Effects of an air conditioning on skin and hair

If just like me, you always have the air conditioner on your head, you could end up facing the same problem that I have been struggling with. That’s flaky skin and hair fall! For once, I assumed it was happening due to my exposure to heat and sunlight, but post Covid-19, when I was working at home, I still ended up facing the same problem. And TBH, it was worse.

I remember that I used to follow a night skincare routine, but when I woke up, my skin used to feel lifeless. I was so upset because I really didn’t know what more to do. But then I understood that the reason for it was neither my routine nor sun rays. What was messing around with my skin and hair was my summer favourite, air conditioner.

effect of air conditioning — AC can actually leave your skin dull and dry. Image Courtesy: Shutterstock

This is what sitting too much in AC did to my skin and hair

1. It made them dry: My skin, especially my lips, used to get so chapped that even the bestest lip balms were unable to help. And if I talk about my hair, they were all over the place as dryness sucked the nourishment out of them. I tried drinking more water, assuming that it may be due to dehydration, but it was my air conditioner that was creating this ruckus.

2. Air conditioning made my skin look wrinkly: Air-conditioning is known to suck up all the humidity from the air. It is this humidity that actually helps in maintaining the elasticity of my skin. Sigh!

3. It made my scalp and skin itchy too: It was basically because of the dryness. It was so bad that I couldn’t resist scratching myself, making my skin and scalp go black and blue.

My mom’s trick came to rescue me

After it got too much to handle, I thought of visiting a dermatologist, but before that, seeking my mom’s advice was a must. As always, she has one nuskha that she has also been using and was passed on to her by her nani.

Basically, she told me to take desi ghee, add a few drops of lemon, and some rose water. Mix it, and use it to moisturize the scalp and skin. I did it before bathing and before sleeping at night. What was the result? Well, these tricks seem so simple initially and so I was really skeptical about their result, but when I saw their effect, I was awestruck.

The repair work literally started within 15 days. I saw that my skin felt softer and the itching was almost gone. The hair breakage test was all the more prominent because when I would wake up every morning, my pillow would have fewer hair strands on it.

In fact, the split-ends also reduced. Plus, I could see the glow which wasn’t there earlier. Another thing that I have noticed is that I can now skip the conditioner as well because desi ghee nourishes them naturally! And at the end of the day, packaged conditioners laden with chemicals and ghee is not. So, I’m sorted that way.