Natural hair care recipes

Hair products cost a lot, and we are always tempted by new, laboratory-tested brands in new bottles. A lot of them are very good, but they are expensive and they often smell of chemicals. Try some of these natural hair products and enjoy the fresh smells of fruit and other good things.

TO GIVE YOUR HAIR BODY AND SHINE

Beat an egg and massage it into freshly washed hair. After five minutes, rinse it out with cool water. Do not use hot water or you will have scrambled egg in your hair. Then you'll spend all morning washing it out.

Mayonnaise is excellent for conditioning hair. Massage it through, and preferably keep it in overnight (put your hair in a plastic bag or something, to avoid getting mayonnaise all over the pillows). Again, rinse out carefully in cool water. If you use hot, the mayonnaise will set in your hair and will be very difficult to get out.

Beer also gives a lovely shine to hair. Rinse your hair in beer in the shower, then rinse out with water. Use a beer that does not smell too strongly, or you will give people the wrong impression at work. Shampoos based on beers used to be popular though they do not seem to be around at the moment. They never smelled of beer.

OILY HAIR

Opinion is divided about how often to wash oily hair. Some people swear by washing it every day. Others claim that this merely encourages more oil production, thus exacerbating the problem. Whenever you wash your hair, try a tablespoon of cider vinegar to the final rinse to help cut down on the grease.

DRY HAIR

You have to be very careful not to overwash dry hair. It's very easy to strip away the natural oils if you wash it too frequently.

Olive oil can be a wonderful conditioner for dry hair. Warm up half a cup, or more if your hair is very long. Massage it through the hair, especially the ends and middle bits - these are always drier than the hair near your scalp. Wrap your hair in plastic, and then in a warm towel, and leave for 30 minutes. This enables to oil to penetrate the hair shaft. (Read a good book while you are waiting, have a cup of tea, watch television - you are getting back in the shower afterwards so don't try to do too much). Wash out carefully, using a gentle shampoo suited for dry hair.

BLONDE HAIR

Blonde hair can look dull and lifeless, regardless of whether it is straight or curly, dry or oily or normal. Lemon juice is a great brightener of blonde hair. Two or three lemons, squeezed into a liter of warm water, makes a great rinse for clean dry hair. Pour it slowly over your hair, working it into all of your hair from roots to tips with your fingers. After ten minutes, rinse thoroughly with warm water. This adds shine and a lovely smell and brightens the blondeness.

Another brightener for blonde hair uses six chamomile tea bags, steeped in a cup of boiling water for 20 minutes. Add half a cup of plain yogurt to the water (discard the teabags), plus five drops of lavender oil. Stir the mixture thoroughly, and when it is properly emulsified, apply the mixture to clean dry hair. Wrap hair in plastic for twenty minutes, then rinse out thoroughly in warm water and shampoo carefully.

None of these suggestions are a replacement for your favorite shampoo and conditioner, but are appealing natural products to try out on your hair when you feel like a change from chemicals.