Homemade hair masks- how do you do them?

[softheartedandl]

I'm thinking about starting some hair mask treatments. The past year or so I've been a terrible slacker when it comes to hair care. I haven't really done anything besides avoiding heat/dye and an occasional acv rinse. I'm slowly getting back into using my BBB on days I don't wash and avoiding damaging hairstyles. I've never really done a hair mask before besides an occasional oil treatment (usually coconut) a few years back before realizing my straight hair doesn't need as much moisture as an 8+ hour coconut oil treatment will give me. :laugh:

I've heard yogurt, eggs (sometimes only the yolk or the whites depending on your hair type), olive oil, and lemon juice work well in hair masks. So, those of you who do hair masks, what do you put in them, how often do you do them, how long do you leave them on for, and what is it about the ingredients you use that you like? (Do you they make your hair shiny, help with growth, etc.)

I'd love some detailed answers, if y'all would be so kind! The last time I was hasty with a diy treatment it was a green tea hair rinse, and my hair HATED it! It was so coarse and felt so dry. I was terrified I'd accidentally ruined it permanently. It was so traumatic for me that I swore off all other tea rinses. :laugh:

Anyway, I'm rambling. Thanks, y'all. :o <3

[Jane99]

There is a whole section of the forum for natural hair care. I’ve been playing around with the homemade masks especially during quarantine while I was working from home and as I’ve been starting to play around with henna and cassia. I think my favorite mask I’ve done was a whole fat yogurt with fenugreek powder mask. If I recall I added some herbal tea (rosemary? Hibiscus?) to thin it out. Since I do henna/cassia I added some cassia powder to the yogurt too. The fenugreek adds shine and slip and volume... film forming plant goo. The fat in the yogurt is conditioning and the acids in the yogurt are supposed to be good for the scalp. The cassia has conditioning qualities too and brighten my blondeish hair. My hair felt happy strong and voluminous afterwards

[apollosdrawer]

For a long time I've liked to take a banana, a sprinkle of fresh lavender and a bit of water, blend it up into a cream in the food processor, and then mix it with my conditioner and let that sit in my hair for an hour or two. I'm not sure how helpful it is, but I like how it makes my hair feel glossy and heavy the next day, and it smells wonderful and always lifts my mood. I always do it when I'm feeling a bit blue. I've also tried adding an avacado, and that seems to make my hair happy as well, but I wouldn't advise avacado alone unless you know you're hair likes it because it's a bit drying on me.

I've also tried mixing mayo, honey, and olive oil! But it was too much for my fine hair. If your hair is quite thick and dry, I can see how itd work wonders.

A bit of honey my hair especially likes, but I dye it black and it ends up lightening me a lot so I rarely use it lol. Definitely be aware of honeys lightening powers

[meepster]

What does the honey do?

[chaskmin]

I love using honey! I also like mixing mayo and olive oil, makes my hair shiny!

[chaskmin]

What does the honey do?


It always makes my hair soft and moisturized. It's great to keep hair healthy as it grows

[apollosdrawer]

What does the honey do?

For me it seems to make my hair stronger and more elastic, and combined with other things it's a great moisturizer. Like I said though it can kind of lighten hair with repeated use.

[MusicalSpoons]

Are you specifically looking for homemade? If not, if you have a conditioner your hair likes, leaving it on for a long time (hours) will do the job too. You can also then doctor it with oils and/or other ingredients (such as honey or aloe) to be more of a treatment. But I'm absolutely *not* trying to dissuade you from DIY, not at all (it can be lots of fun!) just letting you know conditioner is a simple option you could maybe start with if you want to take your time researching homemade options :)