Get your Hair Ready for Summer!

[Eleni]

Homemade Hints for Hair Care:

• Itchy/flaky scalp: Add 25 drops of 100% pure Tea Tree Oil and 15 drops of Peppermint essential oil and 5 drops of Rosemary essential oil to a bottle of your fave shampoo and shake well to make a homemade version of Paul Mitchell's Tea Tree Special Shampoo at a fraction of the cost. You can also add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, which helps kill the yeast that causes some forms of dandruff.

• To remove styling product buildup: you can create your own clarifying shampoo by adding a couple tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (this will also help enhance any blond highlights in your hair!) to any bottle of shampoo. The result: super-shiny, squeaky clean hair with no more product buildup! Note: you can also add the ACV or lemon juice to your fave conditioner, as well.

• To prevent hair color from fading: you can create your own "color-safe" shampoo and/or conditioner by adding a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to any bottle of shampoo or conditioner to prevent your expensive, salon-color from fading too fast (especially hair that is dyed red!). It prevents hair dye from fading because hair dyes are alkaline and the ACV is acidic, so it helps seal the cuticle by normalizing the PH balance of your hair!

And if you're hesitant to try adding ACV to your shampoo or conditioner because you worry about the smell, we promise that your hair is *not* going to smell like a salad -- you can actually hardly smell the ACV in your shampoo because it's usually masked the the fragrance in most typical shampoos, and even then, once you rinse the shampoo from your hair, the smell is gone anyway.

• To add body & shine: Mix a tablespoon (may need more for longer hair) of your fave deep conditioner with an equal amount of pure honey (scoop out the amount of conditioner you need, then add a squeeze of honey and rub it between your palms to "emulsify" it) and apply it evenly to your hair, and leave in for the desired amount of time, then rinse with cool or lukewarm water and style as usual. Honey is a natural moisturizer and humectant, so when it's mixed with a deep conditioner, somehow it makes it even more effective and nourishing for your hair, and it also helps impart an incredible glossy shine (even before I apply my beloved Aveda Brilliant Universial Styling Creme!) and during styling, somehow it pumps up the hair shaft to give you incredible volume and body....

• Deep Conditioning Treatment: Mix a couple tablespoons of olive oil (for super-long hair, you might need as much as a 1/4 cup) with an equal amount of honey and work it through your hair. Put on your "moist heat" cap or the shower cap/heated towel trick and leave it on for at least 60 minutes (over night is even better!) then wash the mixture out of your hair with a gentle shampoo.

• Prevent Oily Hair and Scalp: Add 30 drops of Clary Sage oil to your fave bottle of shampoo and/or conditioner to help control the production of sebum (oil), and to help fight dandruff.

• Promote Hair Growth: Add 30 drops of Rosemary essential oil to your fave bottle of shampoo and/or conditioner to help stimulate the scalp, promote hair growth and/or help fight dandruff or seborrhea.

[J. Martin]

my hair is always ready for summer

[chachie]

my haiR.

[Da Gabbana]

im so trying the honey in my conditior thing

[Porcelina]

Apple Cider Vinegar and Kelp stimulate roots and promote hair growth as well. You can pick up the pills at GNC for like $10 each ....