Ways to smoothen your dry hair

Your mane feels like a coir mat? Here’s how you can smooth those dry edges

So the constant switch from the scorching sun to the dry air conditioner has taken a toll on your locks? Fret not. Here are simple, effective home remedies you can carry out right now to get your hair glossy, shiny and radiating with health. Just raid your kitchen cupboard, fruit bowl, drinks and medicine cabinet to save yourself from looking like a scarecrow.

TROPICAL TREATMENT

Don’t overload dehydrated hair with heavy moisturising products. There’s a huge difference between dehydrated hair -which is lacklustre, lank and hard to manage -and hair which has lost moisture as a result of heat or chemical damage. While moisturising shampoo and conditioner work well on damaged tresses, they can make dehydrated hair even floppier and limper. So for a mild hydration treatment apply a quarter to half a tin of coconut milk to the mid-length and ends of your hair (avoid the roots) and leave to soak for a few minutes before shampooing. This restores body and helps smooth cuticles for optimum shine.

SWEET AND SOUR

Cider vinegar is a great natural cleanser and will leave your hair squeaky clean. Once a month, substitute your shampoo for cider vinegar to clear away pollution, styling product build-up and lime deposits from hard city water. This will also refresh the scalp. Use a home-made conditioner of olive oil (one tea spoon) mixed with natural yoghurt (two tea spoons) to neutralise the hair’s pH balance and close cuticles.

FEELING FRUITY

Fresh lemon and apple juice adds a glossy shine to freshly washed hair. Mix a tablespoon of apple juice with two tablespoons of lemon juice. After shampooing and conditioning, apply the mixture to the ends of your hair and then leave for a minute before rinsing.

The acidity of the juice will flatten the hair cuticle leaving it more reflective and shiny.

BEER WE GO

Crack open a bottle of beer for a great hair boost. Silica-laden hops add lustre, increase shine, plump up volume and fortify the hair from within, while the combination of sugar and protein help thicken, condition and soften hair.

Choose an alcoholfree, organic ale or traditionally brewed beer (or boil, then cool, normal beer to remove the alcohol) -then mix half a cup with your usual shampoo. A final rinse with beer and water, once a month, will give extra shine and thickness.

DAIRY DELIGHTS

A weekly conditioning treatment with natural yogurt and egg makes a super cleanser and protein boost for frizzy hair.

Mix two to three tablespoons of natural yogurt (with no added sugar or preservatives), one egg (beat until smooth) and then dampen hair and apply the mask from root to tip. Wrap hair in a towel and leave to set about an hour before rinsing. Then, wash with a gentle shampoo.

TEA TIME

Brighten dull highlights and ease an itchy scalp with a serving of calming chamomile tea. Make a 100ml infusion with two bags then leave to cool. Pour over shampooed and conditioned hair and then give a final rinse with water. Green tea can help stimulate hair growth and reduce hair loss while black tea is good for giving dark hair lustre and shine.