Every woman dreams of having luscious, long, soft, and healthy hair. Over-exposure to harsh sunlight, weather changes, stress, inappropriate diet, pollution, chemical treatments, and medical conditions makes our hair brittle, dull, and frizzy by nature even if you were born with gorgeous, lustrous hair. Damaged hair is extremely fragile and tends to break more easily.
Whether your hair is long or short, curly or straight, dealing with dryness is inevitable when it is constantly battered by heat styling tools, chemical treatments, and environmental pollution.
In the quest for gorgeous hair, every woman is ready to go to any lengths to cure and revive it with expensive salon treatments, medications and potions that promise to work wonders instantly but nothing works better than some patience and natural ingredients that are economical and often quite rewarding.
While it may take longer to see results, your hair will thank you in the long-term.
Here’s how to repair damaged hair with ingredients you most likely have in your kitchen.
The first thing to remember is that for healthy hair, the body must be in a state of good health. Hair is fed by the blood flowing to the follicles, which means that diet and good blood circulation are extremely vital for hair nourishment.
Hair also needs external nourishment. Right there on your kitchen shelf are many natural ingredients that can revitalise it. Egg white, lemon juice, gram flour (besan) and yogurt not only nourish the hair but are also good cleansers. They also help to maintain normal balance and condition the hair.
Applying oil also provides nourishment to the hair. Oil is a common kitchen ingredient. You can use sesame seed (til) oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, or almond oil. Warm the oil and massage gently into the scalp, at bedtime, using the fingers to actually move the scalp. Once or twice a week, heat pure coconut oil and apply on the hair and scalp. Apply on ends too. You could go for a turban therapy following this massage session. This works best for dry and under-nourished scalp. For turban therapy, dip a towel in hot water, squeeze out the water and wrap the hot towel around the head, like a turban. Keep it on for five minutes. Repeat the hot towel wrap three or four times. Leave the oil on overnight.
Egg is one of the most versatile ingredients. It contains silicon, sulphur and fatty acids that help to nourish the hair. Egg white has a powerful cleansing action too. Applied on the hair 15 minutes before shampoo, egg coats the hair shaft and adds thickness, shine and body.
Milk can easily be applied to the hair to nourish it and add body and shine. After shampoo, rinse the hair with milk and leave on for five minutes. Then rinse off with plain water.
Beat an egg with a little milk to form a thick consistency and apply it on the scalp and hair. After half an hour, rinse the hair well with water.
For dry, damaged hair with split ends: First, cut off the split ends. Take one tablespoon almond oil and add 2 egg yolks. Mix together and apply on the hair. Apply on ends too. Wearing a plastic shower cap will help. Wash your hair after half an hour.
Both oily and dry hair can benefit from the application of yoghurt or curd on the hair and scalp. It helps to soften the hair, nourish it and also add body and shine. Curd also restores the normal acid-alkaline balance. Apply curd half an hour before shampoo. Rinse well with water when you shampoo your hair.
Banana pulp can also be applied to the hair, like a pack. It nourishes and conditions dry hair, adding body and shine. Take the pulp of two bananas, and add two teaspoons of lemon juice. Mix together and apply on the hair. Leave it on for 20 minutes and then wash hair.
Ripe papaya is ideal as a nourishing and cleansing pack. It is particularly useful for removing scales that adhere to the scalp. For oily scalp and dandruff, mix ripe papaya pulp with gram flour and apple cider vinegar into a paste. Apply on the hair and wash off after half an hour.
Coconut milk is extremely nourishing and softening for the hair. It is said to control hair loss and promote growth, being rich in protein, essential fats, iron and manganese. Mix one cup of coconut milk with powder of curry leaves and two tablespoons orange juice into a paste. Curry leaves are rich sources of beta-carotene and protein, which encourage healthy hair growth. Apply and leave on for one hour. Wash off.
The tannin in tea leaves helps to add shine to the hair if tea is used in hair rinses. Used tea leaves can be boiled again in enough water, cooled and strained and used as a last rinse after shampoo.
Gram flour (besan) has a cleansing action and reduces oiliness. For a hair pack, mix a cup of curd, two teaspoons of besan, an egg white and the juice of half a lemon. If you have very dry hair, substitute the egg white with egg yolk or a teaspoon of almond oil. Apply the paste on the hair and wash it off after half an hour.
For oily scalp and dandruff, mix ripe papaya pulp with gram flour, egg white and four teaspoons apple cider vinegar into a paste. Apply on the hair and wash off after half an hour.
