What Is Hair Detox?
Hair detox involves cleansing your hair deeply with a readymade detox shampoo or natural remedies. It helps remove dirt, grime, and product build-up. This layer of gunk, if not removed, can keep your hair from receiving the benefits of an extensive hair care routine. A hair detox also makes your hair and scalp ready for other hair care treatments. Keep reading to further understand why you should detox your hair.
Why Should You Detox Your Hair?
As discussed, use of hair care products may lead to the build-up of dirt and oils in your hair. This may lead to hair thinning and hair loss and may also cause your hair to smell. Detoxifying your hair can help minimize these effects. It also may have these other benefits:
May help reduce dandruff and itchiness by cleaning the scalp. May boost absorption of hair care products, like oils, shampoos, conditioners, and hair packs. May promote healthy hair growth by removing the gunk and toxin build-up, as these may hinder the effective absorption of nutrients from hair care products/treatments.
This is how a hair detox can benefit your hair if followed regularly. But how do you do a detox? The following recipes can help.
Hair Detox Recipes For Better Hair Health
1. Bentonite Clay And Aloe
½ cup of bentonite clay powder ½ cup of pure aloe vera gel 4 tablespoons of regular apple cider vinegar 250 mL of diluted apple cider vinegar
Bentonite clay is used in many therapeutic applications for its detox and antibacterial properties (1), (2). It may slow down the growth of any harmful bacteria on the scalp. However, more scientific research is warranted in this regard. How Often? Once in two weeks
2. Baking Soda
½ cup of baking soda 3 cups of hot water
The warm water may lift your cuticles and allow some deep cleaning action. Anecdotal evidence suggests that baking soda can remove oil build-up and dandruff. How Often? Once a week Caution: Do a patch test before you try this remedy. Baking soda may cause scalp irritation.
3. Apple Cider Vinegar
¼ cup of apple cider vinegar 2 cups of water
Anecdotal evidence suggests that apple cider vinegar is a mild cleanser. It may help detox your hair. Diluted ACV ensures you do not develop any reaction to the otherwise acidic nature of concentrated ACV. How Often? Once a week
4. Sea Salt Clarifying Shampoo
2 parts coarse sea salt 1 part shampoo
Sea salt is an effective exfoliant. It also improves skin hydration (3). This exfoliating salt and shampoo mix may help reduce dead skin cells and cleanses your hair. Once a month
5. Honey Shampoo
1 tablespoon of raw honey 3 tablespoons of filtered water
Honey is a humectant that keeps your hair soft and moisturized (4). It may also help cleanse hair deeply and promote detoxification. However, more research is warranted in this regard. How Often? Once or twice a week
6. Coconut Milk Shampoo
¼ cup of coconut milk ¼ cup of castile soap 2 capsules of vitamin E oil 15-20 drops of a fragrant essential oil (optional)
The castile soap exhibits an antimicrobial action (5). The essential oils used are also antimicrobial in nature (6). This shampoo may detox your hair deeply by reducing any infectious microbes on the scalp. How Often? Once or twice a week
7. Cucumber And Lemon
1 large lemon 1 medium-sized cucumber Essential oil (optional)
Lemon is a rich source of citric acid (7). Anecdotal evidence suggests that citric acid may clean your scalp. The cucumber in this recipe may soothe your scalp. How Often? Once or twice a week
8. Shikakai
2 tablespoons of shikakai powder Water
Shikakai can relieve scalp scaling, itching, dryness, and greasiness (8). It may help cleanse your scalp if used regularly. How Often? Once or twice a week
9. Cinnamon Detox Mask
½ teaspoon of cinnamon 1 teaspoon of baking soda 2 tablespoons of olive oil
Cinnamon exhibits antifungal properties. It can effectively slow down the growth of Malassezia, a fungus that causes dandruff (9). Once a week
10. Coconut Milk And Aloe Shampoo
1 can of coconut milk ¾ cup of pure aloe vera gel Essential oil (optional)
Coconut oil promotes hair strength by reducing protein loss (10). It also may cleanse hair, though more research is warranted in this regard. Once a week In addition to the remedies list above, you may also include certain foods in your diet that are believed to detoxify your hair and scalp.
Foods That May Help Detox Your Hair
Topical applications can generate visible results if followed regularly. However, detoxifying your body promotes overall hair health too. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the following foods can help.
Cucumber Ginger Lemon Mint Watermelon Oranges Curry leaves Leafy vegetables Avocados Lean protein-rich foods
Additionally, hydration keeps the skin and scalp from drying. Maintain optimum hydration levels in the body by taking adequate amounts of fluids, including water. When should you detox your hair? Detox your hair once a week if you have oily hair or use styling products consistently. If you have dry hair, detox it once every two weeks. What is the 30-day hair detox? The 30-day hair detox is a challenge that aims to remove gunk from your hair by not using any oils or styling products on your hair for 30 days.
