Whether it’s for your lockdown haircare craze experiments, for those times in which running to the salon is simply not an option, or when your online delivery fails, your last resort is… DIY. I don’t really like calling it a “last resort”, since DIY hair masks (like DIY shampoos) are one of the best things that could happen to your hair: natural ingredients, no nasty chemicals, and no alcohol-based fragrance make it a great self-care option for a quiet Sunday in.
What Is a Hair Mask?
Simply put, a hair mask is the equivalent of skincare for your head. Think of it like deep, intense conditioning – sometimes specific to a certain type of scalp or hair texture, and with certain properties that address specific needs like shine, frizz taming, or brittle tresses.
Most hair masks contain rich ingredients and have added essential oils for their properties or natural fragrance. Usually, a hair mask is meant to stay on your hair for longer than your regular conditioner. Whilst the average pose time is around 15/20 minutes, some hair masks are okay to be rinsed after an express 3/5 minutes wait – whilst some others work their magic overnight!
How Often Should You Use A Hair Mask
Even if your hair is fairly healthy, a lot of external factors (such as seasons changing) can cause some stress to your strands. Hair masks are a powerful tool to help your hair recover from any stress, and they’ll also help you maintain your gorgeous locks at their best, providing and retaining moisture, shine, and nutrition. The first thing that you should do, however, is create a routine. I would recommend keeping it on a weekly basis, but to each its own: if you’re an avid user of heated styling tools, for example, your hair may need more help in terms of deep conditioning. In such cases, more frequent use of hair masks is advised.
How To Apply A Hair Mask
Applying a hair mask is fairly easy. You can apply your hair mask on wet hair or even dry hair, as long as it’s clean. If your hair tends to get greasy, then you may want to use a clarifying shampoo before applying a thick textured hair mask so that your hair won’t be weighed down.
Ready to start? Let’s have a look at the best homemade hair masks on the web!
1. DIY Hair Mask For Split Ends:
Let’s start with a disclaimer: the only way to properly get rid of split ends is the old-fashioned way, aka a good trim. Besides that, there certainly is a way to coat them and give them a better appearance in the meantime.
Ingredients:
- ½ avocado
- ½ cup of olive oil
- ½ ripe banana
- 1 egg
Preparation:
Mix the ingredients together and blend with some lukewarm water until you get a nice, smooth but not too runny consistency. Apply on your hair and cover with a plastic cap, leaving it on for 30 minutes. Rinse with warm (not hot) water, making sure to get rid of any bits of avocado. Then, follow up with a (possibly moisturising) shampoo, to get rid of olive oil traces and any smell.
2. DIY Hair Mask For Oily Scalp
When it comes to deep cleaning, apple cider vinegar goes a long way – not only for your house but also for your hair – getting rid of protein build-up and impurities in a gentle but effective way. If your hair tends to easily get greasy, there are a few changes that you may want to implement both in your haircare and nutrition too!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp of honey
- The juice of a small lemon
- 3 tbsp of water
Preparation:
Mix all the ingredients together in a small container, and shake thoroughly. Apply on your hair, from scalp to ends. Disclaimer: lemon juice may slightly alter your hair colour, lightening it, so be careful and make sure there’s not too much lemon juice in your recipe. Allow to sit for 15 minutes, and rinse with cool water.
3. DIY Hair Mask For Dry Hair
Are you familiar with Jojoba oil? We talked about it in our guide to hair oils. Known for its moisturising properties, this little miracle in a bottle will be the main ingredient in this formula for weakened hair – together with coconut oil, the all-around natural remedy that also happens to smell wonderful.
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp of extra virgin coconut oil
- 1 tbsp of jojoba oil
Preparation:
This powerful moisture bomb is super easy to prepare! Just warm up the mixture in the microwave for approximately 30 seconds in order to get a smoother, runny consistency. On clean hair, apply from roots to ends, without forgetting to massage it in your scalp too. Leave in for 20 minutes, then rinse with cool/lukewarm water.
4. DIY Hair Mask For Damaged Hair
This magic potion for brittle tresses will change the way your hair looks in just one use, rebalancing the PH levels of your scalp and getting rid of product build-up. With the powerful nutritional value of eggs, the softening qualities of castor oil and the healing powers of aloe vera, your hair will immediately look healthier and full of life.
Ingredients:
- 2 large eggs
- Aloe Vera plant stem
- 2 tbsp of castor oil
- 1 tbsp of lemon juice
Preparation:
Crack the two eggs into a blender, adding the inside of your Aloe Vera stem, one tablespoon of lemon juice and two tablespoons of castor oil. Apply on your lengths (mid-shaft) to the ends, and let it sit for around half an hour. Rinse off with lukewarm water (you may need to follow with a light round of moisturising shampoo, as castor oil is pretty thick and may not be that easy to rinse off your strands).
5. DIY Hair Mask For Frizzy Hair
Got unruly hair? Fed up with those little fly-overs? No problem – you know I got you. If your frizzy hair is getting stubborn and your regular oil is not helping that much anymore, it may be time for a deeper, leave-in treatment. Like a hair mask! This simple and cost-effective DIY hair mask idea will help nurture and tame the wildest of manes.
