6 Accessible Ingredients in your kitchen that will take your hair mask to the next level

Hair care is something that has been important to many people whether its hair health or even the looks. Let’s face it; between a busy schedule, hair care can fall down the list of priorities. Just ran out of a deep conditioner? Need something quick and inexpensive? We’ve got you covered with 6 kitchen ingredients that’ll transform your hair mask to the next level without breaking the bank!

Oil

While adding oil to your conditioner or deep conditioner, it can also be used as a treatment alone and to help add shine after the styling process. Oil is something most people have on hand, specifically oils like olive, coconut, almond oil that's common for people to have in their kitchens. These oils are really good for nourishing the scalp, strengthen the strands. The oils provide key nutrients for the hair including Fatty acids like Omega-3, Vitamins like Vitamin E, and Minerals like Magnesium. Which is a quick and affordable way to add nutrients to your hair.

Eggs

If you like a batch of eggs in the morning, this next one's for you. EGGS!!! Yes, you’re reading correctly, eggs can improve your hair's shine and strength. The protein and fat complex in an egg has the ability to strengthen and protect the hair making it feel and look stronger. When used in moderation, it can be a great addition to your hair care. Especially adding a little bit of oil to it can be a great protein mask, filling in the gaps in the hair cuticle. It’s a great way to utilize what you already have in your kitchen to improve the quality of your hair.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Another great ingredient to include on your next hair mask is Apple Cider Vinegar. Yes we know…. It has an unpleasant smell, but its hair benefits can be well worth it’s smell. From balancing the scalps pH, catering to dandruff, smoothing the hair cuticles, adding shine, and many more benefits. Diluted Apple Cider Vinegar, because ACV in its full potency can be too powerful. However since ACV is only a couple of dollars, this can be a great way to make your hair feel fluffy, shiny, light-weight, and balance the pH.

Avocado

Avocado is filled with essential nutrients like biotin, potassium, and magnesium which is an excellent source to add a nutrient boost to your next hair mask. To avoid it getting stuck in your hair, we recommend blending it in with your next DIY or your regular conditioner. It also adds lots of shine and strength to the hair which encourages a healthy environment for your hair to grow.

Rice

If you have rice, you have a protein treatment in as quick as a few hours. When you soak rice in water, the proteins that formulate the rice seep into the water creating rice water! This is an incredible and affordable way to add protein to your hair’s hair structure. It can add shine, strength, and nutrients that’ll help improve your hair’s health. It does take more thoughtful action, planning ahead but it’s worth utilizing resources you already have!

Honey

If you’re looking for something to soften your hair, help the detangling process, and smooth the hair; honey is a great ingredient to have! It helps with adding essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and even amino acids to help protect the hair with damage and improve overall hair growth. It strengthens the hair and reduces breakage. Simultaneously it provides shine and moisture which adds a fuller and silky texture to the hair.

With healthy hair being a common goal for many, we strive to help share our experience, research, and expertise for the everyday hair enthusiast who are working to reach their hair goals. We get it, we can't always make it to the salon every week; life gets busy and resources can fluctuate. But just because life can get busy and our situations change, we can aim to take it step by step and resort to simpler and more convenient ways to still take steps towards your hair goals while accommodating life’s changes. With each step we are closer to healthy, shiny hair.

Items:

Oil

Eggs

Apple Cider Vinegar

Avocado

Rice

Honey

7 Healthy Hair Care Habits That’ll Transform Your Hair

Hair care is vital when it comes to creating vitality and endurance. Whether you like your hair long or short, the health of your hair creates a durable foundation for your hair to thrive on. It is also a way for us to honor the hair God has given us, no matter the porosity or the curl type. Our goal is to help others optimize their hair health and create strong hair care foundations that can be sustainable and flexible through different seasons of your life. 

Hair foundation starts with creating an environment to protect the hair we have. Which when it comes to hair that's already existing is exposed to friction of the outside world. Including while we are sleeping, think about your hair being exposed to the pillow. Things like wearing a bonnet can help not only your hair health, but also help prolong the length of your hairstyle. Fabrics are important to retaining your hair, when the fabric is more porous, the hair gets stuck and snagged creating more friction. Silk is a great alternative which is less porous which increases hair moisture and decreases hair friction. From silk sheets or a silk bonnet, this habit will protect your hair from some external abrasion.

