Love Your Hair - Part I

Ive decided to put up a couple of fun recipes for hair masks :). My favourite is the fruit smoothie mask, just because its so much fun to make and it smells delicious.

Hot Oil Hair Treatment

This is a popular kind of hair treatment and so easy to do and very effective if you know how to do it. My favourite kind of oil to use for the hair is extra virgin or virgin coconut oil. You can read more about how good it is for your hair and skin here. In a pinch, you can use regular coconut oil but trust me, there is a difference between virgin and non virgin coconut oil, apart from retaining its fresh coconut smell and your hair will be able to tell.

Other popular kinds of oils to use on your hair are olive oil and jojoba (pronounced ho-ho-bah) oil. Olive oil would be a good substitute and I personally feel jojoba oil works better on your skin than your hair with its ability to mimic human sebum. Apart from that, its expensive. However I know people who swear by jojoba oil for the hair.

If you are feeling particularly spendy, hemp oil and rosehip seed oil can do wonders. I can go on and on, I encourage you to do your own research as everybody's hair is different and will respond differently. Below is how I do my hot oil treatment, there are many variations to this technique. However, I think this works great.

Depending on how much hair you have, use up to 1/2 cup of the oil you've decided on. Place the oil in a ziplock bag/sandwich bag and place it in a bowl of freshly boiled water. Leave it in there for 5 minutes then remove and check the temperature of the oil. If you feel it could do with a little more heat, put it back in the bowl. Give your hair a good rinse with hot water then apply the hot oil to your hair, gently massaging it into your scalp and the ends of your hair. If the oil has gone cold, blast your hair with hot air from a blowdryer. Wrap a heated towel or a towel soaked in hot water (I prefer this) around your head. Leave it on for 20 to 30 minutes, I have mine on for an hour or hell you can even sleep on it provided you use a dry towel and some clips.

Once the towel has gone cold, remove it and replace it with another hot towel. At this point, I like to hop into the shower and give myself a body scrub while letting the water run. This will cause the bathroom to nicely steam up and keep your towel hot. Remove the towel and shampoo your hair twice then apply conditioner.

If you want nice waves, braid your hair and let it air dry. Once it has dried, run your hands through your hair. Apply a light styling mousse and scrunch up your hair in your hands to help hold its shape.

Check back soon for the fruit smoothie mask and mayonnaise mask recipe. :)