6 Homemade Natural Treatments | DIY Hair Moisturizer Recipes

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Short on funds, in a hurry, or can’t get to the salon in time? If only you know how to make a hair moisturizer? Look no further. These DIY hair moisturizer recipes will help you get through. You can make these from everyday ingredients to maintain beautiful hair.

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Putting that moisture back into the hair shaft is essential for hair beauty but we can’t always make it to the hair salon. Here’s how to make your own hair moisturizer at home with natural products…

Tip: A lot of people are opting for natural shampoo and conditioner bars right now! These are convenient as they take up little space when storing and they last quite a long time.

Try the beer shampoo bar. Beer is richly conditioning and famed for leaving hair shiny and full of body.

To use, you simply wet your hair, lather up with the bar and rinse, similar to using a bar of soap to wash your body. >> Check out the full range and prices at the Australian Biome Eco Store!

Why DIY Home Hair Treatments?

We all want our hair looking shiny, healthy and clean. Chemical products, hairdryers and hair straighteners take their toll on our hair with moisture loss.

It might be a time when you can’t get to the hair salon or you don’t have the dollars right now. A DIY home hair treatment is a great fix when you’re not able to get salon products or treatment.

They are simple and cost-effective. The DIY treatments are generally made of natural ingredients while most over-the-counter hair care products have additives that many eco- and wellness-conscious people like to avoid.

DIY Hair Conditioning Treatments

The following list of natural hair moisturizers includes ones that will suit most hair types.

Olive Oil As A DIY Hair Moisturizer

pouring olive oil, which can be used as a dry natural hair treatment
Olive oil makes a cheap DIY hair treatment (Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay)

An oil treatment works well on dry hair as a DIY hair moisturizer. I use virgin olive oil. I find it works great as a natural hair moisturizing treatment for my fine hair when it starts to dry out, especially during winter or after being in the summer sun. 

Olive oil is high in monosaturated fats. Oils with a high loading of saturated or monosaturated fats, like olive oil, diffuse into the hair shaft and work much better than polyunsaturated types for treating your hair.1 If it works for you as it does for me, you’ll find your hair is soft and lustrous.

# How To Use Olive Oil To Add Moisture To Hair That’s Dry

How to treat dry hair with oil? For a DIY, grab that olive oil from the pantry.

  • Pour enough oil to coat the ends of your hair (about a tablespoon or two).
  • Leave it to soak in for 30 minutes to a few hours or overnight (just make sure to place a towel on your pillow so as not to stain it).
  • Then, just wash and style as normal.

Coconut Oil As A Hair Moisturizer DIY

fresh coconut and coconut oil, which can be used as a natural conditioner for hair
Coconut oil – used as natural conditioning for hair (Image by moho01 from Pixabay)

Coconut oil is an everyday item worth having in your home. It’s a natural product and perfect for oil pulling in oral care. It’s also another natural moisturizer for dry hair. In place of olive oil, you might find that coconut oil works for you as a deep natural hair conditioner. Apply the same method as stated for olive oil.

Tip: If you use coconut oil you may need to warm it first. Be careful not to overheat it. You could also use other oils, for example, virgin sesame oil, coconut oil or grape-seed oil as a homemade leave-in hair moisturizer before you shampoo.

Coconut oil, like olive oil, penetrates the hair shaft, as it is about 90% saturated fat ¹.  Also, it provides natural conditioning for hair as it has a high affinity for hair proteins since it is a triglyceride of lauric acid and so works well as a homemade deep conditioner for damaged hair. As a treatment before or after you shampoo it is known to reduce hair protein loss.²

# How to Make Natural Hair Moisturizer Using Coconut Vinegar

What’s a good final rinse for dry hair? For a moisturizing final hair rinse, try coconut vinegar.

This will help repair damaged hair give you a fuller and shinier head of hair. This rinse works by sealing the hair cuticles to lock in moisture and stop the hair from drying out.

  • Dilute 1 part coconut vinegar with 2 parts coconut water.
  • Pour over hair in the final rinse after rinsing out shampoo.

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Egg Protein DIY Hair Mask

woman in bathroom preparing to use a home diy hair mask
Egg moisture hair mask for a homemade protein-rich hair treatment

About making a hair mask at home…

You can use egg as a homemade deep conditioner for dry hair. It is possibly the best moisturizer for dry hair and scalp in terms of a DIY hair mask.

Using an egg moisture hair mask provides a great protein fix to make your hair look fuller, with a bouncy shine. This makes a good homemade conditioner, especially as a dry hair treatment.

# How to Make A Homemade Hair Conditioner Using Eggs

For a moisturizing natural hair conditioner for hair that’s dry, try the following from Living Green.

  • Take three eggs.
  • Whisk these together with 1 tablespoon (15ml) of apple cider vinegar and apply to damp hair.
  • Leave for 15 minutes, then rinse off in cold water.

Spoiler alert: The mix of raw egg and apple cider vinegar in this homemade hair moisturizer does give off an odour, but if you can handle this for 15 minutes, you are on your way to shinier, healthier hair.

Conditioning Hair Rinses

A final rinse can make a different in locking in moisture and adding shine to those locks.

