There are a surprisingly high number of natural oils that you can use on your hair to help it grow longer, faster, thicker, stronger… We’ve taken a peek at Argan oil and castor oil. Today, however, we are going to use something each of you has at home – olive oil! It is definitely time for your hair to enjoy a little bit of luxury that only extra virgin olive oil can give.
How your hair struggles
Your poor hair will get a battering throughout the seasons. The added dry heat from the cold winters spent huddling in living rooms, getting as close to the fire as you can get without looking a bit crazy will dry your hair out and leave it lifeless and lackluster. On the other side of the coin, the summer sun and hot days followed by balmy evenings also take their toll. The chlorine from the pool also take its toll on your sun-stripped locks. There is never a better time to start a new hair care regime to make your hair healthier. Why not start now?
[wp_ad_camp_1]Cheap and natural
How many of you already have a bottle of olive oil in the kitchen that you aren’t sure what to do with. Most of us couldn’t tell the difference between vegetable oil and olive oil anyway, right? Its time to put that bottle to good use girls — turn it into a luxury hair care mask for your hair!
Is olive oil good for my hair?
Olive oil is suitable for all hair types, from Northern European blondes to African queens and Asian tigresses. It is great for everybody, men and women of any race, and is definitely good for you.
You will immediately feel that your hair is easier to comb and is generally more manageable. However truly impressive results like faster hair growth, reduced hair loss and other more substantial benefits for hair and scalp come only with regular use, which should be at least once a week.
What you will need
The good thing about this DIY hair treatment is that it can be used alone or with other essential oils and ingredients for added nutrition. We are going to reveal recipes that include honey, mayonnaise, avocado and even eggs. All these additional ingredients help improve the quality of your hair even further, but in reality, the olive oil is enough just by itself.
There is one other thing you might need though — a shower cap. It’s the unsexiest thing you will ever wear on your head but for one night only, its time to turn into a middle-aged spinster and don your finest floral number!
The procedure step-by-step
The idea behind the olive oil mask is that you slather your hair in the rich, natural oil, keep it covered and leave it on there for as long as you can before rinsing it out THOROUGHLY!
If you can leave it on overnight, leave it overnight. If you can only manage half an hour under the spinster-cap in between appointments, leave it for half an hour. You won’t ever make a difference to your hair if you don’t give it a shot so why not do it right now?
You’ll need to give this a good rinsing once you are done. You are probably going to need to dedicate at least twenty minutes to this procedure but it’s not like you can’t read, cook, watch TV or surf the Internet. You are going to be washing this out for a little while and there’s a good chance you will want to give it two lots of shampooing before you walk away.
[wp_ad_camp_1]Optional
As promised, here are some additional ingredients to further enrich your DIY hair mask.
1. Honey
Mix in a little bit of honey and extra virgin olive oil, massage into your hair and scalp. Keep for about two hours, rinse and shampoo.
The quantities of honey and oil will depend on the length of your hair. Long hair will need about half a cup of oil and no more than two tablespoons of honey. If the end result feels too sticky, you added too much honey. You can dilute it by adding more oil.
2. Mayonnaise
As an appealing as it sounds, mayonnaise can be actually applied to your hair by its own or with olive oil. You will be blown away by how smooth and silky your hair will feel after simple mayonnaise mask, however mayonnaise doesn’t have nearly as many benefits as olive oil does. Why not to combine them?
Combine equal parts of full fat mayonnaise and olive oil. For long hair that probably will be about ¼ cup of mayonnaise and ¼ cup of oil. Spread the mixture over entire length of your hair, keep for at least one hour, rinse and shampoo.
3. Egg
This may sound even worse than the previous recipe, but protein contained in eggs will do wonders to your hair. Different recipes call for different parts of egg, some suggest to use only egg whites while some others suggest to use egg yolks or whole eggs, but the truth is it all works great and it’s probably easier to use entire egg.
Simply beat one egg and add a few spoons of olive oil, mix well and apply on your hair and scalp for at least one hour. Double this amount if your hair is very long.
While olive oil is safe in any amount, eggs shouldn’t be used more than once a month.
4. Avocado
Avocado will add shine to your hair and will help protect it from environmental pollution. Mashed avocado is easier to apply when mixed with olive oil, plus you can benefit from both! Simply mash one avocado and mix with half a cup of olive oil and apply on your hair and scalp.
It is important to mention that while it’s a great idea to leave olive oil overnight, you don’t want to do that when it’s combined with any additional ingredients.
Why this works
It’s time to look at WHY olive oil is good for your hair. Did you know, for example, that split ends are eliminated with regular olive oil hair treatments because the fatty acids will help to coat the hair and prevent it from getting any further damage. The new hair that grows will be well-protected, while the damaged hair is given a new lease of life.
On top of this, the olive oil coating of fatty acids will help to form a safe layer between the hair and any heated styling products such as hair straighteners. The damage that your hair will suffer as a result of heat styling will be reduced. Things are getting better already!
With benefits for dandruff, frizzy hair, dry hair, brittle hair, damaged hair and even hair that just needs a little TLC, olive oil could be the ONLY hair treatment you’ll need this year!