Women often abuse their hair during the everyday styling process. Heat from straighteners and curling irons as well as harsh chemicals from dyes and styling products wear down the hair shaft over time and damage hair follicles.
This damage not only prevents hair from growing normally, it also causes it to look either dull and lifeless or frizzy and unmanageable.
While most women try to repair this damage through expensive conditioners and creams, these products are loaded with toxins that cause more damage in the long run.
To keep your locks luscious and long, use this natural shampoo instead.
DYI Nettle Shampoo
The ingredients in this shampoo penetrate down into your roots to heal your follicles, moisturize your hair shaft and tame your split ends from the inside out.
It only takes a few weeks to notice a dramatic difference.
Here’s how it works:
1. Castor Oil
Castor Oil is rich in vitamin E, an antioxidant, and ricinoleic acid, an unsaturated omega-9 fatty acid.
Vitamin E helps protect your hair against free radical damage while also keeping it safe from the sun’s harsh rays (1). This is one of the reasons the vitamin is often added to skin care products.
On the other hand, ricinoleic acid hydrates the scalp and hair follicles to prevent hair loss and penetrates deep into the hair shaft to hydrate and repair your locks (2).
Castor oil also acts as an antifungal, antibacterial, and antimicrobial agent to treat common scalp conditions and reverse hair loss (3,4,5).
2. Nettle
When used in hair products, nettle stimulates hair growth by healing damaged hair follicles.
In fact, a clinical trial that involved topical application of nettle to a burn demonstrated a quicker healing rate as well as an increased blood flow to the burned area (6).
It’s no surprise, then, that the plant is commonly used in traditional medicine to treat skin conditions like psoriasis and dry skin.
3. Pantothenic Acid
Pantothenic acid, also known as vitamin B5, binds to the hair shaft to protect it from everyday damage.
The vitamin is also known to act as a humectant that helps hair and nails retain their natural moisture and improve overall health and growth (7,8).
How To Make It
Ingredients:
- Organic nettle shampoo (500ml)*
- 1-2 Tablespoons of panthenol solution
- Stinging Nettle Extract (25ml)
- 2-3 Vials Vitamin B Complex
- Castor Oil (50ml)
* You can buy this shampoo online or at your local health food store or make it yourself!
Other ingredients on this list are typically available at most drug stores and health food stores.
Instructions:
- Combine all the ingredients in a glass jar with a lid and store in the refrigerator.
- To use, shake the jar and add a tablespoon of the mixture to your hair. It won’t soap up like conventional shampoos do, so you’ll have to gently massage it into your scalp for about 5 minutes.
- Rinse thoroughly and follow-up with a natural conditioner.
Tip: Because panthenol acts like a natural silicone, it’s a good idea to rinse your hair with a cleaning solution once a week to prevent build-up.
Also, since this shampoo is a natural product, your hair may feel a little more oily at first. Resist the urge to break out the chemical shampoo and let your scalp adjust. Within a month, you’ll notice visibly shinier and thicker hair.
Cleansing Rinse
This rinse helps break down the buildup from hair care products that clogs hair follicles and inhibits hair growth.
Vinegar also promotes shine and protects your scalp from common fungal infections (9).
To make this rinse, simply combine 1 cup of water with 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar pour it over your head whilst closing your eyes. Massage the mixture into your scalp and let it sit for 5 minutes. Rinse with lukewarm water. Repeat once a week for best results.