6/16/08

$1 Hair Treatment- Million Dollar Hair!

I was cursed with this fine, limp, oily, stringy hair that I despise most days. I must say it is soft, and very shiny all of the time. It is so healthy that, on the rare occasions I pay someone to highlight it, they often have to go back and reapply because the cuticle will not break down. So, I guess I can't really complain, but I do anyhow, because I'm a woman.

I have struggled with dandruff since grade school, as most of the Italian side of my family has. Eating poorly (lots of bread & sugars) exacerbates the condition, but I'm too dumb to cut back in that area, so I suffer with the constant itch and snowfall of the stuff.

But I have, through some whack-job health book, discovered a wonderful and inexpensive treatment, as long as you have the patience for the mess and smell! Now, I know that the title says that it costs a dollar, but that's if you already have the ingredients. If you have to go out and buy any one of these items, it will surely cost you more than a dollar at first, but you'll probably love it anyhow!

Here's the combo:

2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp milk

mix these two well, then add:

3 tbsp olive oil (if you have jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, etc, you may try this as well. I just always use olive oil because I have it around)

whisk well, then add:

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

I know, it was all yummy and now it smells like Easter egg dye, but bear with me here. If you have any essential oils that you love, now would be a good time to drip some in. Of course, the addition of the vinegar curdled the milk and made it look all nasty, but can you imagine what your shampoo looks like before they blend it all pretty? Ok.

Now you will want to do this in either your tub, outside, or some area you can clean easily. Tip your head back and drip this mixture right into your hair, rubbing the stuff down into your scalp gently. If you have one of those ketchup bottle things that one puts hair dye in, that would probably work well, or have a friend or husband help you. Then quickly, before the vinegar runs into your eyes, wrap a thick (preferably warm!) towel around your head. Let it sit there, doing its yummy magic, for about twenty minutes. This is when I usually do a mud mask as well, since I'm already crusty.

Wash well. You can feel the difference in your hair even while you're shampooing it! Lighter, softer, silkier, and any itch that normally is there should be gone now, at least for a few days.

Now, make your kids fix you some nachos, while you go kick up your feet and enjoy your hair.

Labels: dandruff, hair, honey, indulgence, milk, olive oil, treatment, vinegar

14 Comments:

At June 21, 2008 3:32 AM , Colin said...

I am a cosmetic scientist so I was interested in this tip. I can sort of see the logic and this may well be the ideal recipe for your particular hair. But I can't help thinking that the olive oil is probably doing most of the work here. Could I suggest trying the olive oil on its own?
At June 21, 2008 9:38 AM , sarah jane said...

Colin- thanks for the comment! I have actually tried all four ingredients separately, at separate times. here's a breakdown of the results, after a thorough washout:

honey left my hair very supple, shiny, and soft, and my scalp felt great!

olive oil also left my hair supple, shiny and soft, but it got dirty faster- i think the pure oil threw off my skin's natural pH or something.

milk- conditioned my hair, but left it slightly dull

vinegar (i still use this once a month as a post-conditioning rinse)- really dried up or sloughed off the dandruff, left my hair smelling bad, of course, and also kind of stringy, possibly because the acid stripped the natural cuticle?
At June 21, 2008 5:38 PM , Anonymous said...

Hi thanks for the tutorial im probably going to try this later i have one question though:
Can I try it without the apple cider vinegar or would it mess up things?
thanks
At July 1, 2008 11:13 PM , sarah jane said...

anon: sorry that i just now noticed your comment, i think blogger's been funky lately!

anyhow- i have done it without the cider vinegar, once. it made my hair soft and smooth, but did nothing for the dandruff. something about the acidity of the vinegar seems to balance the pH of you scalp & hair. maybe you could try lemon juice?
At July 6, 2008 7:53 PM , Katherine said...

I use baking soda on my roots, which helps break-down the build-up. Just a suggestion.
At July 7, 2008 9:59 PM , inkofsteel said...

How about dry thick, curly, not-shiny hair, does it work for that too? I'm definitely inclined to try this if thats the case.
At July 12, 2008 2:41 PM , Christina said...

My hair has always given me problems. It's Irish-Italian hair, which means its wavy, oily, has no volume, and gets frizzy and dull. I've always had issues with it, and pay lots of money for conditioners and mousse and stuff to get it looking decent. I dye it on occasion as well, and just recently moved to a place that has hard water - so I started getting dandruff. I stumbled on this and decided to give it a shot.

All I can say is: WOW!!!

My hair has never been this light, soft, sluffy, and shiny. It reminds me of children's hair. And the best part is no dandruff. I did exactly as the recipe called for except one less tablespoon of honey, as i was running low. The honey was also organic, so it was a bit grainy. I didn't add any other scents, threw it on for around 15 minutes, and washed and blew it out without any treatments like mousse. I didn't have to. Thank you so much for this, its gonna be a staple for my beauty maintenance. Now off to buy more honey =]
At July 19, 2008 6:39 PM , Anonymous said...

Does any type of vinegar work?
At July 19, 2008 8:52 PM , sarah jane said...

katherine: i will have to try that!! i have used baking soda on just about everything else- face scrub, tooth powder, kitchen sink cleaner, pool water stabilizer... i guess one more use could be my hair grease!

inkofsteel: i have no idea if it would work for your hair or not. i suppose you could try, and if it doesn't work, you could try adjusting the ingredient ratios... or try adding some sage water: boil a handful of sage leaves in water and rub thru hair (once the water's cooled, of course). it is calming and smells better than just about any commercial hair tonic out there!

anon: there is something about apple cider vinegar that has cleansing properties. however, since this is something that you just apply and rinse out, i would imagine that white vinegar wouldn't be detrimental, just not as cleasning, probly.
At July 25, 2008 8:05 AM , brad said...

This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
At September 29, 2008 12:40 PM , Anonymous said...

i intend trying this recipe but what type of milk do i use;the powdered or liquid form
At March 20, 2009 12:54 PM , Cute Easy Hairstyles said...

Cool! I can definitely try this! I am kinda obsessed with having silky hair. I mean, I am trying to get healthy hair back. Thanks for sharing ;-)
At May 18, 2009 8:34 PM , Leslie said...

What a wonderful, inexpensive hair treatment. I didn't notice a difference in the softness or shininess of my hair, but I did notice that it made my hair more wavy. I don't know much about hair, so I'm really puzzled about that one!
At February 8, 2010 2:51 AM , Matilda Colbett said...

Unlike many people who could afford to spend thousands of dollars Thank you for introducing me to cheap affordable hair care tips.