homemade hair recipes:

Natural Hair Care

Gum in the hair can be removed by saturating it with baby oil, peanut butter, or mayonnaise.
If your hair is turning green from too much chlorine, rinse it with tomato juice, then a final rinse of water.
Remove static or the flyaways from your hair with hairspray - sprayed on your brush instead of your hair. Brushing the hairspray through your hair will make it manageable but not stiff.
An ionic hair dryer dries your hair much faster (which causes less damage) yet is still gentler to hair than the old-fashioned dryers.
Do not blow dry your hair when it is soaking wet. Heat on wet hair leaves your hair looking dull. Let the hair dry partly first.
All clarifying shampoos and most dandruff shampoos will remove artificial hair color.
Use clarifying shampoo occasionally to remove hair color build-up that weighs hair down.
The right hair conditioner makes all the difference. Thin or fine hair will just cling to your head and look flat with no conditioner at all. A regular conditioner will eliminate the static but still weigh your hair down. Fine or thin hair needs a light conditioner to be its fullest. Conditioner also makes any hair so much easier to comb.
With any condition except one for dandruff, try to use it on your hair but not your scalp. This will allow for fuller hair at the roots.
When drying your hair, use a towel to blot it dry instead of rubbing or wringing, in order to prevent breakage.
Hair is damaged less when using a brush only when it is wet or damp.
Tangles in very curly hair should be combed out when the hair is wet. Combing again after it has dried can make it frizzy and too full.
Curl your hair for instant "highlights" since curls catch the light from many more angles than straight hair.
Roots that are darker or lighter after coloring hair are less visible if your part is not perfectly straight. The zig-zag part is not necessary, just keep it messy.

Thicker Tresses

For thicker hair that grows faster, add two drops of rosemary essential oil to your hairbrush before brushing. Or, try Avalon Organic Botanicals Volumizing Rosemary Shampoo.
Hair will look fuller and thicker when you use a blow dryer if you bend over and dry the hair from underneath.
Don't use the blow dryer when your hair is soaking wet. Let your hair dry partially on its own first to prevent damage and flattening hair. Bending over to fluff up hair with your hands also separates strands for more fullness.
Alternate shampoos to help keep hair cleaner of shampoo build-up. A clarifying shampoo will take out all build-up, but it will also take out all temporary hair color.
For hair that never seems to grow longer, trim it a little occasionally. Split ends not only are unsightly, they break. Trimming your hair will make it look better (and will thicken it) and result in less breakage.

Prevent Tickle & Itch When Letting Hair Grow Out

A short hairstyle is fun for a while. When you want to grow the hair out for a longer style, you often give up because the hair hitting your neck feels terrible.

The easy way to stay comfortable while your hair is growing out is to curl it. Since curled hair is shorter than straight hair, this gives you lots of extra growing time. As it gets longer, you can make the curls tighter. An added bonus is that your hair actually gets longer when you curl it because it gets stretched a little.

Curling your hair into a flip will keep it off your neck better than curling it under. This keeps the soft part of your hair against your skin instead of the pokey ends.

When you do not have time to curl your hair, you can pin up the back or put it into a little ponytail.

Homemade Hair Recipes

Firm Hair Spray: Put 2 tablespoons of sugar in a bowl and add 1/2 cup of boiling water. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle.
Light Hair Spray: Simmer two sliced lemons in a pan of four cups of water for an hour. Pour into a spray bottle.
Add an ounce of vodka to homemade hair sprays so you don't have to keep them refrigerated.
Hair Gel: Dissolve a teaspoon of unflavored gelatin in 1 cup of hot water. Don't use it as a gel until it is cooled and thickened.
Styling Spray: Mix 2 cups boiling water, a teaspoon of vinegar, and a teaspoon of unflavored gelatin. Put the mixture into a spray bottle.
Hair Clarifying Conditioner: apple cider vinegar gets rid of dirt and shampoo residue in hair (and helps control dandruff). Mix one part apple cider vinegar with two parts water. You can take a tumbler one third full of vinegar into the shower and fill it the rest of the way with hot water. After shampooing, rinse hair with the vinegar mixture and don't rinse with water. The vinegar smell will go away quickly.
Hair Repair Conditioner: Massage mayonnaise from a new jar into hair, especially the ends. Cover hair with a plastic shower cap or saran wrap. Leave on for 15 minutes to an hour, then rinse it off.
Scalp Conditioner: Massage plain yogurt onto the scalp then through the hair. Cover hair with a plastic shower cap or saran wrap. Leave on for 30 minutes to an hour, then rinse it off.
Dandruff Control: Mix natural apple cider vinegar and water in equal parts. Douse your scalp, get the hair wet, and pile the hair on top of your head. Wrap your head with a towel to prevent drips, and let it stay on for an hour. Shampoo as usual. (See the "Dandruff" section on our home remedies site.
Get Rid of Gray Hair: (To bring back your own hair color.) Pour 2 cups of boiling water over 1/2 cup of dried sage leaf. (Boiling sage will decrease its effectiveness.) Let this simmer or a half hour and then steep for several hours. Apply the tea to gray hairs once it has cooled down. Don't rinse it out. Let the hair dry naturally, then rinse. Apply this tea once a week until you have the shade you want and then once a month to maintain the color. WARNING: Sage should be avoided if you have epilepsy, are pregnant, are nursing (or it will stop the milk), or if you have a fever (sage warms the body even more). * (see FOR CONTEMPLATION below.)
Get Rid of Gray Hair: (To bring back your own hair color.) Add 1 tablespoon of natural apple cider vinegar to 1 gallon of warm water, use as final rinse. Taking natural apple cider vinegar liquid or tablets regularly also helps keep your grays away.
* FOR CONTEMPLATION: "Sage tea use to be given to young men and young women during adolescence; for sage has the reputation of tempering sexual desire." Paula Johnstone