Cold weather and indoor heating, hot weather, sun, salt water or chlorine, not to mention lack of visits to the hairdresser … all take a toll on your hair and scalp, leaving it dry and in need of some TLC.
But who wants more plastic jars of products made with questionable ingredients cluttering your bathroom? We certainly don’t.
If you are looking for money saving ways to keep your hair healthy and shiny and your scalp flake free, but you don’t fancy picking bits of food out of your hair, we’ve done the hard work. Here’s five easy home-made and vegan hair mask recipes. And in good news, you’ve probably already got the ingredients in your kitchen.
Coconut Oil hair mask for dry or damaged hair
We love coconut oil, one of the hero ingredients in our sulphate free shampoo bars, it makes hair soft and shiny. Using a coconut oil hair mask at home is easy, the only downside being it can clog your drains in cold weather if you use a lot, so take it easy - a few tablespoons should be more than enough for most hair.
- Warm the oil and apply to wet or dry hair from the roots to ends
- Comb through
- Massage into your roots to stimulate blood flow to the scalp
- If your hair is feeling very dry, you can leave it on overnight
- Shampoo, condition and rinse as usual
Argan and Olive Oil hair mask for dry or damaged hair
1 teaspoon Argan oil
2 teaspoons Olive oil
3 drops Lavender or Rosemary essential oil
- Mix all the ingredients in a bowl
- Apply over the entire length of your hair, or only on the ends if it is oily
- Leave the mask on for 15 - 20 minutes, before washing and conditioning as usual
Oat milk hair mask for dry or flaky scalp
50g porridge oats
Water to soak
200ml water
Muslin cloth to strain
- Put the oats in a bowl and cover with tap water until the oats are submerged. Cover and leave for 4 hrs or overnight
- Sieve the mixture, discard the water and rinse under the tap for a few seconds
- Tip the oats into a blender or food processor, add 200ml cold water and blend for 2 - 4 minutes until completely smooth
- Line a sieve with a clean piece of muslin and pour in the oat mixture. Leave to strain for 1 hour
- When most of the liquid has been strained, gather the sides of the muslin together and squeeze tightly with both hands to extract the last of the milk
- Apply to dry hair and leave the mask on for 15- 20 minutes, before washing and conditioning as usual
- Discard leftover oat pulp (you can make a body scrub by adding used coffee grounds, we’ve got a recipe here that you can adapt)
Gentle Aloe and Argan oil hair mask for dry or flaky scalp
1 tablespoon Aloe Vera gel
1 teaspoon Argan oil
1 - 2 drops Tea Tree essential oil
- Combine the ingredients into a smooth paste
- Apply to your scalp
- Leave on for 30 minutes, wash with a mild (sulphate free) shampoo like The Sensitive One - you might need to shampoo twice
- Rinse and condition as usual
Argan and Avocado Oil hair mask for oily hair
1 teaspoon Argan oil
1 teaspoon Grapeseed oil
1 teaspoon Avocado oil
1 - 2 drops Mint or Rosemary essential oil
- Mix all the ingredients in a bowl
- Apply the mask mostly on the ends of your hair
- Wrap your hair with a warm towel
- Leave the mask on for 1 hour, before washing and conditioning as usual
And for more low impact lifestyle inspiration, we’ve got some tips here
Haven’t started your plastic free haircare routine yet?
What are you waiting for? Visit the KIND2 shop.