Natural Home Remedies for Dry Hair

If your hair has the moisture content of the Mojave Desert and nothing short of dipping your mane in a bucket of oil seems to correct the problem, here are a few home remedies that can make that brittle hair supple and shiny again.

Home Remedies from the Cupboard

Nuts and seeds. Try snacking on some seeds and nuts. They contain essential fatty acids that can pop that sheen right back into your hair.

Vinegar. There are several ways you can help your dry hair with vinegar. Vinegar is a great conditioner and can improve cleanliness and shine. Just add 1 tablespoon vinegar to your hair as you rinse it. Keep a travel-size plastic bottle of vinegar in your shower for this purpose, and take one when you travel, too. Since dandruff can make your hair look dull, use vinegar to make dandruff disappear. Massage full-strength vinegar into your scalp several times a week before you shampoo. Or, a brief soak in vinegar and water before you shampoo can help control dandruff as well as remove the dulling buildup from sprays, shampoos, and conditioners. Add 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar to a small basin of water and drape your hair into it. As an alternative, you can put the concoction in a spray bottle and apply it to your hair. A conditioner that controls dandruff and gives your hair a healthy shine can be made by mixing 2 cups water and 1/2 cup vinegar. Apply the conditioner after rinsing out your shampoo, and let it stay on your hair for a few minutes before rinsing thoroughly with water. If you need a stronger treatment for dandruff control, use this same method, but keep the rinse on your hair for 1 hour, covered with a shower cap. Then rinse it out. This vinegar rinse will also help control frizziness in dry or damaged hair.

Home Remedies from the Refrigerator

Avocado and banana. Mash a little overripe banana and avocado together, spread in your hair, and leave it there for up to an hour. Then rinse with warm water.

Beer. After your shampoo, rinse your hair with a little beer. This can help restore shine.

Beer is a natural home remedy for dry hair.
©2007 Publications International, Ltd.
Restore shine to dry hair by rinsing it
with beer.

Eggs. To clean hair and give it a super shine, whip an egg into tepid water (not too hot or you'll be dealing with a poached egg), then lather it into your hair. Rinse it out with tepid water or that egg will poach right on top of your head. To deep-treat damaged hair, give it a healthy sheen, and cure dryness right down to the roots, use this pre-shampoo conditioning treatment: Mix together 3 eggs, 2 tablespoons olive oil or safflower oil, and 1 teaspoon vinegar. Apply it to your tresses, cover with a plastic cap, and leave it on for 30 minutes. Then shampoo as usual.

Mayonnaise. You'll need the full-fat kind, not a diet or low-fat version. Slather 1 tablespoon or so onto your hair, rub it in down to your scalp, then cover with a plastic cap and wait about 30 minutes. Rinse it out thoroughly or you'll be craving tuna salad the rest of the day.

Oil. Rub a little oil into your scalp. Olive oil works well, as does coconut oil. After you rub it on, cover your hair with a cap and leave it on overnight, then shampoo and rinse the oil out in the morning.

For more information on home remedies for the hair and skin, try the following links:
 ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Timothy Gower is a freelance writer and editor whose work has appeared in many publications, including Reader's Digest, Prevention, Men's Health, Better Homes and Gardens, The New York Times, and The Los Angeles Times. The author of four books, Gower is also a contributing editor for Health magazine.

Alice Lesch Kelly is a health writer based in Boston. Her work has been published in magazines such as Shape, Fit Pregnancy, Woman's Day, Reader's Digest, Eating Well, and Health. She is the co-author of three books on women's health.

Linnea Lundgren has more than 12 years experience researching, writing, and editing for newspapers and magazines. She is the author of four books, including Living Well With Allergies.

Michele Price Mann is a freelance writer who has written for such publications as Weight Watchers and Southern Living magazines. Formerly assistant health and fitness editor at Cooking Light magazine, her professional passion is learning and writing about health.

ABOUT THE CONSULTANTS:

Ivan Oransky, M.D., is the deputy editor of The Scientist. He is author or co-author of four books, including The Common Symptom Answer GuideBoston Globe, The Lancet, and USA Today. He holds appointments as a clinical assistant professor of medicine and as adjunct professor of journalism at New York University. (McGraw-Hill, 2004), and has written for publications including the

David J. Hufford, Ph.D., is university professor and chair of the Medical Humanities Department at PennsylvaniaState University's College of Medicine. He also is a professor in the departments of Neural and Behavioral Sciences and Family and Community Medicine. Dr. Hufford serves on the editorial boards of several journals, including Alternative Therapies in Health & Medicine and Explore

This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Neither the Editors of Consumer Guide (R), Publications International, Ltd., the author nor publisher take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Before undertaking any course of treatment, the reader must seek the advice of their physician or other health care provider.