one thing I've never given up is the oil. Once a week, without fail, I apply the historically tried and tested (by the women in my family) mustard oil to my locks, leave it to sit for a few hours, and wash it out. I've even recommended this to non-Asian friends, and the feedback has been exactly what I expected. 

Mustard oil is probably one of the best kept hair secrets in Pakistan. I have absolutely no empirical evidence of any of my claims about it, but I can tell you what I've observed and felt. The oil nourishes the scalp, strengthens the roots, makes the hair shaft strong and shiny and helps to prevent hair loss if used consistently over a long period of time (think 3 months+). On the flipside, I've also noticed changes when I've stopped using it for a few weeks - slowly, over several weeks, hair starts to feel more fragile, it breaks when combing or brushing, it loses its shine and it starts falling out. 

If you suffer from any of these ailments, give mustard oil a try. It may be the best thing you ever do for your hair. It's inexpensive and widely available - you should be able to find it in the World Food aisle of your supermarket/grocery store, typically for less than £1/$2.

If you decide to give it a go, let me know how you get on. Good luck on your hair journey, and here's to beautiful, bouncing hair forever!