Want to fix your hair problems but don’t want to break the bank doing it? All of the ingredients in these quick and cheap hair masks are things you probably already have around the house. For example, the egg and banana mask down below requires the use of a blender, but there are other single-ingredient remedies for dry hair, fine hair, an itchy scalp, and dandruff.
Thinning hair
If you have fine hair, your main concerns may be hiding a visible scalp or fretting about strands you can’t afford to lose. Dispel fears with a protein-rich treatment that helps thicken a thinning mane.
How to use it:
- Two Egg Yolks
- Two ripe bananas
- Two to three tablespoons of honey
- Half cup of conditioner
- Two tablespoons of olive oil
- Blend all of those ingredients
- Apply liberally and leave on for 20 to 30 minutes
- Wash with cool water
“The results are immediate,” Davis-Sivasothy explains. “However, keep in mind that it will only last until your next shampoo.”
Sloppy waves or curls Hair
Using a homemade curl enhancer comprised of molasses and honey, define your hair’s natural bends rather than fighting them. Honey and syrup, according to Davis-Sivasothy, are natural humectants (ingredients that attract and trap in moisture) that help cure curls while hydrating dehydrated hair.
How to use it:
- Half cup of molasses or maple syrup
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- Four tablespoons of honey
- Two bananas
- Half cup of water
- Four tablespoons of lemon juice
- Two tablespoons of all purpose flour
- Mix the ingredients, making sure there are no lumps, and warm over the stovetop
- Divide hair into four sections, apply the sweet mixture equally to each section, and cover with a shower cap.
- Let it sit for 45 minutes, then wash it well.
Damaged, dry hair
Moisturize, moisturize, and moisturize some more. Otherwise, split ends, frizz, and breakage are just a hair away. If your regular conditioner isn’t cutting it, try an aggressive overnight treatment.
“Invest big money in shampoo and save big money on deep conditioners,” adds White, who believes in the reparative powers of coconut oil. “It’s the heaviest of the oils, and it can penetrate two layers of the hair shaft.”
How to use it:
- Warm a tablespoon of coconut oil in the microwave before massaging it into damp hair and sleeping on it. To avoid a greasy mess, use a shower cap and place a towel on your pillow. Shampoo it out in the morning. Use coconut oil only on dry and damaged areas, which normally occur from the mid-shaft to the end of the shaft. If you have finer hair, choose a lighter oil, such as olive or avocado, as coconut oil can weigh down strands.
Brittle Hair
Make the strands stronger. While dry, brittle hair is difficult to manage on its own, it can also cause greater breakage and dullness. Egg yolks are a simple solution that will assist to strengthen and nourish hair follicles.
How to use it:
- To reduce the scent of the eggs, add a little lemon juice to the yolks. Apply the mixture to the hair from roots to ends and leave it on for 30 minutes to an hour to fully penetrate.
Itchy scalp
Soothe and hydrate the skin. There are many things that can cause an itchy skin, from something as serious as psoriasis to something as simple as dryness. First, try tea tree oil, which is a good treatment for almost any skin problem, including fungal ones.
How to use it:
- Dab three drops of oil onto the scalp with a cotton swab. If the oil irritates you, dilute it with 1 1/2 teaspoons warm water. White recommends cracking a Vitamin E pill and massaging the oil on itchy regions to help hydrate skin, slough off dead skin cells, and unclog hair follicles to counteract dryness. Allow the oil to sit overnight before rinsing in the morning.