We put our hair through so much trauma, don’t we? Straightening irons, curling irons, sun, wind, chlorine, color treatments…How much can our hair take before it starts looking and feeling brittle, dry, and damaged? Be sure to check out our blog post on preventing summer damage to your hair, but what if the damage is already done?
Instead of getting it all cut off, you can rescue your hair with a deep conditioning treatment that provides the moisture and vital nutrients hair needs to be thick, lustrous, and luxurious. Now, we’ve told you the best foods you can eat for healthy hair, but let’s look the foods you use to make your own deep conditioning treatments!
If you don’t want to go to a lot of effort in creating a homemade deep conditioning treatment, don’t worry! There are plenty of great pantry staples that work perfectly well on your own!
EGGS
Packed with protein, biotin, and minerals, eggs are incredible sources of nutrition for your hair. Simply crack a few eggs in a bowl, whisk, and “paint” the egg through damp hair, or massage the egg into it like a conditioner. Let it sit for 15-30 minutes, then rinse with tepid or cool water – don’t use hot, or the egg could cook in your hair!. Shampoo and condition as usual, and you’ll see an amazing difference!
OLIVE OIL
With vitamins and antioxidants that protect and strengthen hair, olive oil provides a moisturizing experience for damaged hair. Use ½ cup (more for long, thick hair) and massage it into clean, damp hair. Cover with a shower cap and let it sit for 30 minutes. Then, rinse it out in a warm shower and shampoo as normal. For an added benefit, apply gentle heat through a hair dryer set on low or by sitting outside in the sun..
COCONUT OIL
With a lipid structure similar to your hair, plus vitamin E, coconut oil is amazing for taming, repairing, and protecting your hair. To use, lightly heat ½ to one cup of coconut oil to melt it into a liquid, and follow the same procedure that you use for olive oil. For maximum conditioning, apply heat with a hair dryer or sitting outside, or you can leave it on overnight!
AVOCADO
Avocados are densely packed with monounsaturated fats (those are the healthy kinds of fats), and that allows it to moisturize, heal, and protect dry, damaged hair. If you have pressed avocado oil at home, you can use that just like you would coconut or olive oil, but you can use a whole avocado, too!
Simply mash a ripe avocado in a bowl (or put the chunks in a blender) until it’s creamy, then massage into damp hair. If you have extremely thick or long hair, you may need to use two avocados. Leave the avocado on for 30 minutes, and then rinse it out in a warm shower and shampoo as usual.
MAYONNAISE
This may sound like the last thing you’d want to put on your hair, but this egg-and-oil-based condiment is incredibly nourishing and can give you silky, shiny hair in short time! Like the oil treatments, you only need about ½ a cup of mayonnaise and follow the same treatment instructions that you would for the egg deep conditioning treatment.