Get lush, sunkissed locks without spending a dime! Everything you need is already in your kitchen.
Winter can be hard on your hair. Between dry air, cold temperatures, and being regularly squished under cozy hats, your locks deserve a bit of extra love this time of year.
You could book time in a salon (if they're open in your state) or try buying expensive beauty products to apply at home. However, these days all the best treatments use natural products (unless you like slathering petroleum derivatives on your scalp), and most of those natural ingredients are already in your kitchen.
It's easy to mix up an all-natural hair treatment that will boost your hair's shine, moisture, and even color. Plus, these treatments smell nice, feel great, and give you a healthier scalp, which is essential for growing strong, thick, beautiful hair. They're 100% safe for you, kids, pets, and the environment by nature, so win-win-win-win!
The base of all these hair treatments is pure raw honey. Honey is a humectant (it binds to water molecules and moisturizes), an emollient (it softens and smooths), and has anti-microbial properties. It carries proteins, flavonoids and other antioxidants, and minerals. All this makes it a brilliant and gentle treatment for both skin and hair.
Here are three different recipes to put honey's all-natural beauty boosters to work for your hair.
Honey and Egg Strengthening Hair Mask
Honey carries trace proteins in its structure, but adding raw egg upgrades it into a protein powerhouse for your hair. Protein strengthens your hair and prevents damage and wear.
1 raw egg
2 Tablespoons pure raw honey
Whisk the egg until frothy, and add the honey. Keep whisking until the two are thoroughly combined. Brush or pour onto clean damp hair, working it into the strands. Let it sit on your head for 15-20 minutes. Using a shower cap or a damp towel wrapped around your head is a great way to keep your hair contained while the mask does its work. After 20 minutes, wash it all out with shampoo in lukewarm water. Condition and dry as usual.
Honey and Olive Oil Moisturizing Hair Treatment
Raw honey and olive oil are a potent duo to give moisture back to dull, dry winter hair. Those emollient and humectant properties we talked about earlier work in tandem to smooth the tiny scales that are part of a human hair's natural structure and restore moisture, leaving hair shiny and smooth.
1/2 cup pure raw honey
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Thoroughly whisk the mixture to combine ingredients. If they're stubborn, gently warming the blend can help, but you want it to be completely cool before applying it to your hair.
Apply the treatment to clean damp hair, massaging it into your scalp and working it through to the very tips of your strands. Make sure your hair is only damp, not wet, when you apply it, or it won't penetrate your strands and will slip right off your hair.
Wrap your treated hair up in a towel or shower cap and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Once finished, wash it out with shampoo in lukewarm water. Condition and style as usual.
Honey and Lemon All-Natural Brightener
If you sprayed lemon juice on your hair in the summer as a kid, you know how this works. As lemon juice warms up in the sun, the citric acids lift pigment away from your hair, subtly lightening it. Honey contains an enzyme called glucose oxidase that produces small amounts of hydrogen peroxide. This also works to mildly lighten your strands, while honey's moisturizing attributes protect your hair from potential damage.
juice of 1 lemon
1 Tablespoon pure raw honey
warm water or chamomile tea
Juice your lemon and add your honey to a small (4-8oz) spray bottle. Fill the rest with warm water or warm chamomile tea and shake well until combined. Spray on your hair in the areas you want subtly lightened. Wrap up damp hair and let it sit for 30 minutes or even an hour. If you can, lie out in the sun for a bit (remember your sunscreen!). The heat activates the lemon juice's lightening power. Warming your hair gently with a hair dryer works, too, but it isn't as effective as the sun. Once finished, shampoo and condition your hair as usual.
All of these treatments have subtle, natural-looking lightening effects. You don't have to worry about ruining your hair color, as you might with harsher techniques. Apply them repeatedly over time to get more dramatic results.
Give one or all three of these recipes a try! Probably not all at once, though.
Which one is your favorite? Let us know why in the comments below!
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