Step By Step Description of How to Do Hair Spa At Home
By Sanchita
The idea behind the hair spa is to rejuvenate and protect the hair. Yes, the good old warm oil massage and mild shampoo followed by conditioner is the regular or weekly routine carried on by us to protect and condition the hair. But, apart from that the hair needs specific care and rejuvenation by the process of hair spa. Now, hair spa is not necessarily done in parlors or hair care institutions and can be easily carried on at home with specific and easy available ingredients at your own volition. So you need not spend valuable money or time at the spa session every time. Let us see the step by step description of how to do hair spa at home.
1. Hair Oil
When you are going to devote yourself to the self-spa session, avoid using the readymade oils from the market which are nothing but merely mineral oils. So it will do no good to the hair. Use a concoction of hair oils like coconut oil, castor oil, almond oil and olive oil. The mixture should be 4parts coconut oil, 1 part castor oil, 2 parts almond oil and 3 parts olive oil. You can add other essential oils like argan, rose, ylang ylang or lavender as per your choice. Warm up the oil in a double boiler (no direct heat) and you can also add various herbs as well. For e.g. dried amla, methi seeds, neem leaves, hibiscus leaves paste, etc. can also be added in the warm oil which will further strengthen the hair. The hair oil is the vital step and best if it is done for.
2. Through massage
While the oil is the most important ingredient, the massage is the process which completes the procedure partly. Simply applying the oil won’t do so make sure you dedicate a good amount of time to massage the scalp well. Do not vigorously rub the scalp but merely run the fingers in a circular motion covering the whole area of the scalp. Massaging is essential as it improves blood circulation in your scalp area. You should massage your hair for 10 to 15 minutes. It helps relax the scalp and increase softness. It further aids in strengthening the roots of the hair and nourishes the hair-shafts, promoting new hair growth and strengthening current hair.
3. Warm Towel
If you have applied the oil a night before, then apply the warm towel in the morning and if you have applied the hair oil in the morning, do this at least an hour or two post oil massage. Dip a towel in warm water (just make sure not to burn the hand) and wrap it around the hair. In general, salons use a stream machine but the warm towel will surely do the trick. Warmth open up the pores on the scalp and thus it gets all the benefits of the oil. Also, it cleanses the scalp thoroughly, thereby promoting healthy hair growth.
4. Henna Mask
There are several hair masks available for hair and you can include the ingredients like ripe banana, eggs, curd, mayonnaise, etc. but I would suggest henna. Personally I have benefited a lot from the henna hair packs and it works like wonder. Henna is an age old method widely used in Ayurveda for treating hair and scalp problems. It is one of the best natural remedies for hair growth, helps to prevent dandruff and scalp itching. It acts as a good conditioner for your hair and helps to grow your hair. Mix the henna powder in the form of a paste with the help of curd or lemon and simply apply on the hair.
5. Shampoo
Once the hair mask is dried or after 40-50mins, wash off the mask with plain water. The rinsing will be easy as the hair as already well-nourished with oils. Next, move on to the main process of shampooing the hair. Try and use a SLS and PARABEN free shampoo which is mild and easy on the hair. Using a harsh chemically enriched shampoo means whatever effort you gave would go down the drain and the hair will be frizzy, rough and unmanageable. Shampoo will cleanses off every layer of dirt, grime, dandruff or any other residual substances on the hair, including the hair oil and hair pack. Although, the hair would retain the benefits for sure. One of the most important thing is that, rinsing off the shampoo is very important. A lot of people do apply it correctly and massage onto the scalp but forgets to rinse it out.
6. Conditioner
After the shampoo, apply the conditioner to the length of hair and keep it for around 2-3mins and no longer than that. Make sure the conditioner doesn’t slips onto the scalp and gets rinsed out properly after the shampoo.
7. Leave in Serum
This is the last step but I would call it optional. Since I have curly and dry hair, I always apply a leave in serum to make it manageable and frizz free but it is completely up to you. Also, I would not advise this step if you have thin and flat hair because it may weigh the hair down as the hair has already been conditioned since step 1.
These are the ways you can easily carry on the hair spa at home without shelling big bucks and also at our own convenience.
Editor’s Note: Absolutely loved this post Sanchita. This is the ideal procedure, wish I was not that lazy and time crunched :/ But even once a week or once in 2 weeks, following this routine would be amazing.
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Do you do hair spa at home?