13 Home Remedies for Dry and Damaged Hair
Updated: Sep. 13, 2021
These inexpensive tricks will condition your brittle, dried-out locks, leaving you with gorgeous, healthy hair.
One of the best home remedies for dry hair is sitting in your fridge
If you’re only adding butter to your baking, you’re tapping just a fraction of its potential! Treat dry, brittle hair with a small amount of butter for a glossy shine. Massage it into your dry hair, then cover your hair with a shower cap for about a half hour. Shampoo as usual, and rinse all the butter out.
Repair damage with an avocado
Mash a ripe avocado (pit removed) with one egg, then apply this highly effective home remedy to wet hair. Avocados are rich in vitamins, essential fatty acids, and minerals that will help restore lustre to your hair, says Stephen Sanna, expert colorist at the Pierre Michel Salon in New York City. Leave on for at least 20 minutes, then rinse several times. Repeat once a week for damaged hair and once a month for healthy hair.
Find out more surprising health benefits of avocado.
Condition with olive oil
Put the moisture back into dry hair by warming up 1/2 cup olive oil (do not boil it), and then rubbing it into your hair. Cover tresses with a plastic bag, then wrap everything in a towel. Let this home remedy for dry hair do its thing for 45 minutes, then shampoo and completely rinse.
Here are more incredible health benefits of olive oil.
Rinse with tea
You may think of tea as a sore throat remedy, but you can also use it to give hair a natural shine. Use a quart of warm, freshly-brewed unsweetened tea as a final rinse after your regular shampoo. Tea can enhance hair colour, so make sure to use a tea that works with your hue. Blondes should use chamomile tea; black tea may darken their tresses. Brunettes should use black tea to enhance shine and enrich colour.
Whip up an apple cider vinegar mask
Put the life back into your limp or damaged hair with this terrific home remedy: combine 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 3 egg whites, then rub the mix into your hair. Keep your hair covered for about a half hour using plastic wrap or a shower cap, then shampoo and rinse.
Read on for more health benefits of apple cider vinegar.
Make a “shampoo omelette”
Mix one egg with a small amount of shampoo, then apply to your dry hair for five minutes and rinse well. This treatment helps to enhance the protein in your hair.
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Treat dry hair with botanical oils
Available at health food stores, olive, jojoba and sweet almond oils are all wonderful elixirs for damaged hair. If your hair is thick and heavy, coconut oil works well. Dampen your hair and apply small amounts of the botanical oil until your hair is thoroughly covered. Top off with shower cap and warm towel for about 30 minutes, then rinse and shampoo your hair out.
These natural treatments may help restore healthy hair growth.
Try sandalwood oil
Mix a few drops of sandalwood oil with a few drops of olive or jojoba oil, rub the mixture between your palms, then smooth it through the ends of your hair for instant sleekness and a way to curb and condition brittle, flyaway hair. Alternately, squirt a few drops of hand lotion in your palm and smooth it through damaged hair.
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Condition naturally when swimming
Before the beach or after a swim, protect hair from harsh elements or chemicals with a homemade rinse of 1/4 cup apple cider mixed with 3/4 cup water to help cleanse hair, recommends Susie Galvez, author of Hello Beautiful: 365 Ways to Be Even More Beautiful. Follow with conditioner.
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Wrap wet hair dry
Instead of rubbing your hair after you get it wet, wrap up your damaged hair in a cotton towel, and let the cotton absorb the moisture for a few minutes. This helps protect against further split ends.
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Use a humidifier at night
Your home heating probably keeps the air very dry, especially in winter, and that can dry out your hair. Putting moisture back into the air will help your hair from becoming more dry and damaged.
This nifty trick will humidify your home—without a humidifier!
Eat your omega-3s
Consider supplements of borage oil, evening primrose oil, or flaxseed oil. All are rich in omega-3 fatty acids like gamma-linolenic acid, which are great for keeping hair (and nails) moisturized, says Kathleen W. Wilson, M.D., an internist at the Ochsner Health Center in New Orleans and author of When You Think You Are Falling Apart.
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Let your hair down
If you usually wear your hair in a ponytail, take it out for a few hours a day to give your hair a break. Also, try not to pull hair back too tightly. And never sleep with any sort of accessories in your hair.
Now that you know the best home remedies for dry hair, find out 30+ more old-time home remedies that really work.
