Hair Conditioner Recipe

Women.... Who made 'em? God must have been a ... genius. The hair ... They say that the hair is everything, you know? Have you ever buried your nose in a mountain of curls, and just wanted to go to sleep forever? - Bo Goldman

Tresses are a crowning glory of the human head, more so the female head! They assume an important position in all of our lives. Those of us who have hair pay attention to them, and those of us who don't, either lament on their absence or find ways to gain them.

This is by pursuing the commercialized chimeras of wondrous products that promise a crop (read hair) on the barren soil (read scalp). This is of course without necessitating any tilling (read surgical procedure).

Those of us who are lucky enough to have a decent hair growth on our scalp are always on the look out for preserving our mane and making it thicker, glossier, and healthier by either using commercial hair care products or by making different conditioner recipes at home!

Most of us would prefer to give our mane the benefit and wholesomeness of fresh, natural, and herbal preparations. Although there are a lot of commercially available herbal hair products in the market, most of them don't impart all the benefits claimed. Natural ingredients work best when fresh and not stored or preserved. Keeping this constraint in mind, here are a couple of recipes that you can make at home using easily available ingredients. You will be amazed to find that most of these ingredients are staple residents of your kitchen and refrigerator!

Ingredients

• Honey, 2 tbsp.
• Liquor extracted from tea leaves, 1 tsp.
• Juice of lemons, 2

Preparation

• Mix all ingredients together in a plastic or ceramic vessel. Do not use metallic ones as the acidity of the lemon juice can react with the metal.
• You can also add half a cup of fenugreek liquor for more shine and luster.

How to Use

• Shampoo your hair thoroughly.
• Apply the mixture on wet, washed hair.
• Leave it on for about 2 - 3 minutes.
• Rinse thoroughly with water till the stickiness has disappeared.
• Towel dry gently.

This conditioner recipe is ideal for a normal to oily mane.

Ingredients

• Ripe Banana, 1
• Yolk of eggs, 2
• Honey, 2 tbsp.
• Juice of lemon, 1

Preparation

• Mash the banana till it's reduced to a smooth pulp.
• Add all the other ingredients to it and mix till the texture is smooth.

How to Use

• Wrap a hot towel around freshly shampooed hair.
• Steam your hair this way for about a minute.
• Remove the towel and apply the banana pulp mixture.
• Keep for about 5 - 7 minutes.
• Rinse thoroughly with plain, cold water till all traces of the conditioner are washed off.

Ingredients
Holy basil liquor extract, 1 cup
Honey, 2 tbsp.
Juice of lemons, 2
Vinegar, 1 tsp.

Preparation
Extract the liquor from fresh holy basil leaves by pouring a cup of hot (near boiling but not boiling) water over the leaves and keeping the vessel covered. Keep it like this till the concoction cools down to room temperature. Strain the greenish liquor.

-Add all the other ingredients to this liquor and mix well.
-You can also add egg whites for better shine and volume.

How to Use
Apply to freshly washed hair.
You may want to wear a shower cap to prevent the conditioning mixture from dripping off.
Keep for 2 - 3 minutes and wash off thoroughly with cold water.

For best results, wear a shower cap after applying the conditioner and wrap a hot towel over the shower cap. The heat will assist in better penetration of the conditioner.

This homemade conditioner is ideal for oily hair and flaky scalp. However, frequent use can remove the natural oils from your hair and the vinegar content can discolor them if left on for too long. Also, if this conditioner is not rinsed off thoroughly before going out in the sun, the vinegar can further bleach them.

The following herbal and household ingredients are known and time-tested as some of the best natural conditioners around. Any combination of these items can be used to suit individual hair care needs

Lemon juice
Vinegar
Honey
Amla
Holy Basil
Henna
Egg (both white and yolk)
Banana
Papaya Fruit
Aloe Vera
Fenugreek
Green Apple extracts
Olive Oil
Coconut Oil
Coconut Milk
Yogurt

You can make and use these at home which means that you get to derive the maximum benefits of the natural vitamins, proteins, and other nutrients that are lost in commercial herbal preparations. Coupled with these, a regular intake of dairy and poultry food items such as milk, cottage cheese, eggs, chicken, yogurt, etc., will make sure that your tresses get all the proteins they need for growth and damage repair from within.

All this leaves you with silkier, shinier hair. So go ahead, whip up your own conditioner with natural and organic ingredients and get hair that's a neighbor's envy and an owner's pride!