Do Homemade Hair Care Treatments Really Work?
The beauty of homemade hair care treatments is that you can whip one up in minutes using basic ingredients that you most likely already have lying around at home – but can you really bring your hair back to life using an egg or an avocado?
Let’s take a look and find out.
Are homemade hair care treatments effective?
Homemade hair care treatments can be just as effective as shop-bought treatments, providing that you choose the right ingredients and treatment for your hair type.
Homemade treatments are made using natural ingredients that are bursting with nutrients and are usually gentler on your hair and skin than synthetic ingredients.
Whilst homemade treatments can be effective at hydrating hair and improving its health and appearance, they cannot mend damaged or split ends, they can only smooth them out.
The only way to get rid of damaged hair and split ends is to have it trimmed off.
To get the best results, before choosing a treatment to make, you should consider what ingredients are most suited to your hair type and what results you want to achieve. This will help you to choose a suitable treatment or make tweaks to a recipe to tailor it to your hair type.
For example, if you have very fine, thin, or oily hair then you may want to avoid ingredients that are too heavy or greasy. Those with hair that has low porosity may want to leave their treatments on for a little longer than recommended to give their hair time to absorb it.
What are the most common homemade hair care ingredients?
Recipes for homemade hair care treatments often use common ingredients that you’re likely to already have in your kitchen or bathroom cupboards, making them ideal if you require an impromptu pampering session.
DIY hair treatments are also usually very simple to make, requiring no more than four or five ingredients at a time.
Some common ingredients that are used in homemade hair care treatments include:
- Eggs
- Honey
- Avocado
- Apple cider vinegar
- Coconut oil
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Aloe vera
- Argan oil
- Tea tree oil
- Rosemary oil
- Bananas
What are the most common homemade hair care treatments?
Here are five of our favourite recipes for homemade hair care treatments. Each recipe has been designed to achieve different results and for different hair types.
Strengthening treatment
Ingredients: 2 egg yolks, 1 tsp lemon juice
For: Damaged or brittle hair.
Eggs are full of nutrients like fats, proteins, and vitamins A and E that can keep hair feeling strong, thick, and healthy. Adding a little lemon juice into your egg mask will get rid of the eggy smell.
Cover both your hair and scalp in the egg treatment and leave on for about 20 minutes before rinsing off with cool water and shampooing your hair as normal.
Apply once a month.
Repairing treatment
Ingredients: ½ an avocado, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 10 drops rosemary essential oil, 2 tbsp argan oil
Good for: Removing hair product build-up, stimulating hair growth, and enhancing hair health and shine.
Apple cider vinegar has many benefits for your hair. Primarily, it can clarify your hair by removing the build-up of product, which will also restore its natural shine. It also has antibacterial and antifungal properties that are great for improving the health of your scalp.
Argan oil is rich in vitamin E, which will help to nourish, hydrate, and soften your hair, and rosemary oil not only smells divine but is also used to stimulate hair growth.
Combine all the ingredients and then apply to the hair and scalp and let sit for about 15 minutes before rinsing with cool water and shampooing as usual.
Apply at least once a month.
Hydrating and thickening treatment
Ingredients: 1 banana, 100 ml coconut milk, 2 tbsp coconut oil
Good for: Rejuvenating dry, thin hair.
Bananas contain a nutrient called silica which helps your body to produce collagen, which in turn makes your hair grow stronger and thicker. Coconut milk is high in protein and vitamins which can help to moisturise dry hair and slow hair loss. Coconut oil helps to moisturise and seal the hair to lock in the moisture.
Mix the ingredients together, then let the mask sit on your hair for about 30 minutes before rinsing and shampooing.
Apply once a month.
De-frizzing treatment
Ingredients: ½ an avocado
Good for: Dry, frizzy, and unruly hair
If your hair is thick and frizzy, then an avocado treatment could help to smooth, de-frizz, and nourish your unruly locks.
Avocados are packed full of essential fatty acids, vitamins A and E, biotin, antioxidants, making them the perfect ingredient for nourishing and moisturising dehydrated hair.
Simply mash up half an avocado, massage it into damp hair and leave the mask on for 15 minutes before rinsing and shampooing as normal.
Apply once every 2 weeks.
Dandruff treatment
Ingredients: 8 drops of tea tree essential oil, 2 tsp olive oil
Good for: Soothing and moisturising a dry, itchy, and flaky scalp.
Tea tree oil has natural anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties, making it the ideal ingredient for healing skin problems and treating infections, it also has an invigorating, energising smell. Combining the healing tea tree oil with the nourishing and hydrating olive oil can help to soothe and moisturise the skin on your scalp to banish itchiness and dandruff.
Massage into the scalp and then rinse thoroughly with water.
Why are homemade hair care treatments popular?
It’s easy to see the appeal of homemade hair care treatments, they are affordable, convenient, and effective.
Not only can they easily be whipped up on the spur of the moment, but they can also produce stunning results.
When you’ve made the hair treatment yourself using natural ingredients, you also know exactly what it is that you’re putting on your hair and skin. Homemade hair care treatments usually contain only the most gentle and nourishing ingredients, with no nasty chemicals.
If you’d like to avoid build-up of product residue in the first place, check out our range of all-natural, eco-friendly hair care products. They’re free from silicones, parabens, sulfates, animal-derived ingredients, and harsh chemicals, so they’re also great at soothing an itchy scalp and have all the naturally nourishing ingredients your hair needs to thrive.