“Sunday afternoons, and my mother’s hands.”
Meera, 34, on inheriting a ritual she did not realise she had learned.
Soumm · Bengaluru
The ritual before it was mine
Every Sunday, my mother would sit behind me with a small steel bowl of warmed oil and take her time. I complained about it for most of my childhood.
I do not remember deciding to continue it. I remember noticing, at thirty-one, that I already had.
What I had actually inherited
It was never really about the oil. It was an hour in which nobody needed anything from either of us, and we talked more honestly than we did at dinner.
When I moved cities, the hour was the thing I missed. The hair care was incidental.
Doing it for myself
Doing it alone felt strange for a long time, like performing half a conversation. It took a year before it felt like care rather than absence.
Now it is the part of the week I protect most. I still use a steel bowl.
A note on evidence
Hair responds to many things at once: sleep, nutrition, hormonal changes, scalp condition and stress among them. Published here for education only; individual concerns should be discussed with a qualified healthcare professional.