Among the many joyous occasions that come along with the holiday season, also comes the harsh realities of the seasonal change. The keywords that bring a halt to our hair joy are WINTER, COLD, and DRYNESS. For the seasoned naturalistas and those early in their journey, the extreme lack of moisture in the air not only makes our ends feel extra dry but in some cases dry air causes dandruff. But never fear, there are some DIY recipes with a variety of natural ingredients that have many benefits aiding in relief of dry, itchy, and dandruff ridden scalps.
Of the many DIY recipes that benefit to eliminate dandruff, the majority of them had one common ingredient that, apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar holds a special place in the hearts and minds of naturalistas because of its multiple purposes to solve any issue.
Neem treatment
Ingredients
- ½ tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
- Handful of Neem Leaves
- Herbs
- 5-6 drops of Lemon juice
- 1 cup Water
Directions
Boil 1 cup of water, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar and a handful of Neem leaves in a pan. Once the Neem leaves have slightly wilted, remove from the fire. Cool and use it as a hair rinse.
The purpose of the boiling of the neem leaves releases the nutrients held within the leaves of the herbs. As an Ayurvedic ingredient, neem works as an anti-fungal alternative to prevent the further spread of dandruff to other areas of the scalp. In combination with apple cider vinegar, the powerful effects of the neem help to purify the scalp to further prevent dandruff.
ACV + Lemon rinse
Ingredients
- ½ cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- ½ cup Lemon Juice
Directions
Mix equal quantities of lemon juice and apple cider vinegar in a bowl. Take a tbsp. of this mixture and add a cup of water and use it as a hair rinse.
In many cases, it could be said that using too many highly acidic ingredients can disrupt the balance of your hair scalp. However, using the lemon juice and apple cider vinegar combination does not disrupt the pH balance. The lemon juice acts as an anti fungal solution to lift and remove any traces of dandruff while the apple cider vinegar restores the pH balance of the hair and scalp.
Some of the other commonly used DIY solutions for the winter dandruff blues aren’t limited to the use of apple cider vinegar. There are a plethora of homemade hair masks with ingredient combinations that work to rid any scalp of dandruff.
Ayurvedic Hair Mask Method:
Ingredients
- ½ cup Henna
- ½ tsp Alma powder
- ½ tsp Shikakai powder
- 1 tsp. Organic yogurt
- 1 tsp. Olive oil
- 5-6 drops of Lime juice
- 1 tea bag (Black tea”>
- 2-3 drops Rosemary essential oil (optional”>
Directions
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Pour hot water in a cup and add the tea bag.
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When it cools down, take the tea bag out.
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In a bowl mix rest of the ingredients and add the tea water.
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Mix with a spoon until smooth.
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Apply the paste on your scalp and hair.
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Keep the mask on for at least an hour.
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Wash away using a conditioner or just plain water.
This recipe contains a plethora of natural plant derived ingredients that are well known to DIY lovers that love the organic essentials. To begin with the prominent essentials of this recipe I’ll start with henna; Henna is one of the oldest plant derived ingredients used containing many benefits beside hair coloring. The composition of henna helps eliminate dandruff while lightly exfoliating the scalp.
Black tea is known as simply being a rinse. However, black tea in addition to being a rinse contains antioxidants that eliminate remaining traces of dandruff flakes. After all the scrubbing and exfoliation of the scalp to remove dandruff, the black tea also calms and soothes the sensitive skin of the scalp.
Last but not least, Alma powder; the effectiveness of alma powder can do wonders for multiple hair issues throughout the dry cold winter months. Alma powder contains vitamin C to ensure that the scalp doesn’t become too dry for dandruff to form. In addition to preventing dryness, alma powder relieves the itchy scalp that comes along as the early stages before full blown dandruff.
Some naturalistas with the winter months drawing near, have no fear for the dry air, there is a solution to any scalp issues.
