While it’s totally chic to be versed on the most buzzed-about beauty products, there’s something oh-so-charming about a girl who cooks up her own beauty routine. Cooking in general can be intimating, so me in the kitchen making my own shampoo is quite fearful.
But I’m up for the challenge if you are! Here’s seven do-it-yourself recipes that are guaranteed to revitalize your hair.
1.) SWIMMING POOL HAIR REMEDY: This hair care potion will protect your locks from the chlorine and chemicals this summer as your enjoying your pool time.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons baking soda
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon mild shampoo
*Yields 2 ounces — enough for one treatment
Directions: Mix together all the ingredients until well blended. Wet hair and massage the mixture onto your hair and scalp, making sure hair ends are coated. Cover hair with a plastic bag or shower cap and leave on for 30 minutes. Rinse hair well and shampoo as usual.
2.) MOISTURIZING HAIR WRAP: Not only are the herbs in your garden good for your next five-course meal, they will have your hair strands soft and shiny. This recipe with all minimize shedding.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup of hot water
Rosemary
Sage
Fenugreek Seeds
Directions: Crush a little bit of each herb (rosemary, sage and fenugreek seeds) with fingers and put into cheesecloth. Tie the cheesecloth and steep in hot water for 10 minutes — this will make a very potent tea. Next, warm the olive oil on the stovetop and add the tea, blend well. Once mixture cools, apply to scalp and massage in, working through dry hair. You don’t have to use the entire amount, just use enough to coat every strand (it shouldn’t be dripping with oil). Wrap your hair in a towel or hair wrap. Leave for 20-30 minutes, shampoo out.
3.) FOR SHINY BLONDE OR GRAY HAIR: Chamomile is great for naturally lifting the dullness from your lighter locks.
Ingredients
6 chamomile tea bags
8 ounces of water
Directions: Create a leave-in spritzer by first placing the chamomile tea bags into the water, and then bringing to a boil. Turn off the flame, and let the bags steep for three to four hours. Then hop in the shower and shampoo and condition as usual, finishing with a cool rinse. Towel dry and spritz strands with chamomile mix for blonde-highlighting shine and a delicious scent. You can blowdry or airdry as usual, instructs Valmy.
4. ) DULL HAIR: Use apple cider and lemon juice on a weekly basis to eliminate residue build-up.
Ingredients
(Step One)
Juice of one lemon
2-3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups warm water
(Step Two)
2 eggs – room temperature
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons olive oil
Mix the lemon juice with apple cider vinegar and warm water. To remove residue and neutralize your hair’s pH balance, apply the mix to hair and rinse with cool water.
Then to moisturize, beat together the eggs and coconut and olive oils, and massage through dry hair. Cover with a shower cap and towels warmed from the dryer — or you can enjoy a steamy bath or shower. Let sit for ten minutes, and then shampoo out.
5. ) OILY HAIR & SCALP: Most conventional conditioners contain silicones that make your hair oiler. Try rinsing with herbal infusions as a hair treatment.
Ingredients
3 cups water
2 tablespoons dry chamomile flowers or 4 chamomile tea bags
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Boil the water and pour it in a non-metal container. Place tea bags in the water and cover well. Let stand for five to six minutes. Strain the liquid and add the vinegar and sea salt. Pour in a spray bottle. Then spritz as often as necessary to saturate your hair from roots to ends. It’s ideal to air dry your hair if possible, but you’ll still see results if you blowdry too.
6. ) BRITTLE & DAMAGED HAIR: Although large doses of cholesterol aren’t good for your arteries, it’s an ideal treatment for your strands.
Ingredients
1 packet Knox Gelatine (unflavored), melted in 1/2 cup hot water
3 egg yolks
4 tablespoons grape seed oil or olive oil
3 capsules primrose oil
For a less oily feel, Valmy suggests opting for grape seed oil. Mix all ingredients together, puncturing the primrose capsule to use the oil only, and discard of the rest of the capsule. Saturate hair and scalp with the mixture, and cover with a shower cap or seran wrap. Leave on for 45 to 60 minutes for an indulgently deep treatment that can be further intensified by running a hair dryer over your wrapped head.
“It’s great if you can take a hot bath while this is on your hair, as the heat will open up the pores of your scalp and penetrate the mixture into the root of the hair shaft,” suggests Valmy.
7. ) DRY SCALP: To replenish your scalp, use high fat and protein ingredients to penetrate the skin.
Ingredients
1/2 cucumber
1/2 avocado
1/3 cup sour cream
Large cube of eggplant
Blend the cucumber, avocado and sour cream together in a blender and scoop onto scalp. Massage the mask into your hair and scalp with the eggplant cube. Then cover your hair with a shower cap or seran wrap for a half an hour, finishing with a rinse that will leave your hair follicles moisturized and scalp soothed. If you can make it a cool rinse, all the better for a shiny result.
So beauties, how many of you are already pros at DIY hair?
