Kitchen Chemist

A great way to save money and absolutely know what ingredients are in your hair products is to make your own. Becoming a ‘Kitchen Chemist’ or ‘Mixtress’ is not as hard as some may think. The following are some simple recipes that require ingredients that you may already have in your fridge. Feel fee to experiment and make them your own.

Hair Clarifier from Motown Girl: (motowngirl.com). All you need is 2 cups of water and a half-cup of lemon juice. Mix and pour over your head. Massage gently, let sit for 10 minutes, rinse, condition and style. She cautions it wont work if your hair is full of oils and styling products – if that is the case, be sure to wash first.

How about a Brown Sugar Hair and Scalp Cleaner from Nappy Kitchen.com : 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and 3 tablespoons of your favorite conditioner. Mix ingredients together, wet your hair and scalp. Use your fingertips (not nails) to massage scalp in small circles. Rinse well. Use cool water on the last rinse, for shine.

Here’s a Honey & Olive Oil Conditioner also from Nappy Kitchen.com. 1 tablespoon of honey, 1/2 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil, and 1 cup warm water. Mix honey and olive oil well. Add to water and stir well. Distribute evenly over your hair. Apply plastic cap for 15 to 20 minutes. Rinse well and style as usual.

Break out that jar of mayo and try this Super Duper Deep Conditioning Hair Treatment from Recipezarr.com. This recipe makes two hair treatments. 1-cup mayonnaise (room temperature i.e. a jar of brand new mayo), 1/2-cup olive oil and 3 egg yolks.

Mix, apply throughout your hair adding extra at the ends. Cover with a shower cap and then with a towel to keep in the heat. Leave on for 10 to 20 minutes and rinse. Do a final rinse with cold water to close the hair follicles, wash and style. Refrigerate remaining ingredients or use as facemask.

Graying hair? How about a natural hair darkener – Black Tea and Sage Hair Rinse from Kitchen CraftsandMore.com. 3 tablespoons of black tea, 3 tablespoons of sage and 1 teapot of freshly boiled water.

Steep black tea and sage in water. Allow to cool and pour the tea repeatedly over your hair. Rinse with tepid water.

Todra a Mixtress and member of Mixology101 (a great site to learn and share homemade hair and body recipes) states that Tea rinses add the properties/nutrients of the herbs to your hair. For instance, marshmallow root and Irish moss give the hair “slip” making it easier to get knots out.

Rosemary and sage are astringent, so they help with cleaning and impart a brown color if used consistently. Hibiscus gives the hair a deep burgundy tone when used daily. She suggests going online to a site that sells herbs to learn what their various benefits. “It’s fun to customize the teas to fit your hair’s needs,” she adds.

Here is a simple Yogurt Hair Mask from HealthRecipes.com. Beat 1 egg white until foamy; add to 6 tablespoons plain natural yogurt. Apply to hair in small sections at a time. Leave in for 15 minutes and rinse. This Avocado & Egg Herbal Conditioner comes from Nappturality from Dee, the site’s creator.

You will need 1 avocado, 1 egg, 1/4 cup of oil of choice and 8 ounces of strong herbal tea (mixture of yarrow, marshmallow, horsetail, rosemary and nettle). Blend all ingredients. Shampoo hair with a clarifying shampoo first, then apply conditioner, cover hair in plastic wrap and cover with a hot towel or a heating cap on LOW – another option is to exercise while conditioning. She warns you don’t want the conditioner too hot or you will be picking scrambled egg out of your hair for days. Let sit for 15 to 20 minutes, then rinse. Follow up with an Apple Cider Vinegar rinse or a lemon rinse.

This recipe combats frizz, it’s called the Cherry Lola Treatment and it comes all the way from the UK. You will need 2 parts plain yogurt, 1/2 part baking soda, and 1/2 part Bragg’s Liquid Amino Acids. Section hair and apply, making sure to coat from root to tip. You can leave the treatment on for a few minutes, or cover with a shower cap. Rinse, condition wash and style. Check out her results here.

The next one is a Tropical Island Conditioner from jMarie member of KeepItSimpleSista.com: You will need 1 avocado, and some coconut milk. Peel and pit the avocado and mash into bowl. Slowly add coconut milk until smooth (hair conditioner consistency). Work through hair to ends, after 15 minutes rinse and wash.