Beauty > Beauty Recipes > HairMay 30, 2006

Save Money by Making Your Own Hair Products

By Patti McKenna
Everybody's noticed the wide variety of hair styling products sold commercially in the stores. They range in price, and some are quite expensive. You can make your own hair products for a lot less, and they are better for your hair because they don't contain alcohol or other chemicals which can dry hair.

Styling Gel

Ingredients:

  • 1 teaspoon of unflavored gelatin (available in grocery stores)
  • 1 cup of warm water

Directions:

Mix the gelatin and warm water together and pour it into a jar. Refrigerate the jar to allow the gelatin to thicken. Take the jar out of the fridge when needed and apply to hair as normal for styling.

Tip: Clean and save an old squeeze top bottle and use it for the styling gel. It'll make it easy (and less messy) to squeeze out the amount of gel needed.

Deep Conditioning Treatment

The simplest recipe for make at home deep hair conditioning!

Simply work mayonnaise into your hair. Wrap your mayo-covered hair in a towel or cover with a plastic cap and allow to sit for 30 minutes. Wash twice to remove all traces of mayonnaise. Your hair will feel like you've just gotten a salon treatment!

A similar method uses honey instead of mayonnaise. Mix one-half of a cup of honey with a similar amount of water and spread into hair. Cover as above, and allow to sit for 20 to 30 minutes. The honey naturally conditions and shines the hair shaft. Again, wash twice to remove all traces of the honey.

Feedback

Read feedback for this post below.

By Kim. (Guest Post) 10/29/2007

"Honey can get pretty pricey, so watch it -- if you're just looking for frugal, you can get conditioner at the dollar store for $2/ bottle. The same amount of honey would cost $6. "

Usually when conditioner is that cheap, its not the greatest product and probably doesn't protect against color.

Can someone post a picture of what their hair looked like after using mayo

By Kim. (Guest Post) 10/28/2007

I'm really afraid to do the mayonnaise thing because of what the girl said. Have you guys tried putting raw egg or lemon juice in your hair?

By
09/07/2007

The mayo treatment is a miracle - truly one of the best!

By Someone (Guest Post) 05/08/2007

How could you make the gel thicker?

By
06/01/2006

using 1/4 c vinegar on my hair removes all the gunk that has built up from shampoo and conditioner. i do it once a week.use it before you shampoo,then condition,you won't smell the vinegar in your hair at all

By (Guest Post) 05/31/2006

I always use mayo when my hair is dry and needs some extra attention. Of course, it wouldn't save money if you use it all the time but twice a month (one T each time) does as you are not spending money on an extra source. if it doesn't work for you, try something else....
somthing that always works great for me is putting a dab of conditioner on my hair at night....this has made more than a bit improvable...amazing that a bit of attention to dry hair every night will fix what month of everyday use will do to it!

By mominga (Guest Post) 05/31/2006

This is a once a month or two month thing, daily conditioners do not compare. I can get a jar of mayo for $2 and that would last at least 10 genorous times. I have not done this but I do believe the mayo is a frugal idea, honey is getting expensive. If you only needed a Tablespoon it would be worth a try. But compared to the VO5 hot oil treatments honey is a good deal.
I fried my hair with a perm in college. I had an intensive treatment done at the beauty school for $6 and it was great. (Manicure was $5) They put the cream on my hair and then a showercap(plastic bag) and then the real secret was I sat under a dryer! I think the heating of the cream is what did the trick to help my hair soak up the moisture. The same way you put gloves or socks on the soak up the lotion at night.
Just do your research and decide what is frugal for you.

By
05/31/2006

Mayo and honey aren't cheaper than conditioners that you can buy in the store so saying this is "frugal" is kind of a lie. The only advantage to mayo and honey is that they are mostly natural products that many people already have on hand.

The best way to have shiny, silky hair naturally is not to overwash it and to stay away from blow dryers and hot sunshine.

By
05/30/2006

Hate be a wet noodle but BEWARE of mayo in hair.
I did this when I was 17 and my hair looked like
an oil slick for a few days. I have thick coarse hair
and it was oily slick when I did the mayo on hair.
If you are going to try it use very LITTLE mayo.
I tried getting it out with vinegar, prell, etc. it was
horrible.

By (Guest Post) 05/30/2006

Honey can get pretty pricey, so watch it -- if you're just looking for frugal, you can get conditioner at the dollar store for $2/ bottle. The same amount of honey would cost $6.

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