We would all love to have long, luscious locks, but the winter season makes that a hard thing to achieve. If you find that the first sign of cool air has your hair drying up, you’re not alone. You’re doubly not alone if you feel like no haircare product that you can find on any shelf helps remedy the problem.
The fact of the matter is that the solution to your dry and frizzy hair woes might actually be more obvious than you’d think. It just might not be something that you can buy in stores. Some of the most hydrating hair treatments out there are the ones that you can make yourself, often from ingredients that you already have in your home. Come with us as we explore our 21 favorite DIY hair moisturizing techniques!
1. Lemon Juice
Most of us have lemon juice in our kitchen. After all, it’s one of the most common kitchen ingredients, known for its ability to add a delicious zest to many different kinds of meals! According to Healthline, adding lemon juice to your hair care routine can naturally soften and lighten your hair.
2. Wine
The hardest part about this next suggestion is to use the wine in your hair, and to resist the temptation to drink it! One thing though: for this rinse, you’ll want to use red wine, not white. This is because red white contains antioxidants that can help soothe the scalp. Get the details here.
3. Vinegar and Egg
White vinegar can do wonders on your hair, especially when it’s mixed with eggs! This might be the most basic recipe on this entire list, but it sure is effective. You can find step by step directions here.
4. Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar, or ACV, is an inexpensive but effective way to treat damaged, lifeless hair. It works by cleaning your scalp and riding your hair of excess oils, which will in turn restore and nourish your hair. For an extra touch of moisture, add olive oil to your hair mask, as per this recipe.
5. Baking Soda
Baking soda is another inexpensive ingredient that can take the place of otherwise costly hair treatment regiments. Mixing baking soda and water is one of the easiest ways to provide your hair with a shine that is otherwise only ever seen in TV commercials for shampoo. Find instructions here.
6. Aloe and Coconut
If you have an aloe plant, then this one’s for you! It turns out that aloe is useful for more than just soothing a nasty sunburn. You can combine coconut oil and aloe vera to create a mask that will keep your hair shimmering for days to come. See more at Heathline.
7. Mayonnaise and Egg
No, this isn’t the recipe for an egg salad sandwich — although we guess that you could also use it as that, if you so desire. Just like an egg can perform magic on your hair when it mixes with vinegar, egg and mayonnaise is also effective at treating dry hair.
8. Aspirin
For this entry, we look not to the kitchen cabinet, but to the medicine cabinet! While it’s true that Aspirin is trusted by many to lower their risk of heart attack and stroke, this tiny little pill has a lot of other benefits, like, believe it or not, shiny hair. To add Aspirin to your hair routine, you’ll have to grind it up and add it to your shampoo. It will massage and exfoliate your head, and leave your hair looking shiny! Read more here.
9. Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is a handy component of many of the recipes that we mention here, but did you know that can also work as a great hair mask on its own? However, it must be handled with hair, as too much coconut oil can result in an oily disaster that can be hair to recover from. It’s recommended that you do your research first to find out how to use coconut oil in your hair in a way that works for you. This Heathline article is a good place to start.
10. Cocoa Butter
Cocoa butter is a very effective hair moisturizer, but not in the ways that you would expect. Instead of using cocoa butter to create a sort of serum or paste, it is advised that you use it as a pre-shower treatment. You will also need to follow specific instructions, such as the ones that you can find here, to prevent the cocoa butter from turning into a solid and being difficult to remove from your hair.
11. Milk and Honey
You yourself may not technically live in the “land of milk and honey”, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t have fabulous hair. When milk and honey meet one another, the result is magical. This is especially true when we’re talking about hair care, as milk hydrates your hair, making it smooth, and honey fights away excess oil. Take the tutorial here.
12. Avocado and Rosemary
This is one of the more complicated DIY recipes on this list, but we promise that the small amount of labor that goes into it will feel well worth it when you end up with the shiniest hair of your life. Get the special recipe from Gourmande in the Kitchen.
13. Yogurt
Yogurt is not only a delicious snack — it is also a tried and true natural hair moisturizer! While many sites will recommend mixing yogurt with supplementary ingredients, using yogurt on its own can even take you far. Make sure you use natural, unflavored yogurt.
14. Rice Water
Rice water is not a special kind of concoction that you buy at the grocery store. Instead, it’s literally the water that you have leftover from cooking rice! How would have thought that a byproduct from last night’s dinner could be so useful? Trusted for centuries, those who have tried the rice water method have reported highly moisturizing results.
15. Beer and Banana
It’s true! Just like wine can work restorative wonders when applied to your hair, everybody’s other favorite type of alcohol can do the exact same thing. We tend to take a particular liking to the beer and banana mask (with a touch of honey), but there are other ways that you can put beer to work at hydrating your hair. Explore your options here.
16. Banana and Olive Oil
Bananas are one of the most common components of many natural haircare recipes — there’s a reason why many companies such as Lush or the Body Shop incorporate bananas into their products. You can also embrace the magic of bananas from the comfort of your own home by mixing bananas with olive oil. The oil is for moisturizing, and the banana is for repairing damaged hair. Get specific instructions here.
17. Sugar Water
A DIY sugar water treatment for your hair is composed of exactly what you would think —sugar and water. Alright, so it’s a tad more complicated than that. You’ll need to boil water, and dissolve the sugar. Get the complete instructions here.
18. Shea Butter
Shea butter comes from what is known as the “karité” tree, a plant natirve to parts of Africa. While you can easily buy a number of shea butter products in stores, it is much more fun to make shea butter products for your hair at home. We say “products” because your options are literally endless — here are nine different ways that you can use shea butter in your hair!
19. Jojoba Oil
Jojoba oil is a natural product of the Simmondsia chinensis plant, which is a shrub naturally found in the southwestern United States as well as some parts of Mexico. It also happens to be a much sought-after hair moisturizer. Rich in vitamins C, B, and E, jojoba oil can even help promote hair thickness. If you can find jojoba oil, you can make a highly effective leave-in conditioning mask. Learn how at Mountainroseherbs.com.
20. Gelatin
Gelatin is a useful kitchen ingredient that is probably in the pantries of those who make their own candies or even yogurts. Funny enough, the protein that is in Gelatin is also a proven hair moisturizer. This one is a bit complicated, so you might want a bit of hand-holding —check out this guide from Naturally Curly.
21. Butter
Here’s a new one for you: some individuals swear by using butter as a hair moisturizer. If you want to give it a try, you’ll want to use a very small amount by massaging it into your hair before covering your hair with a shower cap. Leave the cap on for half an hour, and then shampoo your hair as usual.