Secondly, detangling gently is a way that we show patience towards our hair. When we show this kind of care towards our hair, it resembles Christ's love to the blessings he’s gifted us. “Love is Patient, Love is Kind…” - 1 Corinthians 13:4 (NIV). Actualizing the characteristics of Christ’s characters and implementing them to how we treat our hair can transform the relationship we have with our hair; detangling is a great practice to be gentle and patient with our hair. When we are rushing, brushing harshly it causes breakage, especially when the hair is in a vulnerable state. (I.e. when the hair is wet). 

This leads us to cutting off the damage! I know... I know, sometimes the length is tempting to keep, but avoiding cutting the damage increases the amount of damage. Cutting off the dead ends allows the hair a chance to be sustainable and protect from fragile and thin hair. Ironically cutting the damaged hair promotes hair fullness. 

Fourthly hot oil treatments open the hair shaft from the heat and allows the nutrients from the oil to penetrate a deeper layer. Promoting shine and vibrancy, while preventing frizz and split ends. Protecting and optimizing the hair that we already have, while creating a healthy environment for healthy hair to thrive in. It also increases blood circulation which encourages hair growth. 

Deep conditioning can improve your hair like night and day when you pair it with products and ingredients that work with your hair, while also utilizing methods that work best for you and your hair. Whether it's a DIY hair recipe, a store-bought deep container, or even if it's adding an oil to a regular conditioner; deep conditioning regularly allows the hair to be restored and moisturized deeply. This boosts hair hydration, moisture retention, soft and subtle hair. 

Create a routine, become disciplined! When we show up despite how we feel, we put away short-term satisfaction for long-term gratification. If you have a goal, the cost of achieving it comes with sacrificing the things that don’t positively support achieving it. When it comes to building a routine, time is the opportunity cost. We are committing to blocking out a piece of time regularly to attend to and show love to your hair. While you’ll recognize the fruits of this habit longer term than short term, it is rewarding to see your hair transform over time through consistency and dedication.

Lastly is letting your hair breathe. We hear a lot of cultures speak about protective styles and while they can be helpful sometimes, they can increase tension especially during an extended period. The hair and scalp needs air to breathe and relax in its natural state with minimal interference. This decreases hair thinning especially when we are in our hair a lot. 

Our goal is to share what we know with other hair lovers like you so that we can help others along their hair journey. These are a few habits we’ve learned along the way, and we hope there is something you can take away from this article to improve your hair health journey. 

Hair Care habits: 

1. Wrapping your hair at night

2. Detangling Gently 

3. Cut Off Split Ends 

4. Hot Oil Treatments

5. Deep Condition Regularly 

6. Create a Routine

7. Letting your hair breathe

Diamonds tips for healthy hair

We believe that taking care of your hair should be a priority. Some of us may style it often, color it, or don't implement the proper care it deserves.

There's also skin concerns we should take into consideration. For those with oily hair it is recommended to wash your hair frequently. If you experience an oily scalp, it would be beneficial to wash your hair as often as once a day.

As opposed to those with chemically treated hair, your hair may be on the drier side, and it's recommended to wash it less frequently.

A common misuse we hear our clients mention is that they use shampoo to wash all their hair. Yes, its purpose is to clean but only our scalp area. We recommend massaging your scalp using your finger pads when shampooing.

Remember to use the conditioner after every shampoo! Concentrate conditioner on the tips of your hair! By using conditioner, it helps improve the look of damaged hair and it provides shine to the hair.

We mentioned that skin concerns should be considered but also there's other factors to consider...

For those that color their hair, a color-treated shampoo would be the best choice.

Volumizing shampoo would be recommended for thin, fine hair.

Smoothing shampoo helps tame unruly, frizzy hair.

We hope that these tips are helpful!

Feel free to ask our Diamonds Stylists for the best product recommendations for your concerns!