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp of mayonnaise
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp of honey
Preparation:
Whisk the egg in a small mixing bowl until it turns nice and foamy, then add the mayonnaise and honey. Then, massage the mix into your wet hair. Make sure your hands are clean before doing this! Wrap your hair up in a bun over your head and cover it with a shower cap or cling film. Leave it in for around 15 minutes, then wash it off starting from your roots to your ends. Last step, use a moisturising shampoo and condition as per usual. To help seal the cuticles of your strands, give a final rinse with cold water and wrap your hair in microfibre towel!
6. DIY Hair Mask For Curly Hair
This is one of the most popular hair masks for curly hair, and there’s a reason behind it: yogurt! Yogurt is great for your curls as it’s loaded with vitamins and good, healthy acids – fighting frizz and helping curls to retain moisture (which, as we know, is a common struggle for the corkscrew-haired people!).
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of yogurt
- 2 tbsp of honey
- 4 tbsp of olive oil
- 2 vitamin E gel capsules
Preparation:
Mix the yogurt, honey, and olive oil together – then dissolve the vitamin E capsules in the mix. Apply to your hair and let it sit for around 30 minutes, putting up a shower cap.
As olive oil is quite heavy and may not be easy to rinse out with just water, use a light, moisturizing shampoo to help you get rid of any oil traces that might be difficult to wash away with just water.
7. DIY Hair Mask For Irritated Scalp
Oh no – what happened? Your scalp had enough of it and started throwing a tantrum – itchiness, soreness, dandruff… The whole package! Sometimes aggressive shampooing and dehydration are the culprits, some other times skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis are to blame. No matter the cause, here’s how to soothe itchy scalp and cool your head down – quite literally – with this hair mask for flaky scalp and itchy scalps in need of a cuddle.
Ingredients:
- 1 ripe avocado
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 2 tbsp of honey
- 2 tsp of tea tree oil
Preparation:
Mix the ingredients gently to get a nice, soft texture. For curly hair, you can also add a little yogurt! Apply on your head and gently massage it onto your scalp, then put a shower cap on and let it sit for 15-20 minutes and rinse with lukewarm water.
8. DIY Hair Mask For Colour-Treated Hair
Picture this: you left the salon (or your DIY dye job mess) with a fresh new colour on your hair, and then flash forward to a couple of weeks later (or even less)… Shampooing, styling, the wind, the sun, they all seem to have teamed up to plot against your hair’s health, after the treatment opened your cuticles, leaving it prone to damage. How do you protect dyed hair? But with this recipe of course.
Ingredients:
- Mayonnaise… That’s it!
- A few drops of lavender oil if the smell of mayonnaise bothers you
Preparation:
Well, you guessed it – this is a very simple recipe. Just cover your hair in mayo and let it sit on your hair for around 20 minutes (best with some cling film to hold it, or a shower cap) before rinsing it out with lukewarm water. Then, finish with a light wash with a shampoo for coloured hair.
9. DIY Hair Mask For Shiny Hair
When you’re blessed enough to have fairly healthy, untreated, unbothered hair, your ultimate goal is to achieve and maintain gorgeously glossy locks between wash days. If this is what you’re after, fear not: with this simple DIY hair mask for silky hair you can officially join the glistening locks club with no hassle.
Ingredients:
- 1 avocado
- 2 tbsp of almond oil
- 4 tbsp of yogurt
- Apple cider vinegar
Preparation:
Mix the ingredients gently and apply on your strands from roots to ends, massaging on your scalp to promote blood circulation – then let it sit for about 20 minutes.
Finally, work your way through an apple cider vinegar rinse: just add a few teaspoons of acv to some lukewarm water, and use it to rinse the mask out. Repeat until every trace of product has been washed out.
10. DIY Hair Mask For Growth
You asked, we listened. You decided to cut your hair last year and you now want to grow it back – and you want to grow it back fast and healthy. Whilst hair growth is determined by a lot of factors, including your very own DNA, there are some methods that you can adopt to speed up the process a little. In the meantime, your can always resort to hair extensions to achieve the length of your dreams – and you can obviously help your hair with this growth-promoting DIY hair mask.
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp of ground cinnamon
- 2 eggs
- 1 banana
- 2 tbsp castor oil
- 1 tbsp lavender oil
Preparation:
Mix the ingredients in a small container until you get a smooth, thick textured past to apply and massage on your scalp, working your way down your ends. As cinnamon and lavender oil stimulate your scalp (where over 100,000 hair follicles are living), promoting blood circulation and growth, the rest of the ingredients will nourish and protect your strands, resulting in a shiny finish thanks to castor oil. Leave the mix up for half an hour, covering it with a shower cap, then rinse out with lukewarm water and your regular shampoo. Wash thoroughly but gently to get rid of any traces of castor oil, as its thick consistency may make it hard to wash away in one rinse!
Can You Use A Hair Mask On Hair Extensions?
Absolutely yes! In fact, a weekly deep conditioning treatment is recommended to your human hair extensions as part of your after-care routine. As hair extensions are not receiving any nutrients from your scalp, it’s always best to use sulphate-free and paraben-free shampoo and conditioners. Therefore, what’s best than a 100% natural DIY hair mask to revive your hair extensions?
With these instructions to make your own hair mask at home, there’s plenty of possibilities to experiment and create your own bespoke recipe to suit your hair and scalp needs, and why not? Adding the scent of your dreams with essential oils. As with everything that you would apply to your skin, you should always do a patch test before spreading a new mix on your hair and scalp to avoid nasty reactions and allergy-related issues. When in doubt, always speak to your doctor and hairdresser for optimal, professional advice!
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