A Cool Water Final Rinse Is A DIY Hair Treatment For Shine

woman in shower where she can use a homemade hair treatment
Cool water final hair rinse to lock moisture in hair

Another of my haircare hacks…is this simple trick. After shampooing, as a final rinse, use cool to cold water.

Why does this work? Using cool water as a final rinse helps to close the outer hair sheath cells so they lie flat. The result is a smooth shiny finish to your hair.

This simple action amazingly helps (if you can remember to do it). It is a simple DIY hair treatment that works towards saving you dollars at the hair salon or on commercial products.

Rosemary Herbal Final Rinse

Fresh rosemary a herb that can be used in a homemade treatment for oily hair
Rosemary in final rinse – homemade treatment for normal to oily hair. (Image by Robert-Owen-Wahl from Pixabay)

This is a treatment for hair that is normal to oily. It will leave your hair feeling glossy, clean, and soft. You can also use it to treat dandruff or an itchy scalp. Like lavender, rosemary contains terpenic compounds that are useful in the treatment of dandruff ³.

You can also make a tea from sage leaves for this purpose — see my article on the uses and benefits of sage.

Anti-Aging Benefits of Rosemary

Rosemary has a reputation for stimulating hair growth as it helps with blood circulation of the scalp. So, it aids in preventing hair loss 5. It also helps (especially combined with sage) to treat premature greying 5, 6.

Rosemary essential oil is also great for dealing with everyday stress as it helps with our cognitive processing and contains powerful antioxidants that protect us from the effects of stress and toxins 3.

# Recipe For Hair Moisturizer Homemade With Rosemary

Use it as a final rinse. Get hold of 3-4 sprigs of rosemary from your garden or supermarket. Steep these in a jug (about 2-3 cups) of boiling water for about an hour. Strain the herbal water and use it in your final rinse as a leave-in treatment.4 Whallah!

conditioning Herbal Oil Treatments

A home hair treatment will give your hair a lift when you need that quick fix.

Make your own herbal oil hair treatment to add moisture. Just add 6 drops of essential oil to 30 ml (about 2 tablespoons) of almond oil.4 You could also use sunflower oil. Choose the essential oil suited to your hair type.

Use the following essential oils for your hair type…

TypeEssential Oil For Treatment
Dry hairsage
Oily hairlavender or peppermint
Anti-dandruffcamomile, rosemary, or thyme

# How To Use Herbal Oils

Simply massage the oil mixture into your hair and scalp. Then use a hot towel to wrap around your head. Leave for 30 minutes with heat. Then shampoo and rinse.

Simple Dry Hair Treatment DIY to add moisture

A simple DIY dry hair treatment is a sage herbal oil treatment using the formula above.

Natural Haircare Tips That Save You Expensive Salon Treatments

Tip: Use an oil treatment to lock in moisture and add shine. After massaging the oil into hair and scalp, cover it with a towel.

Then, place a plastic covering over the towel to keep the heat in.

A DIY plastic covering can be made from plastic food wrap or by using a plastic bag cut to fit over your hair. Alternatively, you’ll need to replace heated towels.

Final Thoughts

This list of hair treatments covers some natural hair care ideas for adding moisture, shine, and fullness. Choose a homemade hair treatment to add moisture to dry hair, shine to oily hair, or for natural hair growth.

You’ll soon have a homemade natural hair moisturizer product that treats your locks to lustre as well as your budget.

Use these recipes for you and your family. Or, you could, with a bit of thought about packaging, turn these into awesome gifts for that special someone who prefers natural products. See also my list of nature inspired gift ideas, which includes homemade items to save you money. I hope this has helped.

PS: See also my article on water as a natural face moisturizer.

Items You May Like Related To This Post

If you prefer to buy natural type hair moisturizers, consider high grade rosemary herbal oil. Rosemary is also a good treatment for dandruff.

High grade Rosemary herbal oil is not only good for healthy hair and scalp but also for aromatherapy and is beneficial for skin and nails.

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Information sources

  1. Robbins, CR. (2013). Chemical and Physical Behavior of Human Hair. 4th ed. New York: Springer; 2013.
  2. Rele, AS, Mohile, RB. (2003). Effect of mineral oil, sunflower oil, and coconut oil on prevention of hair damage. J Cosmet Sci. 54:175–92.
  3. Andrade, J. M., Faustino, C., Garcia, C., Ladeiras, D., Reis, C. P., & Rijo, P. (2018). Rosmarinus officinalis L.: an updated review of its phytochemistry and biological activity. Future Science OA4(4), FSO283. https://doi.org/10.4155/fsoa-2017-0124
  4. Costantino, M. 2009. Living Green. Flame Tree Publishing.
  5. Arrowsmith, N. 2009. Essential Herbal Wisdom: A Complete Exploration of 50 Remarkable Herbs. Llewelyn Publications.
  6. Miller L., Miller, B. 1998. Ayurveda and Aromatherapy: The Earth Essential Guide to Ancient Wisdom and Modern Healing

Read Also

Gavazzoni Dias M. F. (2015). Hair cosmetics: an overview. International journal of trichology7(1), 2-15. See here.

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