Goyaves de Chine or Chinese guavas!

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Have you ever tasted Goyaves de Chine or Chinese guavas? They are small fruits that resemble guavas but are miniature in size.  Goyaves de Chine or Chinese guavas  These small-sized fruits are found in ample in Mauritius in the month of April. They ripen in that month and are a traditional delicacy sold in the streets.  The color of these fruits range from green to red to yellow. The green fruits are not yet ripe and are a bit firmish. The red ones are softer and have a sour taste while the yellow ones are larger in size with a sweet taste.  Chinese guavas or  Goyaves de Chine  These fruits get softer and rot faster. Therefore consume them on the same day you purchase them. Also, this is the reason that vendors pluck them up early from the trees when they are still red.  These fruits are also called cherry guavas or strawberry guavas or lemon guava. It is native in Brazil and also grows in Hawaii.  The skin or peel of the fruit is quite thin and i...
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Henna hair dye: safety, usefulness, and limitations.

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 Henna is a natural temporary coloring agent obtained from leaves and tender stems of the plant,  Lawsonia imtermis. Used on skin and hair, it gives a typical brownish orange hue to the part. 

Henna and hair color

Henna gives a typical color to the hair. It hides whites but does not blacken it unfortunately. Hence it is not a versatile hair dye. It also takes many hours to produce effect. The color though natural is not permanent. But how safe is it?


Henna for hair and its safety

Since henna is natural, it is a natural tendency to think that it is a safe option to the chemical dyes for hair. But is it so really?

Henna does not penetrate into hair shaft and only remains on the hair surface. Hence it sits there preventing any hair conditioner to reach the hair cuticle. Hence hair could become lifeless and brittle with repeated use. Henna per se does not condition the hair. 

Though predominantly non-allergic, henna does have a low allergic tendency. But some cases of allergy could be due to the other components mixed in the henna-based hair dye mixture including contaminants such as nickel and cobalt. 

Henna does have some action against Malassezia furfur, the fungus causing dandruff. 

Remember 'black henna' has PPD in it in high concentrations. Hence for people allergic to it or looking for PPD free hair dyes, it is best avoided. 

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